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Ram boosts Heavy Duty truck claims for 2015 [w/video]

The heavy-duty truck segment boasts some of the tightest competition of any automotive niche in the US. Being able to tout just one best-in-class figure can be a marketing advantage over competitors, and Ram Trucks is adding one more accolade to its tally with a powertrain update for the 2015 Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty pickups. Ram now claims best-in-class ratings for torque, towing and payload, depending on configuration.
The major change comes for the 3500 HD with a boost in torque for its Cummins 6.7-liter, inline-six diesel engine. It now produces a meaty 865 pound-feet of twist, a boost of 15 lb-ft, which is the best figure in its segment, according to the company. To eek out the extra power, the mill has more aggressive fuel delivery, and the turbo has been recalibrated. Of course, more grunt would be meaningless if drivers couldn't do anything with it, and the tweaks help allow payload to grow to 7,390 pounds, up from a rating of 7,320 pounds last year. The max towing rating remains unchanged at 30,000 pounds, though.
The rest of the powertrain lineup carries over from last year. The base HD mill is the gasoline-fed 5.7-liter V8 with 383 hp and 400 lb-ft and a six-speed automatic. The next step up is a 6.4-liter V8 with 410 hp and 429 lb-ft. There are also three trims of the 6.7-liter Cummins diesel starting with 350 hp and 660 lb-ft with a six-speed manual gearbox. If buyers opt for a the 68RFE six-speed auto, they get 370 hp and 800 lb-ft. Finally, there's the updated, top-rung version with 385 hp and 865 lb-ft with an Aisin six-speed automatic transmission.

Ram 1500 Rebel OTG concept shows up in a patent filing

Stellantis filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on April 12, initially found by Car and Driver, in the generic category "Automobile Body." But the images within portray a specific vehicle: The 2020 Ram Rebel 1500 Off the Grid (OTG) concept from the 2019 SEMA show. That concept dipped a regular old Ram in a vat of Mopar and third-party accessories, the result a rig built for bugging out. Off-the-shelf and custom Mopar gear included a larger grille with flow-through RAM lettering, a steel front bumper with integrated off-road lights, a high-rise snorkel, side steps doubling as rock rails, a two-inch lift kit, and fender flares over beadlock wheels wrapped in 35-inch Goodyear meat. The Ram Power Wagon donated its 10,000-pound Warn winch, the Ram Tradesman donated its rear bumper for a better departure angle and vinyl interior flooring. This could be considered the base form of the truck, and it's what the patent drawings illustrate — a rig Stellantis could put on a dealer floor in 48 hours. The third-party accessories are missing. On the concept, those were a Yakima rooftop basket and utility rack with more LED lighting, a rooftop tent, awning, and solar array, and a bed-mounted slide-out cooking area and cooler from Dometic. With factory-built hardcore off-roaders even more popular than they were in 2019, the question is whether Ram plans to throw a Rebel-based hat in the ring. Muscle Cars & Trucks wonders if Ram is considering dividing its performance truck lineup into a big-bore go-fast TRX side challenging pickups like the Ford F-150 Raptor and a hardcore expedition side taking on pickups like the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2. The concept Rebel OTG was powered by the 3.0-liter V6 EcoDiesel with 260 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque, which would be another big differentiator on a showroom floor. Or, as C/D muses, this could be a template for a Mopar special edition, something Ram can test the waters with before committing. Or, as with so many other patents, it could be nothing. If nothing else, it's nice to see Ram still thinking about it. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Dodge, Ram, Jeep — Stellantis — dumped a ton of news: Here's a roundup

Stellantis hit us with an absolute deluge of information regarding its future electric vehicle plans Thursday, including a roadmap for each of its brands to reach a goal of making electrified vehicles 80% of the company's total global volume by 2030. We'll hit all of the highlights here, with an emphasis on those that matter most to the U.S. marketplace.  Stellantis previews 4 electric platforms: Here's how they'll be used This is the method behind the rest of Thursday's madness. Eventually, Stellantis will migrate its electrified vehicles onto one of these core platforms based around a new common EV powertrain architecture.    Dodge will launch the 'world's first electric muscle car' in 2024 It looks like Dodge will invoke its 60s heritage (peep the illuminated "Fratzog" on the nose) for a new, all-electric muscle car. Based on the STLA Large platform, it's projected to have a 0-to-60 time as low as 2 seconds and a range of up to 500 miles. The automaker also hinted at a maximum power output of as high as 886 horsepower courtesy of a pair of 330-kilowatt electric motors.   Jeep will have 4xe plug-in hybrid models across the lineup by 2025 The iconic 4x4 brand will have a plug-in hybrid variant of every model by 2025. The U.S.-market Compass 4xe is expected to debut this summer, and the Wagoneer 4xe has already been announced. The Grand Cherokee 4xe will be shown at the New York International Auto Show in August.    Fully electric Ram 1500 will begin production in 2024 You didn't think the Ford F-150 Lightning would get the space all to itself, did you? Ram says it will have an electrified Ram 1500 on the market soon. Will it be fast enough to beat GM?   Stellantis teases mystery electric Chrysler concept This one's a genuine puzzler. We've reached out to Chrysler for details, but for now, all we know is that this all-electric concept appears production-friendly and will ostensibly ride on the same STLA Large platform as the Dodge muscle car.    Opel Manta E will be the electric revival of the classic German coupe We'll forgive you if you'd forgotten that Opel was now part of Stellantis, and with new ownership comes new opportunity. The company revived the Manta nameplate as a high-riding coupe/hatchback concept.   Fiat says all Abarth models to be electric from 2024 This likely won't matter much in the U.S. market, where the 500X will soon be the only vehicle it sells, but Fiat's performance division is going all-electric.