14 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 Crew Cab Ac Seats Sunroof Tonneau Cover Hemi Navigation on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2017 Ram Model Year Preview and Updates

Launched as its own division in 2009, FCA's Ram Truck line has ridden the wave of post-recession growth with significant sales upticks throughout its brief, independent history (it was spun off from Dodge) within the Fiat Chrysler ranks. Although the 'new' news for 2017 is limited, Ram continues to focus on efficiency, with the Ram 1500 offering both a 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 and 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, achieving an estimated 29 and 25 miles per gallon highway, respectively. RAM 1500: All 1500s receive a list of revisions laden with value-added standard features. The most visible example is the recently launched Rebel, which receives more than its share of standard updates, including Uconnect 8.4 and media hub; automatic dual-zone temperature control; security alarm; remote start; rear backup camera and rear park assist. Newly announced at the Chicago Auto Show in February was the Copper Sport edition, built in limited volume and offering a host of 'custom' upgrades. The 1500 is sold in eleven different models. 2500/3500: Ram's Heavy Duty offerings include a new-for-2017 Power Wagon and an also-new 4X4 Off-road package, with the Power Wagon taking its design cues from the '79-'80 Macho Power Wagon. Announced at the Chicago Auto Show is a new Night package for the heavy duty lineup. Also for 2017, product planners have made the 6.4-liter HEMI standard on Laramie, Laramie Longhorn and Limited trims. PROMASTER CITY: Essentially unchanged, the compact commercial and passenger van has been updated for 2017 with brighter shifter illumination, rear door reflectors for better visibility when opened, and what is now best-in-class fuel economy.

Ram to go on a Rampage with new small pickup?

When people look back at today's automotive industry, what do you think they'll remember us for? The emergence of hybrids? Ever more expensive and exotic supercars? The dawn of the self-driving car? All likely scenarios, but so is the blurring of lines between one bodystyle and another, giving rise to hardtop convertible coupes and crossovers of every shape and size. But one bodystyle the North American auto industry has stayed largely away from in the past couple of decades is a car nose and chassis with a pickup bed.
It's a bodystyle immortalized by the Chevrolet El Camino, but with few exceptions, we haven't seen too many of these automotive platypuses in recent years on our turf. Subaru tried with the Baja and the low-volume Honda Ridgeline soldiers along largely unchanged, but the genre's biggest adherents are still Down Under, where ute versions of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon live. With a few other examples scattered to the four corners of the earth, that's really about it. But if these spy shots are anything to go by, it looks like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could be working to bring it back.
Spied undergoing testing in Michigan, what we appear to be looking at is a heavily disguised Fiat Strada being prepared - like the Fiat Ducato-based Ram ProMaster and the smaller Doblo-based ProMaster City - for Stateside duty as a Ram product. The Strada, for those unfamiliar, is a product of Fiat Automóveis in Brazil and is based on the Palio economy car. The nameplate has been around South America since 1996 and was originally designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro (long before Volkswagen monopolized his talents), and takes a more rugged approach in the form of the Strada Adventure.

Chrysler recalls AWD 300, Charger, Ram 1500 over ZF transmission

What do the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Ram 1500 all have in common? Yes, they're all Chrysler products, and two of them are based on the same platform. And we're sure you could find more similarities between them all, but the common trait we're looking at here is that, while they all come standard in rear-drive form, they're also available with all-wheel drive. And it's the transmission in those models that's the subject of the latest recall notice issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The output shaft on the eight-speed automatic transmission supplied by ZF to Chrysler for the AWD versions of the 300, Charger and Ram 1500 is apparently prone to fracture. That in the end could leave the vehicle without power and could, according to the NHTSA investigation, increase the chance of a crash. The vehicle could also roll away if even if left in Park without the handbrake applied.
That's why Chrysler is calling in 4,194 examples of those three models from the 2013 model year. Dealers will be responsible for inspecting the transmissions and, where necessary, replace the entire unit. See the full recall notice below for all the details.