2012 Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab Laramie Diesel 4x4 Navigation Sunroof Black on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Kia leads J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for 2022

For the first year ever, Kia leads J.D. Power's annual Vehicle Dependability Study with a score of 145 problems per 100 vehicles. Buick (147) and Hyundai (148) round out the top three. The highest premium brand on the list is Genesis, with a score of 148. It's common for so-called "mass market" brands to lead this particular study, according to J.D. Power, as "premium" brands "typically incorporate more technology in their vehicles, which increases the likelihood for problems to occur" and aren't necessarily built to a higher standard that less-expensive brands. The highest-rated single nameplate is the Porsche 911. It's the third time out of the past four years and the second year in a row that Porsche's quintessential sports car has taken top honors. Porsche as a brand sits in seventh place (162) just behind Lexus (159) and ahead of Dodge (166). At the very bottom of the list is Land Rover with a dismal score of 284; the SUV specialist held the same unfortunate distinction on last year's list. Ram (266), Volvo (256), Alfa Romeo (245) and Acura (244) also performed poorly. The overall industry average score sits at 192 — mass market brands average a score of 190 while premium brands sit 14 points lower at 204. While Tesla is unofficially included in some of J.D. Power's results, the agency says the sample size it has access to for this study is too small to include. As has been the case for the past several years, infotainment systems dominate the list of problems reported by owners. Popular (or unpopular, depending on your point of view) complaints include built-in voice recognition (8.3 PP100), Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity (5.4 PP100), built-in Bluetooth system (4.5 PP100), not enough power plugs/USB ports (4.2 PP100), navigation systems difficult to understand/use (3.7 PP100), touchscreen/display screen (3.6 PP100), and navigation system inaccurate/outdated map (3.6 PP100). While problems with the car's infotainment and technology packages are indeed bothersome, it's important to remember that such issues aren't usually leaving owners stranded with an immovable vehicle like a broken transmission or blown engine would. Culling infotainment complaints from the results would reduce the average problem-per-100-vehicle score by a staggering 51.9 points. The vehicles included in this study are from the 2019 model year. That means owners have had three years to get to know their cars and trucks. It's the 33rd year that J.D.

Dead man went unnoticed in pickup at airport for nearly 8 months

The Kansas City Star reports that on Sept. 12, Lenexa, Kan., police found a dead man in the cab of his Dodge Ram 1500 at the Kansas City International Airport. Though a disturbing thing to find at any time, the scene was made all the worse by the fact that the body had been sitting in that truck for eight months. That's right, for virtually all of 2017 to date. It seems likely that the missing man, Randy Potter, committed suicide, and it likely happened the night he was reported missing, which according to KCTV 5, was Jan. 17. This is because, according to the Chicago Tribune, Potter's parking ticket was printed that day. The fact that it took eight months to find Potter is astonishing. Although the Associated Press reports that Potter's body was covered by a blanket and the windows of the Ram were tinted, those aren't really excusable excuses. Potter's truck was in a large parking lot, one that holds nearly 6,000 cars, according to the Kansas City Star, but that shouldn't have mattered, since the company in charge of the lot, S-P+, was supposed to take an inventory of every car in the lot every single night. Plus, Potter's family took the license plate number of the truck to the parking lot security companies not long after his disappearance. Clearly no one from the parking company was watching closely. As for the police, the Star reports that they never checked the airport since there wasn't any evidence to say he might have gone there. Yet they say they spent "several hundred man hours" on the case, and their operating theory was that he had left his family. One way people leave is by plane. So how was the body finally discovered? Someone who parked nearby complained of a horrible smell. After eight months, no doubt. It's puzzling that no one would have reported a smell sooner. Though the problem would have been bad enough in winter and spring, it would have become pretty intense in the summer months, with high temperatures in the 90s translating into incredible heat inside a truck on shadeless pavement under the relentless Missouri sun. Related video:

The 2019 Ram 1500 Classic is new but is also old

If you've been following the interesting strategy that Jeep employed by keeping the old Wrangler on sale alongside the brand new JL Wrangler ( at least until the Scrambler needed the production line), Ram's move here – slapping a "Classic" badge on the end of the old 1500 – shouldn't be all that surprising. And that's what's happening. Not all the trim levels will be available, and the move is targeted at fleet buyers and those on a tight budget. For those cost-conscious buyers, snagging a Classic rather than a new Ram might be a prudent move. After all, while the brand new Ram 1500 is a very nice truck and a decided upgrade from the old one, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the outgoing truck – particularly if your needs are utilitarian. So, onto the changes. The reduced trim level spread on the 1500 Classic goes like so: Tradesman, Express, Big Horn (or Lone Star if you're in Texas), and SSV (Special Services Vehicle) intended for law enforcement. You'll notice that some trims are missing, and there's nothing fancy here. If you want anything beyond the Big Horn, like a Laramie, Rebel, Longhorn, or Limited, you'll need to step up to the newer truck. There's good news, though. Some stuff from the higher trims that are now out of production can be had on 1500 Classics through some new packages. The Chrome Plus package offers some upgrades to the Tradesman trim, like body-color bumpers, 17-inch wheels, keyless entry, and carpet. The Tradesman SXT gets chrome bumpers, fog lamps, dual exhaust (on V8 models), and 20-inch chrome wheels – some of which is new to the Tradesman trim, even as an option. And the Express Black Accent Package blacks out the badges wheels, and headlight bezels. So while there's less choice overall, you can still add some up-level touches to the 1500 Classic. The powertrain and bed/cab configurations are still robust. You can get the Regular Cab with a regular or long bed, the Quad Cab with the regular bed, or the Crew Cab with the short or regular bed. The 3.6L Pentastar V6 and 5.7 Hemi V8 are both available with 2- or 4WD, and the EcoDiesel will go on sale later. We don't have the all-important pricing information to tell you how good of a deal the Ram 1500 Classic will be, but buyers dragging their feet on buying a lower-trim 2019 Ram 1500 might want to cool their heels until later this year when the 1500 Classic goes on sale to see if it better fits their needs. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.