2025 Ram 1500 Big Horn/lone Star on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2021 Ram 1500 TRX Suspension Deep Dive | Underbelly of the beast

I think we can all agree that we have been waiting for a gonzo full-size truck like the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX for a long time. After all, it has been over a decade since the Ford F-150 Raptor came out, and it was such an immediate hit that I expected its direct competitors to respond much sooner than this. We all knew something was finally brewing in 2016, when the TRX concept was unveiled at the Texas State Fair. I was there, and was among the many who gave the assembled Ram higher-ups an enthusiastic thumbs-up. That’s what they were hoping to see before they greenlit the project. The pace of development being what it is, and with the redesigned, current-generation Ram 1500 a prerequisite that understandably had to come first, itÂ’s no surprise that weÂ’re only seeing it now as a 2021 model. You may be biting your tongue that I overlooked the Tundra TRD Pro or the Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss, but neither of those comes close to following the formula established by the Raptor: big engine, a much wider stance than the base truck, greatly enhanced suspension travel, huge tires and swollen fenders to cover it all. Only the Raptor and the TRX fit that mold. For now.   Before I got started, I first pointed the TRX up my RTI ramp and measured its Flex Index score. Please excuse the shaded nose; the truck ran farther up than IÂ’d guessed and literally drove out of the picture. But something in my subconscious warned me to keep the garage door open, which was fortuitous because the nose of the Ram ended up inside. The TRX hiked its front wheel 29 and 7/8 inches off the ground before the left rear tire reached the point of lift-off, and that equates to a climb of 87.4 inches up the deck of my ramp. Divide that by the TRXÂ’s wheelbase of 145.1 inches, multiply by 1,000, and you arrive at a Flex Index score of 602 points. It could have been a few points higher, I think, if I could have straightened out the steering a bit better. But the high-grip cheese grater surface of my ramp was firmly dug in and having none of it. This is an extremely good score for a full-size crew cab pickup. LetÂ’s take a closer look at what made that possible.   The track width of the TRXÂ’s double wishbone front-suspension is a full 6 inches broader than a regular Ram 1500, and you are looking at the parts that are responsible. The lower wishbone (yellow arrow), the upper control arm (green) and the steering knuckle (red) conspire to add 3 inches per side to the TRXÂ’s stance.

2019 Ram 1500 features an updated Ram's head badge

Full-size truck owners love to make a statement. That's how we've arrived at the mile-high grilles, acres of chrome and belt buckle-esque badging you'll find on trucks like the Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150 and Nissan Titan. The new 2019 Ram 1500 made its debut this week at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. While the sheetmetal and grille are the most obvious visual changes, the ram's head badge quietly got a modern redesign. At first glance, it appears to be the same badge that's graced Dodge and Ram vehicles for decades. Look closely and you'll see that this new one is all squared off, ditching all the curves for straight edges. It looks chiseled rather than carved and is a far cry from the detailed Ram's head that made a debut back in 1981. It also incorporates the new "RAM" lettering that replaced the crosshair in the truck's grille. View 4 Photos Little things like this do a lot to keep a vehicle fresh. Dodge seems to be the only automaker capable of changing logos anymore. Ford and Chevy are stuck with the blue oval and bowtie, so why not take advantage of a newer nameplate? Related Video: Image Credit: FCA Design/Style Dodge RAM Truck

FCA is setting a five-year strategy: Here's how the last one played out

We're slightly more than four years removed from Sergio Marchionne last five-year plan for FCA, a tell-all where the Italian-American automaker divulged its plans for the 2014 through 2018 model years. It was a grand affair, where Sergio told FCA investors that all was right in Auburn Hills, Alfa Romeo and Maserati were making comebacks, and the fifth-gen Dodge Viper received a mid-cycle refresh. You can read every last one of those past predictions right here. We're on our way to Europe to see Sergio's sequel, coming out Friday straight from FCA's Italian headquarters. (Bloomberg reports a plan to expand Jeep and Ram globally, combine Alfa Romeo and Maserati into a single division for an eventual spinoff, and downsizing Fiat and Chrysler. Also, EVs.) But before we arrive in Italy and find out exactly what Marchionne has planned for 2019 through 2023 as his last act as CEO, let's take a minute to tally up the results of his last term based on the same scoresheet we used in 2014. Now, we're only five months into 2018, so much of this — including vehicles like the Ram HD and Jeep Grand Wagoneer — could still debut this year. For those, we'll mark things TBD. We're not going to draw any conclusions or make any objectionable remarks. We're simply going to let the stats speak for themselves.