2014 Ram 2500 Tradesman on 2040-cars

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2020 Ram EcoDiesel gets a price, will be a $4,995 option

Ram just officially announced pricing for the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel pickup truck. The cheapest diesel you’ll be able to buy starts at $38,585, including the $1,695 destination charge. That price gets you the Tradesman Quad Cab with rear-wheel drive. As a standalone option, the engine is listed at $4,995, which makes it the priciest engine on the Ram 1500Â’s list of powertrains. The next most expensive engine is the 5.7-liter V8 eTorque powertrain, which lists for $2,645 on RamÂ’s 2019 configurator. YouÂ’ll be able to get the EcoDiesel engine on any trim, including the Ram Rebel — this marks the first time that the Rebel is offered with a diesel option. The base price of only $38,585 on the Tradesman trim makes it the cheapest diesel option of the bunch, with both FordÂ’s and ChevyÂ’s diesel engines coming in at higher trims and higher prices. FordÂ’s F-150 Power Stroke starts at $46,255, and the Silverado Duramax comes in at $42,385. Step up to comparable trim levels in the Ram, and things get more competitive. However, if you want the cheapest diesel out there, the Ram is your best bet. What youÂ’re getting is a 260-horsepower 480-pound-foot 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 engine. The max towing capacity is also the highest among the three at 12,560 pounds. You can pair rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive with the engine.  WeÂ’re still waiting on EPA fuel economy figures, but itÂ’ll be difficult to beat the Chevy Duramax in this area. That truck is capable of 33 mpg on the highway, while the F-150 can hit 30 mpg in its most fuel-efficient trim. Chevy says it gave a little bit up in towing to hit that spectacular figure, so weÂ’ll be curious to see what the towing king of the segment will be able to muster. Ram says the numbers will be available when the truck goes on sale early in the fourth quarter this year. Until then, the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic is available with the previous-generation EcoDiesel engine, and it can be had for $40,835.

SEMA 2017 and the new Jeep Wrangler | Autoblog Video Podcast #532

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Reese Counts. We'll talk about the news and hot, modified cars from the 2017 SEMA show in Las Vegas. We'll discuss the new Jeep Wrangler, which was just reveal ahead of the L.A. Auto Show, and the Ram 1500 we have in our fleet. As always, we'll help a listener pick their next vehicle in our "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #532 Your browser does not support the audio element. Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown SEMA Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn Southfork Question of the week: What's the best full-size truck? Best cars from Stranger Things Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Aftermarket Podcasts SEMA Show Jeep RAM Truck SUV Off-Road Vehicles Videos SEMA 2017

Stellantis axed the SRT engineer team, but performance isn't going away

Stellantis has broken up the Street & Racing Technology (SRT) engineering team that created over a dozen high-performance vehicles, including the Dodge Charger Hellcat, but the situation isn't as dire as it sounds. The newly-formed company assigned SRT's former engineers to different positions, where they'll continue to make hot rods. "All of the core elements of the SRT performance engineering team have been integrated into our company's global engineering organization," a spokeswoman told enthusiast website Mopar Insiders. She added that integrating SRT's personnel into other brands in the Stellantis portfolio will ensure that the lessons learned from decades of peddling speed will permeate other products. Previously, SRT operated with a high degree of independence. Don't get too excited. Her statement does not necessarily mean that Citroen will begin building cars powered by the Hellcat engine, though a C3 Chat D'enfer sounds absolutely epic. Technology transfer will likely be limited to fields like aerodynamics and thermal management, and the design department might learn a couple of neat new tricks. Dodge will still move forward with the development of its next SRT-branded cars; the decision to dissolve the SRT team will not affect future models, according to the spokeswoman. Whether they'll be powered by a V8 is up in the air, because company boss Tim Kuniskis warned that regulations are killing the eight-cylinder engine. Similarly, Jeep will continue designing high-performance models, like the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. What changes is that the model will be developed and designed by a group of engineers and designers from Jeep, not from SRT. SRT is dead, but performance isn't going away. SRT's demise nonetheless marks the end of an era for Chrysler. The division traces its roots to 1989, when some of the company's brightest minds were brought together to develop the first-generation Dodge Viper. It merged with Team Prowler to form the Specialty Vehicle Engineering (SVE) group, which was renamed Performance Vehicle Operations (PVO) in 2002 and finally dubbed SRT in 2004. SRT has operated as the carmaker's in-house tuner since, its resume includes a diverse selection of cars ranging from the Neon SRT-4 to the 1500 TRX, and it was promoted to a standalone brand led by designer Ralph Gilles in 2011. Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) axed the SRT brand in 2014 but kept the name and the development team. Related video: