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Ram 1500 Classic rolls into 2021, celebrates becoming a teenager

CarsDirect crossed paths with a Ram dealer order guide revealing a 2021 Ram 1500 Classic. That news nugget means the fourth-generation Ram truck will get a third year on the market sold alongside the fifth-generation Ram 1500 that entered production for 2019. FCA didn't need more help being the undisputed king of successfully milking a platform (Challenger or Grand Caravan, anyone?), but a 13th year of what's now the Ram 1500 Classic puts local competition out of reach. This truck greeted the world for 2009, when Chrysler — then an unalloyed automaker owned by Cerberus — marched 115 head of cattle down a Detroit street in January to create a spectacle for what was to be the brand-new 2009 Dodge Ram. The order guide showed a $250 bump over the 2020MY pickup, for a total of $30,145 after a $1,695 destination charge to get into a Tradesman regular cab 4x2 powered by the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. That's the only change CarsDirect mentioned for the new year. The fifth-generation Ram 1500 in its base trim, a Tradesman Quad Cab 4x2, is $3,800 more expensive. However, it's important to note that there's a full line-up of Ram Classics. It's not just the stripper Tradesman model. You can't get the high-dollar Longhorn or Limited, but there's still the mid-grade Big Horn, leather-lined Laramie and the above-pictured Warlock, which is a sort of Rebel-lite model.  Some take the Classic's undying existence as a way for Ram to lure mid-size pickup buyers with the most inexpensive full-size pickup. It's possible, yet midsize buyers often don't want to deal with the size and bills that come with full-size trucks, never mind the higher MSRP. One size down, the 2021 Ram Classic costs roughly $1,500 more than a base Tacoma, $4,000 more than a Ford Ranger, and $7,000 more than a Chevrolet Canyon. Incentives this month can take as much as $6,250 off the Ram's price, but Ram isn't alone in putting money on the hood. Besides, the Ram Classic isn't a runaway price champ compared to other full-sizers. A 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 regular cab 4x2 starts at $30,095, and next year's Ford F-150 will start at $30,635 after destination. The Ram Classic makes more sense as a base-truck competitor for full-size competition, one that pays a lot more profit to FCA. And having the old guard on duty did help Ram outsell the Chevrolet Silverado last year. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Ram partners with Lucchese on a range of luxury boots

A few months ago, Ram announced a partnership with Michigan-based Wolverine boots on a range of work boots based on the Ram 1500 Tradesman, Rebel, and Limited trims. The number two full-size truckmaker so far this year in sales isn't finished with footwear, Ram announcing a range of dress boots in collaboration with Texas-based boot company Lucchese. There are five styles in total, three for men, two for women. Since these Western-themed cowboy specials are based on the $58,565 10th Anniversary Limited Longhorn Edition, which lives at the opposite end of the trim range to Tradesman, the Lucchese models can cost more than 10 times the Wolverines. Whereas the entry-level Wolverine Tradesman cost $229, the top-dog Lucchese men's Tooled Western Boot runs $2,495. That money gets luxury features and Lucchese's hand-worked processes that pass each boot through as many as 120 pairs of hands on the way to being finished. That $2,495 boot is made with a hand-tooled quarter, which is the shaft of the boot that runs up the leg above the ankle, and a giant gator vamp, the vamp being the lower portion of the boot that covers the foot. The men’s Caiman Horseman Boot includes a hand-cut inlay quarter and giant belly caiman vamp for $995. The menÂ’s Ostrich Horseman model wears a fancy stitch quarter and hand stained ostrich vamp for $745. The women's Giant Gator Western Boot is made with an inlayed quarter and a giant gator vamp for $1,395. The final model, the women's Horseman Boot, gets a side seam quarter and inlay with a goatskin vamp for $695. Each boot is also emblazoned with some kind of automaker logo which can include the word "Ram" or "Longhorn," or the Ram bighorn sheep logo. And if a Ram owner needs to get even more on-brand where the leather meets the ground, Ram sells a three-pack of branded socks for $25. Ryan Nagode, chief designer for Ram interiors, said this partnership can be traced back to a visit to Texas with his design team more than a decade ago. The group noted the creativity and attention to detail on the wares at boot and saddle shops, aspects that would increasingly make their way into Ram interiors as trucks got more luxurious from top to bottom. Closing the circle, Lucchese boot designer Trey Gilmore strove to re-create certain aspects of the 10th Anniversary Longhorn truck, like the Mountain Brown leather interior. The boots are available for pre-order now at the Lucchese site.

Researchers who busted VW cheating say FCA's diesels dirty, too

The Wall Street Journal today reported on an upcoming report from West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels Engines and Emissions, which is the same lab that investigated Volkswagen emissions cheating. The report, which will be released in a matter of weeks, alleges that 2014 and 2015 model year Jeep and Ram vehicles with diesel engines emit excess pollution. But it does not specify whether the company used defeat devices. Since the report discusses Jeep Grand Cherokees, and that engine is also available in the Ram 1500, it's safe to assume that one of the implicated engines is the EcoDiesel V6, a unit actually produced by VM Motori. It's unclear whether the report covers any of the Cummins engines used in heavier-duty Ram pickups. This report comes on the heels of a federal investigation into FCA's diesel vehicles. That investigation focused on the EcoDiesel engine used in 2014-2016 vehicles. The feds were seeking a fine of up to $4.6 billion. The EPA and the State of California also previously accused FCA of using a defeat device on the same vehicles back in January. FCA, for its part, alleges that the WVU study might have been commissioned by people interested in suing the company, and disputes the testing methodology, according to the WSJ. We've reached out to WVU to confirm which engines are implicated in its study and will update this post when we have more to share. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: The Wall Street JournalImage Credit: REUTERS/Gary Cameron Government/Legal Green Jeep RAM Diesel Vehicles ecodiesel