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2019 Ram 1500 prices released: What pickup will cost, by trim

One of the final pieces of information about the 2019 Ram 1500, and one of the most important, is finally here: the price. A base model Ram Tradesman, which nets a V6, the smaller four-door cab, a 6-foot 4-inch bed and two-wheel drive, starts at $33,340 with destination charge. That's a a bit over $1,000 more than the cost of the same outgoing Ram 1500 Tradesman. But you'll also get new features such as the eTorque mild-hybrid system and a touch-screen infotainment system with Uconnect. At the other end of the spectrum, the top-rung Ram 1500 Limited Crew Cab 4X4 V8 now starts at $59,035, an increase of almost $4,400 over the old model. Although the base price of the most basic and the most opulent Ram 1500s have gone up, some other things have become cheaper. You won't have to pay as much to upgrade to a V8, for instance. The plain 5.7-liter V8 with its 395 horsepower is $255 cheaper now, costing $1,195. To get that engine with the eTorque system costs more at $1,995. The RamBox bed-side storage bins are $300 cheaper now at $995. The Rebel trim has a better entry-level price, too. The base version with the smaller cab, four-wheel drive (the only drivetrain available with the small cab) and V6 with eTorque starts at $46,340. That just slips under the $46,690 price of the outgoing base Rebel with two-wheel-drive, and is over $2,000 less than the old Rebel with four-wheel drive that started at $48,790. Of course, the outgoing model was only available with the larger "Crew Cab" four-door body. Adding that larger body to the new Rebel will probably offset the cost savings. Here's the entire 2019 Ram sheet of base prices by trim/configuration: Related Video:

Auto journo learns hard way that new vehicles burn differently than old ones

Terry Box, a writer for the Dallas Morning News, was tootling down the Dallas North Tollway in a Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn pickup after work and enjoying the ride. Box thought the $53,335, option-filled press loaner had been "flawless - very serious competition for anything built by Ford or Chevy." And then, for reasons that still aren't clear, something in the engine compartment caught fire and the Ram cremated itself on the shoulder of an off-ramp.
Box tells the story and it isn't an indictment of the truck, but a cautionary tale about how new vehicles don't burn like the old ones did - and why not to go back for your gym bag. It could also be a kind reminder about what kind of safety gear everyone should keep in their cars. Click the link to read the whole piece.

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