2019 Ram 1500 Classic Tradesman on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler dumped 40,000 unordered vehicles on dealers

In a move that echoes recent history, Fiat Chrysler has been making more cars and trucks than dealers in the U.S. are willing to accept, with Bloomberg reporting that at one point the automaker had built up a glut of around 40,000 unordered vehicles. That’s led some dealers to accuse FCA of reviving the dreaded “sales bank” accounting practice of obscuring inventory to improve the balance sheet. The company reportedly began building up its inventory of unordered cars this summer despite an industrywide slowdown in sales and an eagerness by some dealers to thin their inventories because rising interest rates are making it more expensive to hold unsold cars. The inventory build-up also coincided with Fiat ChryslerÂ’s efforts to find a merger partner, first with Renault, which fell through, then last monthÂ’s announcement that it will merge with FranceÂ’s PSA Group. FCA denies any such scheme and tells Bloomberg the rising inventory is down to a new predictive analytics system designed to better square supply with demand from dealers that is helping the company save money and narrow the numbers of unsold vehicles. The company recently agreed to pay a $40 million civil penalty to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a complaint that it paid dealers to report fake sales figures over a span of five years. While no one is suggesting that FCA is in dire financial straits — the company saw higher than expected earnings in the third quarter and record profits in North America — the practice has strong historical precedent by Chrysler, which built up bloated inventories in the run-up to its two federal bailouts, in 1980 and 2009. It was also common at GM and Ford during the 2000s, when all three Detroit automakers struggled with excess manufacturing capacity and plummeting sales in the lead-up to the Great Recession. Back in 2012, CFO Magazine wrote about a report that explained automakersÂ’ rationale for the practice and how it works: Say fixed costs for a given factory are $100, and that the factory can make 50 cars. Consumers, however, demand only 10. Under absorption costing, if the company makes all 50 cars, its cost-per-car is $2. If it makes only up to demand, or 10 cars, the cost-per-car is $10. Although each car adds variable costs for steel and other parts, if those costs are low, the company still has an incentive to make more cars to keep the cost-per-car down.

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

2021 Ram 1500 TRX Back Seat Driveway Test | Jump that gorge with the kids!

The TRX is the newest and sexiest 2021 Ram 1500. It's also the most powerful by a few hundred horsepower and its eye-popping suspension makes it capable of truly eye-popping things off road. As in both "off the paved road" as well as "we've jumped off the road and will eventually land back down upon it." Thing is, though, that suspension makes the TRX shockingly comfortable when you're back on terra firma. It's downright plush, the result of its four-wheel coil springs with extra-long initial travel. In other words, this is one high-performance vehicle you can get without fear of sneering from the significant other about buying some firm-riding sports thing that makes long journeys miserable. Just don't tell them about the fuel bill.  Besides the ride, though, the TRX shares the same crew cab as any other 2021 Ram 1500. Besides having the same sort of palatial legroom as the crew cabs of any full-size truck, the Ram's goes above and beyond in a number of ways, especially in an upper trim level like the TRX.  First off, it reclines. Though not the only truck to do so (hello Tundra!), this is nevertheless a great feature that fully takes advantage of the immense legroom the crew cab affords. Note that the front seats are as far back as they can go in this picture.  One tidbit: The seatback doesn't just tilt backward. There's no room for that. Instead, the top of the seat basically stays put while the bottom slides forward along with the seat bottom. Airplane seats and the reclining chair in my office work in a similar manner. And, since you're basically pulling the seat forward, the reclining mechanism is located between your legs under the seat bottom.  Lots of power available back here, too. There's a proper house-style outlet so you can plug in a toaster or whatever, along with both USB-A and USB-C ports. Note that there aren't four ports, just two with a choice of port type.  Also, check out those seat controls. Not only do the back seats recline, not only are they heated, but they're also ventilated. That's really cool. Literally! Besides the little shelf you can store a phone while it charges, the center console cupholder unit doubles as a tablet holder. Thoughtful touch. Admittedly, that trim piece is a bit wonky. Only noticing that now in the picture. Didn't see it in person.  Here's another thoughtful touch I'm quite certain is specific to the TRX: Molle straps on the front seatbacks to attach whatever you want.