2011 Ram 1500 St! 4x4 V8 Clean! on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler's Q3 profit boosted by strong North American earnings

MILAN, Italy — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) reported a 17 percent jump in third-quarter adjusted operating profit on Tuesday, helped by a strong performance in its key North American market and improving operations in Europe and Latin America. The world's seventh-largest carmaker still makes the lion's share of its profits in North America, so improving, or at least maintaining, its margins there is a key focus. The carmaker reported an 8 percent adjusted operating profit margin in the region, up from 7.6 percent a year ago, despite a drop in sales and shipments. "FCA's profitability in North America remained strong in the quarter despite a weakening market there," a Milan-based analyst said. FCA's profitability compares with an 8.3 percent North America margin reached in the quarter by bigger U.S. rival GM , showing CEO Sergio Marchionne making progress towards his goal of closing the margin gap with GM and the company's other U.S. rival, Ford, by 2018. The company's confirmation of its full-year outlook also pushed shares higher, a trader added. The stock was up 2.8 percent by 1129 GMT, outperforming a 1 percent rise in the European auto index. FCA has been retooling some U.S. factories to boost output of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and trucks while ending production of some unprofitable sedans to strengthen profitability as the U.S. car market comes off its peak. The company said a drop in North America shipments due to lower fleet sales and discontinued models was partially offset by higher deliveries of Ram trucks and two models from the Alfa Romeo stable: the Stelvio sport utility vehicle and Giulia sedan. Profitability also improved in Europe, helped by sales of the Stelvio and the new Jeep Compass, and Latin America, while margins at Maserati remained strong at 13.8 percent due to strong demand for its first SUV, the Levante. In a later conference call, investors are looking for hints on the new strategy to 2022 which the company promised to unveil early next year. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said earlier this year that FCA would streamline its portfolio and that components businesses, including Magneti Marelli, would be separated from the group, possibly via a spin-off. While FCA confirmed its targets this year, doubts remain about its exposure to a weakening U.S. market, recall costs and potential fines over emissions after it was targeted by European and U.S.

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.

2020 Ram EcoDiesel gets a price, will be a $4,995 option

Ram just officially announced pricing for the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel pickup truck. The cheapest diesel you’ll be able to buy starts at $38,585, including the $1,695 destination charge. That price gets you the Tradesman Quad Cab with rear-wheel drive. As a standalone option, the engine is listed at $4,995, which makes it the priciest engine on the Ram 1500Â’s list of powertrains. The next most expensive engine is the 5.7-liter V8 eTorque powertrain, which lists for $2,645 on RamÂ’s 2019 configurator. YouÂ’ll be able to get the EcoDiesel engine on any trim, including the Ram Rebel — this marks the first time that the Rebel is offered with a diesel option. The base price of only $38,585 on the Tradesman trim makes it the cheapest diesel option of the bunch, with both FordÂ’s and ChevyÂ’s diesel engines coming in at higher trims and higher prices. FordÂ’s F-150 Power Stroke starts at $46,255, and the Silverado Duramax comes in at $42,385. Step up to comparable trim levels in the Ram, and things get more competitive. However, if you want the cheapest diesel out there, the Ram is your best bet. What youÂ’re getting is a 260-horsepower 480-pound-foot 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 engine. The max towing capacity is also the highest among the three at 12,560 pounds. You can pair rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive with the engine.  WeÂ’re still waiting on EPA fuel economy figures, but itÂ’ll be difficult to beat the Chevy Duramax in this area. That truck is capable of 33 mpg on the highway, while the F-150 can hit 30 mpg in its most fuel-efficient trim. Chevy says it gave a little bit up in towing to hit that spectacular figure, so weÂ’ll be curious to see what the towing king of the segment will be able to muster. Ram says the numbers will be available when the truck goes on sale early in the fourth quarter this year. Until then, the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic is available with the previous-generation EcoDiesel engine, and it can be had for $40,835.