2022 Ram 2500 Longhorn Limited Megacab on 2040-cars

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Dongfeng and PSA extend Chinese joint venture

BEIJING/PARIS — China's Dongfeng and Peugeot maker PSA are extending their business cooperation, despite the Chinese company reducing its stake in PSA to help smooth the French carmaker's merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Dongfeng said on Thursday it had agreed with PSA to extend the duration of their joint venture Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobiles (DPCA). Under the deal, the venture could get the rights to PSA's new brands in China and will benefit from new technologies and intellectual properties, the Chinese company said. PSA was not immediately available for comment. The announcement comes a day after the companies said Dongfeng would reduce its 12.2% stake in PSA by selling 30.7 million shares to the French company. Analysts said the move could smooth U.S. regulatory approval for PSA's roughly $50 billion (GBP38.97 billion) merger with Italian-American carmaker FCA. The sale of Dongfeng's shares in PSA, worth around 680 million euros ($757 million), will leave the Chinese group holding around 4.5% of the merged PSA-FCA, which is set to become the world's fourth-biggest carmaker by sales volumes. "As the cooperation between Dongfeng and PSA deepens, we expect the joint venture to continue making good progress in China," a Dongfeng representative said. On a conference call, Dongfeng said DPCA would have exclusive rights to PSA's Opel cars should the partners agree to bring the brand to China, and enjoy lower prices on car parts imported from PSA. Earlier this year, a document seen by Reuters showed Dongfeng and PSA plan to cut jobs at Wuhan-based DPCA and reduce its number of car plants to try to make the venture more profitable. Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Peugeot China FCA PSA Dongfeng

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

Chrysler says its 8-speed transmissions will save 700 million gallons

Chrysler Group's TorqueFlite eight-speed transmission could be earning some serious green bragging rights if the company's projections are correct. The recently widely proliferated automatic gearbox, which is now in more than a million vehicles around the world, is poised to save drivers an estimated 700+ million gallons of fuel over the vehicles' lifetimes (an expected cost savings of $2.5 billion). In addition, Chrysler expects a reduction in CO2 emissions by more than six million metric tons. According to Chrysler, and depending on the vehicle, the TorqueFlite can improve fuel economy. The TorqueFlite autobox features particularly close ratios from fifth to eighth gear (see the press release below for the specific numbers), and uses low-viscosity fluid that doesn't need to be replaced. Transmission software adapts to the driving situation to optimize efficiency based on driver behavior, temperature, grade, stability control, and longitudinal and lateral acceleration. The TorqueFlite is capable of handling a variety of duties. As evidenced by the wide range of vehicles Chrysler Group has seen fit to equip with the eight-speed transmission, the TorqueFlite is capable of handling a variety of duties. Since its 2012 introduction, the TorqueFlite has gone from performing cog-swapping duties in Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 models equipped with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 to changing gears in vehicles such as the Pentastar- and Hemi-powered Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee and even the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. For the 2015 model year, the eight-speed is finding its way into even more vehicles with the addition of a third version. In addition to the American-made TorqueFlite 845RE and 8HP70, the new 8HP90 will be manufactured in Saarbrucken, Germany. The 8HP90 is designed for higher torque loads, making it ideal for high-performance vehicles like the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. The already-in-use 8HP70 will expand its duties to be used in 2015 Hemi models such as the Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Challenger SRT8. You can see the list of those benchmarks in Chrysler's press release below.