2023 Ram 1500 Laramie on 2040-cars

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Ram 'Built to Serve' special editions honor five U.S. military branches

Ram has just announced a series of special-edition trucks that honor the five branches of the U.S. military and the roughly 7% of Americans who currently serve or are veterans. Called the "Built to Serve" editions, five trucks released over the next year will come in exclusive liveries and offer exclusive options to commemorate the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Available on every bodystyle and powertrain, a Built to Serve package will add $2,795 to the price. Ram hasn't said which branch the first truck honors, but that pickup will debut tonight — Wednesday, Nov. 6 — at the “Stars and Strings” concert at the Fox Theater in Detroit.  Each of the five comes in one of two special colors chosen to "evoke the spirit, the mission and history of that service," and a limited build number. The colors and quantities are: Gator (1,000) and Diamond Black (1,000) Ceramic Gray (1,000) and Patriot Blue (1,000) Anvil (1,000) and Billet Silver (1,000) Tank (1,000) and Flame Red (1,000) Spitfire (500) and Bright White (500) The interiors are set off with contrasting stitching in either Light Frost, Light Ambassador Blue, Light Diesel Gray, Core Green, or Orange. Built to Serve trucks will be known by their U.S. flag and edition decals on the rear quarter panels. Cosmetic upgrades for all five versions include an all-black grille and surround, black badging, side steps, black four-inch exhaust tips, body-colored wheel arch trim, and 20-inch wheels finished in Technical Gray. The option price adds the Off-Road Group, normally a $795 extra, including features like four underbody skid plates, electronic-locking rear axle, off-road shocks, tow hooks, and all-terrain tires.  Special features in the cabin come in the Black Onyx Chrome trim, Velcro panels on the front and sides of the front seats for service patches, PALS/MOLLE webbing to hang pouches on the front seatbacks, lockable front center tunnel storage, all-weather floor mats, and an instrument panel badge. Ram will use the trucks to help bring more attention to an initiative the automaker has run since 2015, also called Built to Serve, that works to organize grassroots volunteer efforts. Between now and Veteran's Day on Nov. 11, 2020, the Built to Serve program wants to log 1.3 million volunteer hours. That figure represents one hour for each active member of the five services.

FCA Drive for Design Ram truck contest winners chosen

Last month, Fiat Chrysler held a 24-hour sketch battle open to anyone in the world willing to design the "wickedest and most outrageous" version of a Ram truck. That flash contest was a sideshow to the main event, FCA's annual Drive for Design competition open to high schoolers in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades who were this year asked to design a Ram pickup for the future. The automaker's design team judged the entries, led by Ram Truck and Mopar Exterior Design boss Mark Trostle, with outside input from Detroit sculptor Josh Welton. The contest closed on May 1, and the winners have been decided: Job Skandera, a 12th grader from Santa Clara, California took first place with his Ram Magma; Vincent Piaskowski, an 11th grader from Birmingham, Michigan (home of Autoblog's headquarters) earned second place with an electric Ram; third place went to the Ram 1500 Series A by 11th grader Alex David Kirschmann from Auburn Hills, Michigan. Kirschmann clearly has a knack for this since he earned second place in last year's Drive for Design competition. The Ram Magma's name is suggested by the translucent polycarbonate windows that forego traditional tinting for a crystalline red privacy sheen "inspired by volcanic igneous rock." The Magma also showcases multiple light bars stretched across the roof, a UV water purifier system between the cab and bed, and a stove embedded into the tailgate. Thankfully, the feature set includes an adjustable suspension that lowers the cab to mortal levels of ingress. The electric Ram protects its extremities with a lightweight graphene hardcoat, offers side storage outside the bed, more storage under the bed floor, a heavy duty power station tucked into the bed wall, and the sandwiched tailgate can form a two-tier shelf system for organization on the job site. That tailgate gives us some real ideas. The 1500 Series A is Judge Dredd's truck when he leaves his Lawmaster motorcycle at the office. The RamBox storage compartments and retractable tonneau cover would represent sentimental historical touches when he's running errands — and moving everyone out of his way — in Mega-City One. Due to social distancing, the traditional awards ceremony and visit to FCA design HQ to talk with team members had to be canceled.

2019 Ram 1500 aces IIHS crash tests

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has finally performed crash tests on the completely redesigned 2019 Ram 1500 pickup truck, and it's mostly great news for the Ram. The Crew Cab earned the highest "Good" rating in all six crash tests. Impressively, that includes both the driver and passenger small overlap tests, which has been a rare feat. It's also the first truck to get a rating in that passenger-side test, thus is also the only truck with a "Good" rating for the crash type. The 2019 Ram also marks a major improvement over the previous-generation Ram, which only scored the second-lowest rating of "Marginal" in the driver small overlap test. The passenger side wasn't tested. The old Ram also only had a "Marginal" roof strength rating. In addition to having great crash test results, the Ram 1500 also earned the best possible rating for its optional forward collision prevention technology. It was capable of bringing the truck to a complete stop, avoiding a collision at speeds up to 25 mph. The Ram's only weak point was its headlights, which were rated "Marginal" at best. Because of the headlight performance, the IIHS didn't give it a Top Safety Pick award. This is a weak point for most trucks, as the only ones with headlight ratings above "Marginal" are the Honda Ridgeline and the 2018 GMC Sierra. The Ridgeline is also the only pickup tested by the organization to receive the Top Safety Pick award. With that being said, both the 2019 Ram 1500 as well as the 2018 Ford F-150 should qualify for the Top Safety Pick award if headlight performance improves. Note that the collision prevention and headlight ratings also apply to the Ram 1500 Quad Cab, but that the crash ratings do not. It's likely the IIHS will test that in the future. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.