2013 Ram 1500 on 2040-cars

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2013 Ram Heavy Duty seeks to obliterate rivals with claimed 30,000-pound max tow rating

No one can accuse Ram of backing away from the full-size truck arms race. Chrysler has officially dropped the payload details on its 2013 Ram Heavy Duty, and the 3500 now packs a maximum trailer weight of 30,000 pounds. Chew on that number for a moment. That's 15 tons, or the equivalent of a dozen Mazda MX-5 Miata convertibles stacked on a trailer, and it's also a whopping 6,900 pounds more than the closest competitor to the Ram 3500, the Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD. Ram engineers have cranked the truck's 6.7-liter Cummins turbo-diesel engine to a ludicrous 850 pound-feet of torque, up 50 lb-ft over the 2012 model. "Shock the world" figures, all.
Throw in a stiffer frame, stouter transfer case, beefed-up transmission and brawnier U-joints in the driveline, and you have what Ram is calling "the most capable trucks we've ever built." That includes the Ram 2500, which has seen its towing capacity swell to 18,350 lbs and its Gross Combined Weight Rating jump to 25,000 lbs. Look for the 2013 Ram 3500 HD to bow at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, and be sure to check out the full press release below for more information.

Some 2014-19 Ram ProMasters recalled for shifter cables that could detach

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a recall for hundreds of thousands of 2014-2019 Ram ProMaster vans with a 3.6-liter engine. Campaign No. 20V036000 states that the shifter cables on these vans could disconnect from the transmission, which could lead to a variety of unsafe situations. The new recall comes after Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has issued transmission-related recalls for several other brand products in recent years. Jeep and FCA were thrust into the spotlight in 2016, when "Star Trek" actor Anton Yelchin's shocking death was linked to what was deemed an unintuitive shifter design. FCA recalled more than 1 million vehicles with a rocker-style eight-speed ZF shifter, including Jeep Grand Cherokees, Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Chargers. The design was unclear to some, and that confusion lead to dangerous rollaways. In 2017, FCA was back in the news when it announced a transmission recall for 1.8 million Ram trucks that had a faulty interlock that could result in the transmission shifting out of park. And in 2019, FCA announced two more transmission recalls, this time for 320,000 Dodge Darts and 51,788 Fiat 500s, both of which had cable bushings that could degrade due to temperature and moisture.  FCA's unsettling pattern has bled into the new decade, as 222,207 ProMasters have been recalled for an entirely separate transmission issue that could once again lead to a rollaway risk. The NHTSA estimates approximately three percent of these vehicles could have built with a transmission gear shift cable that was kinked during production. According to the recall document, "the vehicle population was determined to include all ProMaster vehicles equipped with a 3.6-liter engine from the beginning of 2014 MY production on April 23, 2013, through September 14, 2019, when the vehicle manufacturing process was revised." If the shift cable separates, the shifter is no longer connected to the transmission. The driver, then, would not be able to shift properly, or the transmission could be in a different position than believed. If the driver thinks the vehicle is parked, but it is actually still in drive or neutral, the vehicle could unintentionally move. As a precautionary measure until the vans are checked and fixed, FCA suggests owners use the parking brake when parking these vehicles. FCA will begin notifying owners on March 13, 2020 and plans to replace the damaged parts free of charge.

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: