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2018 Ram 1500 Buying Guide | Popular pickup information and review

Spun out from Dodge as a standalone truck brand in 2009, the Ram 1500 is a full-size pickup and oldest in the stable of Big Three pickups, last updated in 2013. But it commands a loyal following among truck buyers, thanks to things like its styling, rugged capability, comfortable ride and innovative storage systems. It will be replaced by the 2019 Ram, an all-new truck, but for now the 2018 is still on sale – and will be for some time, as it'll be rebadged as the 1500 Classic and sold alongside the new pickup for a period of time. This buyer's guide covers the 2018 Ram 1500, not the 2019 1500 or 1500 Classic. The 2018 Ram 1500 is available in a whopping 11 different trim levels, ranging from the entry-level Tradesman to the luxury-minded Limited Tungsten edition, with many of the top-level trims getting the redesigned Ram grille and large Ram emblem on the tailgate that will become standard on the all-new 2019 Ram. It's also offered in crew cab, quad cab and regular cab, and. With this buyer's guide, Autoblog aims to help you make an educated decision about whether or not to buy the 2018 Ram 1500. We'll touch on safety and reliability ratings, engine specs, horsepower, fuel economy ratings and pricing. And we'll conclude with a summary of Autoblog's most recent test-drive of the Ram 1500. Ram 1500 safety ratings The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gives the Ram 1500 an overall rating of four out of five stars. On frontal crashes, the trucks gets four stars, and it gets a top rating of five stars for side crash protection. Rollover crash ratings range from three of five stars for the four-wheel-drive versions to four stars for rear-wheel-drive models. Crash ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are more of a mixed bag. IIHS gives the Ram 1500 "marginal" ratings for driver-side small overlap front crash protection, roof strength, headlights and LATCH child-seat anchors, while assigning "good" ratings for everything else. Because ratings may vary for Ram 1500s from other model years, you should visit the NHTSA and IIHS websites to review ratings on the specific vehicle you're researching. Is the Ram 1500 reliable? You have to go back to the 2016 model-year for the last Ram 1500 that J.D. Power reviewed. It gave the pickup two out of five stars — "below average" — for overall quality, and three of five stars — "about average" — for overall performance and design, and predicted reliability.

Auto sales in March and first quarter down nearly across the board

Nearly every major automaker reported weak U.S. sales for March and the first quarter of 2019, citing a rough start to the year, but said a robust economy and strong labor market should encourage consumers to buy more vehicles as 2019 rolls on. GM, which no longer releases monthly sales figures, saw first-quarter sales fall 7 percent, with declines across all brands. Sales of Silverado pickup trucks fell nearly 16 percent and the high-margin Chevy Suburban large SUV dropped 25 percent. Ford also no longer releases monthly sales numbers, but is due to release its first-quarter sales figures on Thursday. According to industry data, Ford's sales fell 2 percent in the quarter and 5 percent in March. Ford representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FCA reported a 7 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and a 3 percent drop for the first quarter. All of FCA's brands dropped in March, except for Ram, which saw a 15 percent increase in pickup truck sales. "The industry had a tough first quarter, but with spring finally starting to show its face and continued strong economic indicators ... we are confident that new vehicle sales demand will strengthen going forward," FCA's U.S. head of sales, Reid Bigland, said in a statement. Toyota reported a 3.5 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and 5 percent for the first quarter, hurt by declining demand for its Corolla sedans and Camry vehicles. "While some of our competitors are abandoning sedans, we remain optimistic about the future of the segment," Toyota said in a statement. Nissan posted a 5.3 percent drop in sales in March, and its first-quarter sales were down 11.6 percent. Honda and Hyundai bucked the trend. Honda's U.S. sales rose 4.3 percent in March and 2 percent in the quarter, while Hyundai's were up 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Passenger-car sales suffered throughout the January-March quarter compared with the same period in 2018 as Americans continued to abandon them in favor of larger, more comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs, which are far more profitable for automakers. The battle for market share in the particularly lucrative large-pickup truck market intensified in the quarter, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand outsold the U.S.' No. 1 automaker General Motors' Chevrolet-brand trucks. The two automakers have both launched redesigned pickup trucks.

How the Ram Multifunction Tailgate compares to Ford, GMC, Honda

Ram just announced its Multifunction Tailgate — a descriptive if not very creative name. It's an asymmetrical barn-door arrangement, which can both fold down like a conventional tailgate or swing open like a gate. There's a new bed step, but unlike Ford or GM, the step isn't part of the tailgate itself. Rather, it kicks out from under the bumper (as opposed to out from under the driver's side of the rear bumper in its previous incarnation). So let's just focus on the tailgate functionality. A video of the Ram Multifunction Tailgate in action is above. For one, either of the swinging tailgate sections can be opened independently. They open to a full 88 degrees. In conventional flip-down mode, the tailgate works just like a normal one, too, with a 2,000-pound rating. The bottom line is that while it gives a variety of types of access to the load area, it doesn't "do" anything else. It's a $995 option on any Ram 1500. Its closest analogue is the Honda Ridgeline, which works basically the same way, but on that truck the tailgate swings as one piece. And the Honda's load rating isn't as hefty as the Ram's tailgate: 300 pounds. As Honda says, that's sufficient to hold the weight of the part of an ATV hanging out of the bed, or something similar, but it's a lighter-duty unit (and a lighter-duty truck) than the Ram's overall. Let's also get Ford's one-trick tailgate out of the way before comparing to the more analogous, and complicated, GM MultiPro. A bit of trivia: Ford's optional Tailgate Step is actually designed and supplied by Multimatic, better known as the outfit that builds the Ford GT and produces the DSSV spool-valve shocks. This step has been available for years. It pulls out of the top edge of the tailgate when the tailgate is lowered, deploying a single step. A separate handle pulls out from beside the step and flips up, giving a handhold. While it was initially (and infamously) mocked by competitors, with load floor heights as high as they are it's better than toting around a stepstool. It's currently a $375 standalone option. Now we get to the GMC MultiPro tailgate, the most complicated and multi-functioned around. It's essentially a tailgate within a tailgate, with a fold-out stopper that deploys from the inner tailgate. This gives it several functions depending on the position of all the parts. It can still be used like a normal tailgate, dropping down at the push of a button or using the key fob.