2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn 4x4 Crew Cab 5'7" Box on 2040-cars

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Ford, Chrysler and Mazda expand scope of Takata airbag recalls

The scope of the Takata airbag inflator recall is ballooning once again across the United States. Where Honda has elected to take its driver-side airbag campaign nationwide, Chrysler Group and Ford have now announced expanded regional actions to cover some passenger-side airbag inflators. Mazda is adding more regions, as well. For Chrysler Group, the campaign covers the inflators on 149,150 examples of the 2003-model-year Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups. The recall is limited to vehicles sold or ever registered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. The company will begin notifying affected customers on January 19. According to Chrysler's announcement of the action, the passenger side inflators in these trucks "are of a type that is not used in any of the other vehicles affected by Chrysler Group's regional field action." The automaker says that it's not aware of any actual failures or accidents in these pickups and even claims there are no "observed failures in laboratory testing of its airbag modules." The company is continuing to study the problem, though. Ford is taking a similar step by issuing a recall of inflators for 38,500 examples of the 2004-2005 Ranger and 2005-2006 Ford GT. The campaign only affects vehicles originally sold or ever registered in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Certain zip codes of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa are also covered. There's already precedent for passenger-side airbags to be covered under the Takata inflator recall. When many automakers announced campaigns in June, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota all included that side in some of their repairs. Subaru subsequently did, as well. In addition, Mazda is expanding the scope of its recall to add Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Saipan, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to the affected areas. The company estimates that it has a total of 86,773 vehicles in need of repair. Mazda is also teaming with Toyota to begin independent testing of the Takata inflators. Scroll down to read all of the automakers' announcements of these newly expanded recalls. Statement: Air-Bag Inflators December 3, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich.

Color match your 2018 Ram to your tractor with new Harvest Edition

Though pickup trucks have become increasingly civilized and more common in cityscapes, they're still indispensable equipment as work vehicles, especially on farms. Recognizing this, Ram created a truck package aimed specifically at the agricultural sector called the Harvest Edition. The package features a variety of equipment as standard, like mud flaps, side steps, a rear bumper step, skid plates, rubber floor mats, a spray-in bedliner, 4G WiFi, navigation, and access to weather via Sirius radio. Rams with four-wheel drive also get tow hooks, and 1500 models receive a one-inch suspension lift. Ram 2500 and 3500 retain their normal ride heights. The Harvest Edition includes visual enhancements, most notably the addition of Case IH red and New Holland blue paint colors. But if you prefer John Deere, you won't find its signature green – instead you'll have to settle for white, black, or silver. The Harvest Edition features loads of shiny trim. The mesh grille is chrome, the mirrors and door handles are chrome, the bumpers are chrome. The wheels are chrome on 1500s, and simply polished on heavy duty models. The only visual changes that doesn't involve shiny metal are the body-color fender flares. The package is available on all four-door Ram trucks from 1500 to 3500. It's also available with two- or four-wheel drive and every engine option from V6 to Cummins diesel. The 1500 model starts at $41,305, and the 2500 starts at $47,630. The package becomes available in the third quarter, so farmers and even wannabe farmers should be able to pick one up very soon. Related Video:

2015 Ram 1500 Rebel drops the crosshairs, muscles in with new snout

Emboldened by record sale and increasing market share, Ram continues to spin off derivatives of its fullsize pickup. Bowing at today's Detroit Auto Show, the 10th model based on Ram's 1500 series is the new-for-2015 Rebel, and it's designed to capture the affections of that exceedingly popular marketer's bogey, the "active lifestyle enthusiast." Ram officials figure they've already got the hunt/fish/camp crowd all sewn up with the 1500 Outdoorsman, so the Rebel's imposing snout strikes out in a different direction in search of extreme-sports types – namely customers with dirt bikes, side-by-sides, jet-skis and other powersports toys. If that has you envisioning the Rebel as a rival to the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, think again – "It's not an extreme, desert-racer off-road type product," says Ram boss Bob Hegbloom. If you're seeking an analog from another automaker, look to the Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and we think you'll be in the ballpark. The Rebel's most distinctive styling element has to be its radical new grain-finish grille, which does away with Ram's longstanding crosshair motif in favor of an interlocking design that intentionally won't be for everyone. There are lighting changes, too, with black-bucket headlamps featuring LED accents and matching LED foglights. A non-functional twin-snorkel sport hood, tonneau cover with stamped logo, blacked-out taillamps and unique badges are other model telltales. The Rebel (where have we heard that name before?) makes good use of Ram's air suspension system as an easy way to raise the ride height by an inch, which in turn affords inch-longer suspension travel and lends the truck a more formidable stance while helping clear the 33-inch (LT285/70R17E) Toyo Open Country A/T tires. Flares swiped from the 2500 Power Wagon keep the wider rubber mounted on Rebel-exclusive 17-inch wheels nicely – and legally – tucked in. Further off-road-minded modifications include a close-cropped steel front bumper that offers an improved arrival angle as well as 360-degree tow hooks and replaceable center skid plate. Out back, dual exhausts tuck up into the bumper and out of harm's way, but you might be too busy staring at the billboard-sized RAM tailgate lettering to notice. Ram officials assure us the Rebel's suspension has been recalibrated to cope with the higher ride height and better off-road ability (mostly through the inclusion of Bilstein monotube shocks, a softer rear anti-roll bar and reworked jounce bumpers).