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Ram 1500 to get V6 diesel engine later this year

Happy Valentine's Day, diesel lovers! Chrysler announced today that the Ram 1500 will offer a light-duty diesel engine when it goes into production this fall. Using the same turbocharged 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 recently introduced in the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Ram 1500 is expected to get even better fuel economy than the current 2013 model's best-in-class 25 miles per gallon on the highway.
Power output has not been released for the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, but in the Grand Cherokee, this engine produces 240 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, and it will be paired with Chrysler's eight-speed automatic transmission. This has definitely been a busy and exciting year for the Ram division, bringing home major awards such as the 2013 North American Truck of the Year, 2013 Motor Trend Truck of the Year and 2013 Truck of Texas not to mention the recent announcement that the Ram HD models will offer a best-in-class towing capacity of 30,000 pounds - all of which is pointed out in the press release, below.

Should heavy-duty pickup trucks have window stickers with fuel mileage estimates?

If you were to stroll into your nearest Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Nissan, or Ram dealership, you'd find a bunch of pickup trucks. Most of those would have proper window stickers labeled with things like base prices, options prices, location of manufacture, and, crucially, fuel economy estimates. But you'd also run across a number of heavy-duty trucks with no such fuel mileage data from the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA doesn't require automakers to publish the valuable miles-per-gallon measurement for vehicles with gross weight ratings that exceed 8,500 pounds. That makes it difficult for consumers to compare behemoths powered by turbocharged diesel engines – between one another, and between smaller, gasoline-fueled trucks. Consumer Reports doesn't think it should be this way, and it's spearheading an effort (PDF link) to get the government to require manufacturers to publish fuel economy estimates. In its own testing, CR found that heavy-duty pickups powered by Ford's Power Stroke, GM's Duramax, and FCA's Cummins diesel engines (which doesn't include the Ram's EcoDiesel) get worse fuel mileage than their lighter-duty gas-powered siblings. We're not so sure HD-truck buyers are unaware of this fact – big diesels don't really come into their own until big loads are placed in their beds or attached to their trailer hitches. Under heavy workloads, the diesel trucks will almost certainly return greater efficiency than a similar gas-powered truck. What's more, HD trucks with lumbering diesels in general make the driver feel more confident while towing due to greater torque at low engine RPM than gas trucks. They also offer greater max-weight limits. Still, we agree EPA fuel mileage estimates should be offered for heavy-duty pickups. And we think the comparisons provided by Consumer Reports might be interesting to potential buyers. Click here to see the results of CR's tests, and let us know what you think using the poll below. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty: First Drive View 22 Photos News Source: Consumer Reports Government/Legal Green Read This Chevrolet Ford GMC Nissan RAM Fuel Efficiency Truck Commercial Vehicles Diesel Vehicles poll gmc sierra hd chevy silverado hd

Ram 1500 TRX Hellcat-powered prototype spied testing in Arizona

For the past few years, FCA has been on a Hellcat craze. Ever since the first Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger Hellcat debuted, we've seen that supercharged 6.2-liter V8 stuffed under the hood of the bonkers Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and turned up to 11 in the Demon and new Hellcat Redeye. There was also the Hellcat-powered Ram 1500 TRX concept vehicle, which FCA announced back in May would finally go into production as the Ram TRX. Today, we have our first look at an early prototype. Unlike the Ram 2500 Power Wagon — a personal favorite of mine — the TRX is aimed squarely at the Ford F-150 Raptor. While we don't have any under-hood shots, the photographer said there was no mistaking the whine emanating from the truck for anything but a supercharger. While we don't know how much power the truck will make, expect a minimum of 707 horsepower. For reference, that's 257 more horsepower than the F-150 Raptor. Power is likely to be sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Aside from that, there's not much to say about this prototype. While it mostly looks like a Ram 1500 Big Horn, it is fitted with with a set of one-piece Fuel D579 wheels and BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires. It also looks like it has a slightly wider front and rear track than the standard Ram 1500. The longer exhaust tips look temporary and are certainly going to look far more polished on the production model. We don't know when we might see the finished product as FCA's plans were a little more nebulous at this past five year plan. Our fingers are crossed for something this next auto show season. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.