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UAW workers in Indiana, Stellantis reach tentative deal to end strike

United Auto Workers union members who went on strike Saturday at the Stellantis casting plant in Indiana have reached a tentative deal with the company. The UAW Local 1166 bargaining committee announced a tentative agreement in a blog post, saying that a ratification vote would be held Monday. Stellantis confirmed the tentative deal Monday. The strike was related to health and safety issues, including the company’s alleged refusal to repair and replace the plantÂ’s air conditioning and heating systems. The 35-acre plant in Kokomo makes parts used in the power trains of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM vehicles. The 1,200-worker plant, Kokomo Casting, is the worldÂ’s largest die cast facility, according to Stellantis. In May, Stellantis announced a $2.5 billion joint venture with Samsung to build an electric vehicle battery factory in Kokomo that is to employ 1,400 workers. Stellantis, created last year through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot, had said it would build two electric vehicle battery factories in North America. The other is slated for Windsor, Ontario. Plants/Manufacturing UAW/Unions Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM

2021 Ram 1500 TRX Suspension Deep Dive | Underbelly of the beast

I think we can all agree that we have been waiting for a gonzo full-size truck like the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX for a long time. After all, it has been over a decade since the Ford F-150 Raptor came out, and it was such an immediate hit that I expected its direct competitors to respond much sooner than this. We all knew something was finally brewing in 2016, when the TRX concept was unveiled at the Texas State Fair. I was there, and was among the many who gave the assembled Ram higher-ups an enthusiastic thumbs-up. That’s what they were hoping to see before they greenlit the project. The pace of development being what it is, and with the redesigned, current-generation Ram 1500 a prerequisite that understandably had to come first, itÂ’s no surprise that weÂ’re only seeing it now as a 2021 model. You may be biting your tongue that I overlooked the Tundra TRD Pro or the Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss, but neither of those comes close to following the formula established by the Raptor: big engine, a much wider stance than the base truck, greatly enhanced suspension travel, huge tires and swollen fenders to cover it all. Only the Raptor and the TRX fit that mold. For now.   Before I got started, I first pointed the TRX up my RTI ramp and measured its Flex Index score. Please excuse the shaded nose; the truck ran farther up than IÂ’d guessed and literally drove out of the picture. But something in my subconscious warned me to keep the garage door open, which was fortuitous because the nose of the Ram ended up inside. The TRX hiked its front wheel 29 and 7/8 inches off the ground before the left rear tire reached the point of lift-off, and that equates to a climb of 87.4 inches up the deck of my ramp. Divide that by the TRXÂ’s wheelbase of 145.1 inches, multiply by 1,000, and you arrive at a Flex Index score of 602 points. It could have been a few points higher, I think, if I could have straightened out the steering a bit better. But the high-grip cheese grater surface of my ramp was firmly dug in and having none of it. This is an extremely good score for a full-size crew cab pickup. LetÂ’s take a closer look at what made that possible.   The track width of the TRXÂ’s double wishbone front-suspension is a full 6 inches broader than a regular Ram 1500, and you are looking at the parts that are responsible. The lower wishbone (yellow arrow), the upper control arm (green) and the steering knuckle (red) conspire to add 3 inches per side to the TRXÂ’s stance.

2020 Ram HD trucks revealed in spy shots, along with interior

It looks like FCA isn't too concerned with keeping its redesigned Heavy Duty trucks under wraps before their reveals. Our spy photographers managed to catch a fleet of 2020 Ram HDs running around completely undisguised. Not only do we get to see exterior design details, but there are also shots of the HD's interior in Laramie trim. Shots of the new Power Wagon went up a few days ago, but now we get to see the truck in both Laramie Longhorn and Limited trims. It's clear the trucks are following in the footsteps of the 2019 Ram 1500 redesign for their inspiration — we like the new Ram, so that's a good thing. The departure from traditional Ram HD styling means the retirement of the crosshair grille. We can see this first in the brown Laramie Longhorn at the top here. Thankfully, Ram didn't go as far as GM did with its crazy grille design on the freshly released Silverado HD. That being said, it's still pretty large. It appears more upright and tough-looking than the similarly styled 1500 Laramie Longhorn, but still adopts the same design language. 2020 Ram 2500 Limited View 12 Photos The 2500 Limited doesn't exactly look finished, but it's clear we're looking at a more luxuriously appointed truck from the photos. There's more chrome, and the grille design is much more complex than the Laramie Longhorn. In fact, there might even be a bit too much chrome for our taste — tow hooks probably aren't in need of any shiny bling. 2020 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Tradesman View 8 Photos Finally, we also get to see the Tradesman trim of a Power Wagon. The red looks good on the big truck, but the trim we saw the other day had a much meaner front-end design. This one would be better for those who want a more discreet Power Wagon. Interior shots surfaced alongside these new trucks too. We wouldn't have imagined much difference between the 1500 and HD interiors, and that seems to be the case. The model we're looking at here has the 8.4-inch screen with Uconnect, but the massive 12-incher will undoubtedly be available too. We expect an "official" debut of this truck early next year, with the Detroit Auto Show being the most likely of places for that to happen. Related video: