2017 Ram Promaster Hign Roof on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chrysler appoints new heads of Alfa Romeo and Ram

Chrysler has announced to two key appointments to its senior leadership, both of them taking immediate effect. First up is Reid Bigland, who has been named head of the Alfa Romeo brand for North America. Bigland has served until now as head of the Ram Truck brand, a portfolio he now hands over to Robert Hegbloom, who had served until now as its director.
As a result of the appointments, both Bigland and Hegbloom will take up seats on Chrysler's NAFTA Leadership Team, and Bigland will also join the Fiat Chrysler Group Executive Council - the highest decision-making body in the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire.
As per Sergio Marchionne's leadership style, Bigland will continue to serve in two major capacities, maintaining his role as president and CEO of Chrysler Canada. Other senior executives who hold multiple key portfolios include Harald Wester (who serves as the group's Chief Technology Officer and also overseas Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Abarth), Olivier Francois (group Chief Marketing Officer and head of the Fiat brand) and Michael Manley (head of the Asia-Pacific region and the Jeep brand).

2019 Ram 1500: Everything we know

We're not too far away from the sheet being pulled off the 2019 Ram 1500. But over and over, we've had spy shots come in revealing much of the truck before hand. The latest ones have given us a very clear look at the truck's new grille, which boldly does away with the signature crosshair grille. The main iteration we've seen is the one above with the "RAM" logo in the center flanked by split chrome bars. Chrome is used extensively elsewhere, too. The traditional Ram logo has also probably been binned, at least on the exterior, in favor of the broad Ram script currently seen on the Ram Rebel, Laramie Longhorn and Limited trims. Indeed, it seems like a change that the brand has subtly been trying to get its customers ready for, as a quick trip to the company website will show a greater reliance on those trim levels to visually represent each Ram model (including the heavy-duty 2500 and 3500). View 3 Photos Now, there will likely continue to be multiple grille options available as there is today to at least differentiate luxury and off-road models. In the renderings above, we show a version of the grille without those chrome bars. The rest of the truck in the rendering is based on what we saw when some gusty weather unofficially revealed the Ram 1500 to a spy photographer, as seen in the gallery below. View 18 Photos As for everything else we know about the 2019 Ram 1500 ... The Interior View 8 Photos We got pretty good shots of the new Ram interior a few weeks ago. There will be a huge, vertically oriented touchscreen available, possibly with updated UConnect interface software, flanked by hard buttons for the climate control system. A volume knob and redundant multi-purpose control knob will remain, as will the rotary transmission selector. New toggle switches below will be dedicated to various vehicle controls, and we would assume would remain in place throughout the trim level range. Smaller touchscreens will almost certainly be found on lower trims with a traditional array of climate controls between them and the toggles. It'll be steel View 5 Photos An intrepid magnet-wielding spy photographer back in August examined a 2019 Ram test mule's body panels and discovered the majority of them are steel. The hood and tailgate are aluminum, however. There will be a split tailgate option View 18 Photos Speaking of that tailgate, spy photos have shown that it will be available with a split, barn-door-style tailgate option.

FCA recalls 2 million Ram trucks over airbag issues

Airbag issues have prompted Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to issue another pair of recalls. The two separate issues both affect Ram pickups, one campaign stemming from oversensitive sensors, the other from a wiring harness. Between them, the problems affect an estimated combined total of some 2 million units. The first recall affects 2013-15 Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks, specifically four-door models, manufactured between June 20, 2012, and January 26, 2015. The calibration of the side impact sensor in those affected units may to be too sensitive. As a result, if the door is slammed too hard, the side-curtain airbag and seatbelt pre-tensioner may inadvertently activate. FCA reports that this issue affects an estimated 667,406 units in the United States, plus 153,011 in Canada, a further 8,272 in Mexico, and another 14,847 in markets outside of North America, amounting (in Chrysler's estimation) to less than 0.005 percent of those vehicles produced. The automaker says it is aware of two minor injuries (but no accidents) that may have resulted from the glitch, and is taking action to have the Occupant Restraint Control module recalibrated in the affected units. The second issue also affects Ram pickups, including 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500-series models from the 2012 to 2014 model years, built between January 18, 2011, and October 7, 2014, and fitted with the optional Electronic Vehicle Information Center. The problem here stems from a wiring harness in the steering wheel that may rub against a retainer spring in the air bag control module, which in turn could cause an electrical short and deploy the driver's side air bag unexpectedly. In the United States alone, the issue is estimated to affect 1,060,531 units, which will need to be inspected and, where necessary, have their steering wheel wiring harnesses secured, with protective caps added to the ends of the airbag retainer spring. These do not represent the first issues we've seen from Fiat Chrysler in recent days. The automaker recently issued a recall for approximately 1.4 million vehicles to have their Uconnect software updated to prevent hacking. A few days ago it also announced a recall for 350,000 Dodge Journey (and Fiat Freemont) crossovers to secure loose engine covers. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to issue Fiat Chrysler Automobiles a $105-million fine for mishandling other recent recalls and safety issues.