2018 Ram 2500 Slt on 2040-cars

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Autoblog Podcast #523 | BMWs, Trackhawk and Mazda's new engine technology

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale. We discuss a couple of BMWs, the upcoming BMW X7 three-row SUV and our short-term BMW M760i with a turbocharged, 600-horsepower V12. We also cover the week's news, including Mazda's nifty engine technology it will roll out in the next few years, as well as pricing on the new Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast@autoblog.com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #523The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Topics and stories we mention Rundown BMW X7 Spy Shots Volkswagen Passat GT Mazda's future engine technology Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Pricing BMW M760i driving Ram 2500 driving Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes

FCA announces the winners of its Design Sketch Battle contest

Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) designers Ralph Gilles and Mark Trostle announced the winner of the first Design Sketch Battle on their respective Instagram accounts. The 24-hour contest invited designers and enthusiasts from all over the world to submit their "wickedest and most outrageous designs for a Ram truck." Participants flooded the company's various social media accounts with creative submissions that did not disappoint. Ralph Gilles, FCA's head of design, selected submissions sent by Paul Piliste, Rezo Lomaia, Michael Stanfel, Morten Rabiee, and Joshua Reese. The sketches he selected all put a decidedly futuristic spin on Ram's design language, and one is a tribute to the original Power Wagon introduced in 1946. They embrace the company's rugged side with oversized wheels and ground clearance measured in feet, not inches. Don't look for street-oriented, low-to-the-ground performance -— like Gilles' own Tomahawk GTR sketch from 1995 — here. We've embedded his winners below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Mark Trostle, the head of design for Ram and Mopar, published his top picks an hour after Gilles. He selected work by Bryan Johnson, Robin Mathew, Ricky Ryan Goimarac, Jon Sibal, and Sean Smith. His attention gravitated towards futuristic designs, too, but he channeled his inner hot-rodder by choosing what looks like a slammed quad-cab Ram with a front fascia and fender flares from a wide-body Challenger. His fifth pick is one we'd love to see in showrooms: it blends retro-inspired and modern styling cues in a street-oriented high-performance package. His winners are embedded below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In the world of Lego, designers can compete for the chance to add their one-off creation to the company's catalog of current and classic cars. We don't know if FCA will give the Design Sketch Battle winners the same distinction. In the meantime, Gilles and Trostle both said they'd post more stand-out designs on Instagram over the weekend. Spoiler alert: Someone Photoshopped a Ram 1500 Rebel grille onto a Tesla Cybertruck. You've been warned. Related Video:

Fiat previews new Toro sport-utility pickup

Fiat is preparing to roll out a new midsize pickup. We've seen spy shots of the prototype running around, but heavily camouflaged as it was, we didn't get much indication of what it would look like – and even less about its name. But now the Italian automaker has given us an indication of both. Previewed in the teaser image above is the forthcoming new Fiat Toro. The vehicle is billed as a "sport-utility pickup," which Fiat touts as a new segment, though there are already plenty of vehicles out there that aim to blur the line between pickup and SUV. Models like the Honda Ridgeline and Chevy Avalanche come to mind, but the Toro is likely to be smaller than either – more like the long-gone Ford Explorer Sport Trac that bridged the gap between the old truck-based Explorer and the Ranger pickup or the Subaru Baja. Whatever it ultimately looks like, the Toro will be limited – at least initially – to the Latin American market. There it's set to be introduced early next year by Fiat Automoveis Brasil, which also offers the Strada pickup car. Whether the Toro ever makes it out into other markets remains to be seen, but we wouldn't hold out too much hope of getting a Ram version this far north as Chrysler doesn't think there's a market for compact or mid-size pickups in America to replace the old Dakota. Related Video: