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Ram 700 by Fiat may be the small truck we've been waiting for

It seems like auto buyers throughout the whole world outside of the United States and Canada have a plethora of small pickups to choose from to fit their needs. In fact, there's one just south of the border that might be perfect for many American consumers - the 2015 Ram 700.
The little, front-wheel-drive pickup is a badge-engineered version of the Fiat Strada, which is also sold in Mexico. The powertrain is limited to a 1.6-liter four-cylinder making 115 horsepower and 119 pound-feet of torque with a five-speed manual gearbox. However, buyers can choose between either a two-door, two-passenger body or a three-door, four-person version (pictured above and right) that's also available with a locking front differential. While the 700 isn't big, the two-door version still offers a cargo capacity of up to 1,554 pounds, and opting for the three-door still allows for 1,433 pounds of goods.
Prices for these little trucks aren't bad either. The two-door is priced at 182,900 Mexican pesos ($13,576 at current rates), while 241,900 pesos ($17,955) gets customers the three-door.

Ram trucks set for export to Australia, New Zealand

Looking across the Pacific at Australia's car-based utes is always a little exciting because it's a glimpse at a land where models not unlike the classic Chevrolet El Camino survive. Now, the Aussies are about to see how the US builds big trucks thanks to a deal to import the Ram 2500 and 3500 into the country. This new market entry comes about thanks to a deal between Ram and the New Zealand importer of FCA products, and once across the ocean, the trucks are converted to right-hand drive. The automaker has "worked closely with our engineers to produce a vehicle that is as close to an official factory right-hand-drive vehicle as it can be without it having actually run down the factory production line," Clyde Campbell, co-owner of Fiat Chrysler New Zealand," said to Drive. The first batch of pickups is set to go on sale to Kiwis and Aussies in October, but further details about them aren't disclosed yet, including available powertrains and price. Drive estimates the Ram 3500 to retail for over 100,000 Australian dollars ($76,000). The trucks are being aimed at those with heavy loads to haul like industrial companies or people with large horse trailers. These might not be the last two Ram models to make it Down Under, either. According to Drive, the New Zealand importer is working to strike a similar deal to bring the Ram 1500 across the Pacific in the future.

Stellantis aims to eliminate separate inverter, charger to improve EV efficiency

Stellantis has announced that, in collaboration with French battery company Saft and French National Center for Scientific Research, has made significant progress in eliminating two major components of an electric vehicle powertrain: the on-board charger and the power inverter for the motor. The company claims that doing this will allow for better space use in vehicles, as well as improvements in efficiency, cost and reliability of components. As a quick primer, also explained in the below video, the on-board charger and power inverter are sort of translators to get the right current to different parts of the electric powertrain. The on-board charger takes AC power from the grid and converts it to DC to charge the batteries. Then when power goes from the batteries to the electric motor, the power inverter converts that DC power back to AC. These components aren't exactly small. Frequently you'll find them packaged somewhere under the hood. What Stellantis and its cohorts have developed, and have been using on a test vehicle since last summer, are small power inverter boards that can be mounted very closely to the battery packs. They can handle both conversion needs, for charging and discharging, instead of needing two separate devices. The most obvious perk to this is that you can do away with those traditional components and free up more space, either for making smaller vehicles without losing interior volume, or adding space to a vehicle that wouldn't have had it otherwise. There's the additional benefit of reduced weight, something that EVs struggle with. Stellantis also claims improvements in efficiency, reliability, and cost, however, it didn't go into detail as to how this setup would do that exactly. We'll try to get in touch with representatives from Stellantis in order to get more information. We're still a ways out from seeing this technology in production Stellantis vehicles. The company said it aims to apply it to vehicles by the end of the decade. Saft is also looking at using it on stationary battery systems as well. So maybe we'll see it on a 2029 Ram 1500 REV, but for now, we'll be living with traditional chargers and inverters. Related Video: Green Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Fiat RAM Technology Electric