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Angry teen drives Ram pickup into Walmart after argument with girlfriend

Caleb Wilson, a 19-year-old from Eldoarado, Texas, went shopping with his 18-year-old girlfriend at the Walmart in San Angelo, Texas, just after midnight Thursday morning. Wilson and his girlfriend apparently got into an argument that they carried into the parking lot after leaving the store. A female bystander, concerned for the girlfriend, went outside and convinced the girl to go back into the Walmart. Wilson waited in his 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup just outside the store. When the woman and the girlfriend went outside a little later to see if Wilson had left, Wilson hit the gas and drove into the Walmart, trying to run the two women over. Just as police arrived, Wilson turned his truck around and sped out. He crossed the parking lot, colliding with a parked, unoccupied Toyota Camry, and finally came to a stop at a Murphy USA gas station at the edge of the lot. Police noticed fuel leaking from the Ram, and another bystander noticed sparks from something dragging along the asphalt. Police got Wilson out of the truck, after which he briefly resisted arrest, then took Wilson to the hospital for mental health evaluation, where he remains. Police believe he was under the influence of an intoxicant. Incredibly, neither the women nor any of the store's customers were hurt. That wasn't for lack of trying on Wilson's part, though - the teenager rammed his way past the bakery, produce, frozen food and canned veggies sections before finally reaching the cereal aisle. One shopper said she heard screaming and was sure there was a gunman in the store, before realizing it was a man in a vehicle. Wilson stopped two aisles away from where the shopper hid. Another customer said Wilson spent several minutes burning rubber inside the store, as store employees helped customers hide and get out. Security cameras caught the rampage, and San Angelo police estimate he did $500,000 in damage. Wilson has been charged with suspicion of first degree felony criminal mischief and two counts of aggravated assault with deadly weapon. Repair crews worked overnight to fix the damage. After "an employee pep talk," the Walmart opened again at 9:30 am. Related Video: News Source: Go San Angelo Auto News Weird Car News Dodge RAM Truck Videos dodge ram 2500

Ram wants its midsize truck situation 'fixed soon'

The rumors of a midsize Ram pickup are like a metronome — sometimes in motion, sometimes dead. This week the rumor is alive, so reports Automotive News. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley admitted during an earnings call that the lack of a mid-sizer is "a clear hole in our portfolio," and that the Ram product development team is "focused on it." Puzzling that out means finding "a cost-effective platform in a region where we can build it with low cost and it still being applicable in the market." But he wants a solution found soon. During the product roadmap presentation FCA made in June last year, late CEO Sergio Marchionne said the middling pickup would be built in Mexico. That tidbit came after years of Marchionne saying the brand would get in the segment, only to have the idea shot down by Ram bosses. At the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, a year after the midsize Dodge Dakota went off the market, Marchionne said the brand would reinstate a new-generation Dakota, with a better-than-50% chance it would be unibody. In 2013, then-Ram president Reid Bigland said the chances were tiny because the numbers didn't add up. The two men got on the same page, in favor of, in 2014. In March 2016, Marchionne said, "I like that space a lot," and "It's a good space to be in." Exactly one month later, then-Ram CEO Bog Hegbloom said the idea was dead because he couldn't make a business case for it. Come early 2018, even Marchionne had joined the naysayers. He told Automobile, "We did not think it was necessary to re-enter that market after our last experience." The snag was, and remains, that a smaller truck has "a cost structure very similar to our Ram 1500. We have not found an economic way to get this done." Four months later, there's a midsize pickup on the product roadmap. Then, at this year's New York Auto Show, Ram Trucks boss Jim Morrison told us Ram had no plans yet for a smaller pickup, although the division continues to look at its options. Last September an Automotive News report forecast the truck to be built in Toledo alongside the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator pickup. When Car and Driver asked for clarification about Toledo or Mexico, FCA pointed to Marchionne's comments referring to Mexico. It appears that's the angle Manley and his team are still trying to make work. The Saltillo, Mexico, assembly plant now builds Ram's heavy-duty trucks, but observers expect HD production to move to the U.S. to make room for the smaller pickup.

Chrysler recalling 31k SUVs and vans

Chrysler is issuing recalls covering roughly 31,700 vehicles worldwide due to two separate problems. In both cases the company believes that most of the affected vehicles are either still on, or in transit to, dealer lots.
One recall covers roughly 10,700 Dodge Durango, Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SRT models from the 2014 model year built between January 16 and April 17, 2014. The SUVs need a software update for the cruise control. It's possible that when the cruise is on and the driver presses on the throttle, the acceleration could last a second after the pedal is released or two seconds for the SRT. Afterward, they return to the speed originally set by the driver.
Chrysler says it isn't aware of any accidents, injuries or even reported incidents of this happening in the real world. Also, in all cases, if the driver presses on the brake, the cruise shuts off. The automaker believes that there are about 6,100 affected SUVs in the US, 950 in Canada, 425 in Mexico and 3,200 outside of North America. The software upgrade will be ready shortly, the company says.