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2020 Ram 1500 Laramie Southwest Edition is a true-blue Texas truck

American pickup builders love celebrating the Southwest, and Ram is taking its latest stab at the "Texans love trucks" trope with the 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie Southwest Edition.  This is essentially an appearance and popular equipment package. Outside, the truck gets a body-colored grille surround, bumpers and mirror caps. A restrained smattering of chrome accents rounds out the look, adding a touch of class without getting too glare-heavy.  Inside, it's essentially a Laramie. Standard equipment includes a 12-inch touchscreen with the latest Uconnect infotainment suite, a panoramic sunroof, remote tailgate release, rain-sensing wipers and an electric trailer brake controller.  “For nearly 20 years, Ram has recognized that Texas and AmericaÂ’s Southwest are the center of the truck universe,” said Mike Koval, Ad Interim Head of Ram Brand, FCA - North America. “Ram was the first manufacturer to offer a Texas-exclusive model, and the Lone Star edition remains our most popular truck in Texas. Our new Ram Laramie Southwest Edition adds the segmentÂ’s best combination of performance, capability, luxury and technology.” Ram says the Southwest Edition can be had with any of the Laramie's existing powertrain configurations, in both Quad- and Crew Cab bodies, and with both the 5'7" and 6'4" bed lengths. The starting price is $47,075 including destination.  The 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie Southwest Edition is a "Texas Edition" by another name, and will be sold exclusively in the Lone Star State and its immediate neighbors. Look for the first models to arrive in dealers in the coming months, as FCA will put it into production in the second quarter.  Featured Gallery 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie Southwest Edition RAM Truck

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.

Why the 2019 Ram HD Power Wagon still doesn't have a diesel

We were all pleased to see that the all-new 2019 Ram HD pickup truck was going to have an off-road Power Wagon variant again. In a world of high-speed, dune-busting off-roaders, the slower, trail-focused Power Wagon is refreshing. But we were surprised to see that, yet again, Ram wouldn't offer a Cummins diesel engine with it. It seems like such a perfect match with low-down torque and better fuel economy. So we asked Jim Morrison, the head of Ram, what's going on. As it turns out, there are a couple of reasons for only offering the gas engine. First is the fact that Ram can't fit the standard winch behind the bumper when the longer straight-six turbodiesel is in the truck. And since the Power Wagon has always had a winch, and it's a big part of the truck's image, that would be a non-negotiable. Another reason is that the big, heavy diesel engine requires slightly different suspension that has worse articulation than the setup for the gas model. That would also hamper the truck's off-road capability, and again would not be acceptable on the ultimate off-roading Ram. Of course this all left us wondering whether there might be a future one, and from what Morrison told us, it doesn't look like it. We asked him if there's demand for a diesel Power Wagon, and he said there's always a little bit, but there hasn't been enough to bring it to market. He also said that demand has actually decreased lately, and he attributed that to low fuel prices right now. So if you really want a compression-ignition Power Wagon, you'd better hope gas prices spike in the near-ish future. Related Video: