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2019 Ram 1500 Warlock is priced right and revives a retro name

Few car companies have a history as rich and fun as Mopar, and few companies take advantage of it like Fiat Chrysler. Bringing back fantastic colors such as Sublime, or exciting models such as Power Wagon, FCA is an ace at retro vehicles. Well, it is most of the time. Then there are things like the 2019 Ram 1500 Warlock. But before we dig into the new one, we need to talk about the original, which was a trim introduced in 1976 on Dodge's old full-size truck. It was part of a line of pre-customized Dodges called "Adult Toys" ( we're not making that up). The Macho Power Wagon was one of them, and the modern Power Wagon's stripes come from that truck. The Warlock was likewise a pre-customized truck that came with gold pinstripes, wheels and upholstery, bucket seats and oak bed rails. It was also available with a six- or eight-cylinder engine and two- or four-wheel drive. The new Warlock does fit some of the original's spirit, since it's customized from the factory. It has a one-inch lift over the stock truck, powder-coated bumpers, fender flares, 20-inch wheels and decals aplenty. It's even available with six or eight cylinders and rear- or four-wheel drive. But our two main problems are that this doesn't look any different than other special Ram models, and nothing about it references the old Warlock. As for the first problem, we've seen all the parts and most of the stickers on this truck before, especially on the Rebel that has the same lights, grille, bumpers and fender flares. And for the second, this was a big missed opportunity to try out some cool retro touches, such as the gold wheels and pinstripes. A custom interior would have been especially nice. The new Warlock has just the plain "Diesel Gray" interior found on most basic Rams. And this is all without something unique like the original's wood bed rails. There is an upside to all of this, though, and it's that the Warlock offers truck buyers a way to get a new Rebel-style Ram for a lot less than the real thing. The Rebel trim no longer exists on the Ram 1500 Classic (what the Warlock is based on), and it starts at $46,635. The Warlock starts at just $37,040 with two-wheel drive and the standard V6. Buyers can also add a V8 and four-wheel drive as options. So the Warlock isn't a great Warlock, but it's a solid budget Rebel. Related Video:

Truckmakers squabbling over who can sell Jimmy Fallon a pickup

Snagging a celebrity endorsement is a big deal for automakers, as evidenced by the recent efforts of the Detroit Three to try and woo The Tonight Show's newest host, Jimmy Fallon, into one of their trucks.
After announcing during Wednesday night's show that he was in the market for a pickup truck, Fallon set off a firestorm of efforts on Twitter, with both Ford and Chevrolet petitioning the funnyman to test out a truck. According to Ad Age, Ford recommended the King Ranch edition of its next-generation F-150 while the show was still airing. Chevy, meanwhile, waited until the next morning to pitch a Silverado to Fallon.
The winner of this social media feeding frenzy, though, was Ram. Promoting a variation of its "Guts, Glory, Ram" tagline, the Auburn Hills-based manufacturer created the hashtag #GUTSGLORYFallon. It even went so far as to park a Ram 1500 outside 30 Rockefeller Center in New York, where The Tonight Show is filmed. On the back of the Ram sat a sign, reading "Big enough, Jimmy? Test it out," referencing a joke from the Wednesday show.

2019 Ram 1500 eTorque Drivers' Notes Review | Filling in the gaps

When the 2019 Ram 1500 debuted earlier this year at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, the biggest news was arguably the addition of the 48-volt mild hybrid system. Dubbed eTorque, the system is standard on V6-equipped models and a $1,450 option on trucks with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8. It's not a hybrid in the traditional sense. Despite Ram's claim that the system adds up to 130 pound-feet of torque on the V8, it only does so for a fraction of a second and doesn't actually change the engine's total output. You'd be hard pressed to notice a difference if you didn't know the system was there. But that's kind of the point. There's been a lot of confusion about what eTorque is and how the system works. Much of that falls on FCA's shoulders. The automaker didn't do a great job of explaining the whole thing, leaving us to work out much of it for ourselves. This isn't meant to boost performance, towing or payload. The Ram eTorque can't run on battery power, so don't expect a Toyota Prius with a bed and wood trim. It's here to make the truck just a little bit more efficient by improving areas where conventional internal-combustion engine's fall short. The eTorque system replaces the engine's alternator with a small, belt-driven electric motor. On the V6, the motor is part of the water pump assembly and driven by that belt; the V8 uses a dedicated belt that's separate from the other accessories. A small battery pack is mounted upright behind the rear seats inside the truck's cabin. There's also a DC-to-DC converter to charge the battery and convert 48 volts down to 12 to power the truck's normal systems. Visually, the only difference between an eTorque-equipped model and a standard one is a small metal box at the top of the engine. There's no badging and the battery pack can't be seen, even with the rear seats folded up. The system is designed to be as seamless and innocuous as possible. The auto start/stop system spins up the engine a little quicker. Shifts from the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission are a little smoother as the eTorque system smooths out and fills in the gaps. It does so for a fraction of a second, but it works its magic often. Big gains in fuel economy have already been made. It's going to take things like Ram's eTorque system to improve internal combustion engines from here on out. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: I'd like to say I noticed a huge difference between the Ram eTorque and the regular Ram, but I didn't. That's how it's supposed to work.