2015 Ram 1500 on 2040-cars

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2019 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn is here to satisfy your cowboy dreams

The new 2019 Ram 1500 made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show last week. At the reveal, Ram rolled out several variants, including the Ram 1500 Limited and Ram 1500 Rebel. That was just a taste, a brief bite to whet your truck-loving palate. As you can see in these spy photos, there are far, far more models to come. FCA just released details on the new Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn, and it looks to carry on its predecessor's Southwestern-inspired theme. The Laramie Longhorn can best be described as a Western ranch on wheels. The choice of colors, materials and details are there to bring about a sense of Texas-style luxury. Though the two-tone paint and LED headlights are nice, the real meat is inside the truck. It's easy to see why Ram calls out cowboy boots, pocket watches and horseman's saddles. Just take a look at the metal buckle on the back of the seat pockets. View 19 Photos The dashboard, door panels and armrests are done in full-grain leather. The center console, instrument cluster, seats and door panels are embossed with an alligator skin pattern. There are chrome and nickel accents throughout and a "Longhorn" emblem branded onto the wood on the dashboard. There's also wood on the doors and center console. There are two interior color options, both with contrasting piping: Mountain Brown/Light Mountain Brown and Black/Cattle Tan. Both are full leather. In addition to the optional two-tone paint, the Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn gets a chrome grille, bumpers and tow hooks. Side steps and wheel flares are standard. The standard wheel is a new 20-inch design, though a larger 22-inch wheel is available. The Texas theme continues outside with "belt-buckle badging" on the truck's side. All the rest of the 2019 Ram 1500 features are here, too, including 4G WiFi, a 12-inch touchscreen infotainment system, 5 USB ports and a center console large enough to bathe in. The Laramie Longhorn model should get Ram's tried and true 5.7-liter Hemi V8, now available with the eTorque mild-hybrid system. Pricing hasn't been announced, but expect to see a full breakdown soon. Related Video: Image Credit: Ram Design/Style RAM Truck Luxury Off-Road Vehicles

FCA and Cummins named in diesel emissions class-action lawsuit

Chrysler is now the first United States-based carmaker to be sued for allegedly skewing emissions results. In a move that sounds eerily similar to the troubles of European manufacturers, Chrysler is claimed to have hid diesel engine characteristics causing emissions as much as 14 times higher than permitted by regulations. According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit alleges that Chrysler, together with its diesel engine partner Cummins, has concealed the nitrogen oxide output of certain Ram vehicles produced between 2007 and 2012. The NOx pollutants were meant to be broken down in a process called regeneration in the truck's NAC system, or NOx Absorption Catalyst, which predated the 2013-introduced SCR, or Selective Catalytic Reduction system. By design, the NAC captures and stores NOx emissions, converting them to nitrogen and oxygen through a catalytic process. The lawsuit claims the Cummins engine's system has a limited capacity to store the emissions, and as a result the pollutants escape, increasing emissions, worsening fuel consumption and wearing down the catalytic converter. The later, cleaner SCR system uses a urea-water injection, and it gradually replaced the NAC on Cummins 6.7-liter engines, as it was first implemented in 2011 and made standard in 2013. As Bloomberg notes, the model years of Ram trucks involved in the lawsuit predate the earliest Volkswagen "Dieselgate" models by two years. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 500,000 truck owners, accuses Chrysler and Cummins of fraud, false advertising and racketeering. As an underlying motive, the filing mentions a 2001 change in EPA emissions standards. Announced to become effective in 2010, the EPA requirements drove Chrysler and Cummins to try and reach those already by 2007. However, the NAC system is said to have fallen short of these goals, and the filing claims that Chrysler and Cummins chose to "rig" the engines instead. The affected vehicles predate the 2014 merger of Chrysler and Fiat. FCA US has released a statement regarding the lawsuit, saying it will contest the lawsuit "vigorously". News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Getty Editorial Government/Legal Green Chrysler Dodge RAM Emissions Diesel Vehicles FCA cummins diesel

Ford F-450 claims best-in-class towing, company abandons practice of removing items to boost payload number

The ongoing heavy-duty truck battle between Ford and Ram is showing no signs of slowing down. The Blue Oval is trying to remove at least one point of contention between the two brands by testing its 2015 F-450 Super Duty using the Society of Automotive Engineers J2807 towing standard, which Ram also uses. In the new evaluation, the F-450 is rated at a max towing capacity of 31,200 pounds. That's an identical amount as under Ford's own, previous test.
"We leave no doubt with customers that the F-450 pickup truck has best-in-class towing of 31,200 pounds - whether tested using our own internal towing standards or SAE J2807," said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president for Global Product Development, in the company's release.
At the same time, Ford is also changing how it calculates the F-450's payload. Instead of using its minimum curb weight as before, the brand is now using the truck's base curb weight. The revision lowers the pickup's rating to 5,300 pounds, compared to 5,450 pounds previously. The company said in its announcement that the reason for this is "aligning its payload rating practices with other manufacturers to make it easier for customers to compare vehicles." General Motors made a similar switch for its pickups in August.