2023 Ram 1500 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford F-450 claims best-in-class towing, company abandons practice of removing items to boost payload number

The ongoing heavy-duty truck battle between Ford and Ram is showing no signs of slowing down. The Blue Oval is trying to remove at least one point of contention between the two brands by testing its 2015 F-450 Super Duty using the Society of Automotive Engineers J2807 towing standard, which Ram also uses. In the new evaluation, the F-450 is rated at a max towing capacity of 31,200 pounds. That's an identical amount as under Ford's own, previous test.
"We leave no doubt with customers that the F-450 pickup truck has best-in-class towing of 31,200 pounds - whether tested using our own internal towing standards or SAE J2807," said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president for Global Product Development, in the company's release.
At the same time, Ford is also changing how it calculates the F-450's payload. Instead of using its minimum curb weight as before, the brand is now using the truck's base curb weight. The revision lowers the pickup's rating to 5,300 pounds, compared to 5,450 pounds previously. The company said in its announcement that the reason for this is "aligning its payload rating practices with other manufacturers to make it easier for customers to compare vehicles." General Motors made a similar switch for its pickups in August.

Recharge Wrap-up: Ram 1500 EcoDiesel earns RMAP Truck of the Year, GM earns Energy Star awards

Jas Hennessy & Co, maker of Hennessy Cognac, has taken delivery of 45 electric vehicles from Renault at its headquarters in Cognac, France. The 23 Zoes and 22 Kangoo ZEs are to be used by employees traveling between the company's sites, and replace 80 percent of the company's internal combustion fleet. "For many years now, Jas Hennessy & Co has been actively working to reduce its environmental impact," says Hennessy Operations Manager Marc Sorin. Hennessy also recently bought an electric boat to take visitors across the Charente River to the company's aging cellars. Read more from Renault. General Motors has earned two Energy Star awards from the EPA. The automaker earned the Energy Star Partner of the Year award for Sustained Excellence for efforts in energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, GM has achieved a global reduction of energy intensity by six percent, and has invested $34 million in energy, water and carbon reduction projects at its facilities. GM also earned the EPA Energy Star Climate Communications award for its outreach to employees, customers and stakeholders about energy efficiency and climate change. Read more from General Motors. The 2015 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel has been named Truck of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press Association. The Ram truck beat out the Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty and GMC Canyon to earn the honors at the Denver Auto Show. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel boasts a fuel economy of 21 mpg in the city, 29 mpg highway and 24 mpg combined. Ram attributes the truck's efficiency to features like its eight-speed transmission, stop-start system and active aerodynamics. Rocky Mountain Automotive Press Association Names 2015 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel 'Truck of the Year' and 2015 Chrysler 200 'Car of the Year' AUBURN HILLS, Mich., April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- - Denver-based journalist organization announces the awards at the Charity Preview for the Denver Auto Show - Winners are chosen from a field that includes every significant new car and truck introduced in the last year - Each eligible vehicle is evaluated and voted on by the members of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press - The 2015 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, America's most fuel-efficient pickup, earned a 29 mpg rating from the U.S.

2015 Ram ProMaster City Tradesman First Drive [w/video]

From the perspective of a reviewer, there's a refreshing clarity to be hand when approaching a vehicle like a small commercial van. Where the inherent value equation for most vehicles is composed of both objective facts (price, fuel economy), and subjective opinions (looks, emotional response while driving), the reckoning of something like the new Ram ProMaster City is more straightforward. The light commercial van segment in the US has seen a remodel over the last half-decade, moving from paneled-over minivans to the versatile, economical, European-style boxes on wheels you see with increasing frequency today. Ford, Nissan and Chevrolet are all players here (though Chevy's City Express is essentially a rebadged version of Nissan's NV200), and though Ram's entry could be seen as late to the party, it also matches up very nicely in many of those straightforward areas of measure. Kindly, Ram brought along both the Nissan and the Ford for us to test alongside its new product, so we could get firsthand comparative impressions. The 2015 ProMaster City is roomier, more powerful and more maneuverable than its competition, though it trades those advantages for a higher price and a thirstier engine around town. We headed down to Texas where, between breaks for tacos and Topo Chicos, our goal was to see if Ram had created the new best box van in the US. Based on the already successful Fiat Doblo van from Europe, the baby ProMaster's visual transformation after its continental hop isn't radical. Ram has fitted a crosshair grille, new headlights and taillights, but largely the curvaceous, nose-forward styling remains the same. As we mentioned at the top: style is going to be very low on this list of priorities for a buyer of light commercial vans. Still, we'd rate the City as mid-pack for the options in the US; more attractive than the Nissan/Chevy twins and less so than the crisp Ford Transit Connect. (Though the optional five-spoke wheels of our test vehicle make it seem downright sporty in this group). Open the driver's side door and slide into the almost totally flat front seat, and any notion of "style" goes right out the window. Surfaces are almost exclusively black and gray, with workaday textures and frustratingly easy-to-scratch-plastics. This is a functional space though; trays, cubbies, cupholders and bins are far more numerous than you'd expect from a compact, two-seat cabin.