Laramie 5.7l 5.7l Smpi V8 Hemi Engine W/variable Valve Timing Black-out Tape on 2040-cars

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2017 Ram Power Wagon update adds menacing new look

The popular sentiment in the truck market is that if you really, really want off-road performance, you turn to the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. But Ram would like to remind everyone that it's no stranger to the hardcore, off-road pickup game, and that the 2500-based Power Wagon is here to stand up (and dwarf) the half-ton-based Raptor. The 2016 Power Wagon was heavy on the chrome, had an pretty ridiculous optional graphics package, and featured questionable red grille inserts (unless you got the work-truck-like Power Wagon Tradesman). To be frank, it was hard to take the truck seriously alongside something as purposeful looking as the Ford Raptor. Ram has addressed this for 2017 by replacing all the chrome with menacing black trim. The billet-silver Ram badge in the nose is the only piece of bright work, and goodness, it all works. Look at the two side-by-side: murdering out the new Rebel-inspired grille, rear bumper, mirror caps, wheel arches, 324-point-font tailgate badge, headlights, and wheels finally gives the Power Wagon the menacing, purposeful, and imposing appearance that it needs. But really, what we like best is that this Ram is all just two-tone now, instead of a handful of different shades. By offering decals in just black or silver, depending on which of the six body colors you choose, the 2017 Power Wagon is a less distracting and simply more cohesive design (or just skip the graphics pack all together – we would). Changes elsewhere are much more modest. You can black out the cabin headliner, and the dull fabric seats have been spiced up with inserts that ape the tread pattern of the standard Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac tires. It's a small touch, but it breaks up the otherwise depressing sea of black plastic. And as far as more luxurious options, there's no mention of a range-topping Power Wagon Laramie, although buyers on a budget will still be able to snag the entry level Power Wagon Tradesman. Perhaps most importantly, the bits that make the Power Wagon a Power Wagon are more or less unchanged. The 6.4-liter Hemi V8 still produces 410 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque and is still matched with a 66RFE six-speed automatic and a manually-shifted transfer case. It'll still tow 10,030 pounds, ford up to 30 inches of water, and has a standard 12,000-pound Warn winch at the front. In short, the 2017 Ram Power Wagon is still a monster, just a more fashionable monster.

Ram 1500 to get Pentastar V6 option in top-shelf models

Ram has seen such positive customer feedback from its 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and TorqueFlight eight-speed automatic transmission in the Ram 1500 that it's bringing the powertrain upmarket, and it's now going to be available in truck's Laramie trim level (Laramie Limited pictured above). The new choice means better fuel economy and lower pricing in one of the 1500's higher-end models.
A Ram 1500 Laramie Quad Cab 4x2 with the 3.6-liter Pentastar and eight-speed automatic will retail for $38,775, plus a $1,195 destination charge. It's a savings of over $1,000 over the trim's current starting price.
Ram says the decision to offer the V6 option was customer driven. "Today's V6 engine is a lot stronger than yesterday," said Nick Cappa of Ram Truck media relations to Autoblog. Cappa notes that dealers have reported buyers returning from test drives who can't believe there are only six cylinders operating underhood.

Ram wants 'your wickedest and most outrageous designs' for a truck — now

Car coloring book pages have been a handy distraction during quarantine, but Fiat Chrysler has a better idea: Make your own coloring book page and perhaps win accolades in the FCA Design Sketch Battle. The automaker runs an annual Drive for Design competition for U.S. high school students in grades 10-12, and has just opened a contest-within-a-contest that's open to anyone in the world. The brief is to sketch "your wickedest and most outrageous designs for a Ram truck." For all those times you've had an idea about a pickup and thought, "This is what [insert OEM] needs to make! If I could only get to the boss!," now is your chance to get to the boss. Post your sketch — or sketches — into the comments section of the contest on FCA's Facebook page, or upload the drawing(s) to Twitter and call out the automaker with @FiatChrysler_NA. Each drawing needs to have "FCADriveforDesign.com" written on it somewhere, and each social media post needs to be garnished with the hashtag #DriveforDesign.  The contest judges are Mark Gilles, Fiat Chrysler head of design, and Mark Trostle, head of design for Ram and Mopar. They've attempted to juice the creative brain with a punch to the prefrontal cortex called the RAMpage. Playing off the name of a car-based pickup from the go-go 1980s that lasted two years — about how long 2020 feels already — the RAMpage is a Ram 1500 hood and upper fascia, a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody lower front and body, a pickup bed, and it's accented with obligatory yellow splitter guards that have matured into a properly racy splitter. You can take the RAMpage as a cue that your drawing doesn't need to threaten the living with massive bulk and post-apocalyptic looks. Ricky Ryan Goimarac, one of the entries so far, made his own version of the RAMpage that looks pretty sexy. And with the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, ZR2 Bison, and Ford Ranger Raptor still not quite there for some people, why wouldn't a mid-size Dakota TRX be a good idea right now? Here's the crucial part: All entries need to be submitted today, April 9th, no later than 5 p.m. Eastern. So yeah, there's not much time, but ... quarantine. Tomorrow, April 10, Gilles and Trostle will post their favorites to Instagram. For all those design-focused high-schoolers, entries for the official Drive for Design contest are due by May 1, 2020. Related Video: