2013 Ram 3500 Tradesman Crew 4x4 Diesel Dually Longbed Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2013 Ram 1500 earns Truck of Texas honors

Auto writers around the country tend to specialize in different vehicles based on the trends of our respective home markets. The New England Motor Press Association, for example, presents an award every year for the best winter vehicle. With that in mind, it is fitting that the Texas Auto Writers Association doles out an annual truck award. This year, the TAWA "Truck of Texas" is the 2013 Ram 1500.
In a announcement from TAWA, the new Ram took top honors based in no small part on, "a new 3.6-liter V6 that boasts 42 percent more power, improved fuel economy, infotainment upgrades and available eight-speed automatic transmission and air suspension." And according to Ram CEO Fred Diaz, "Automotive reporters have reacted extremely favorably to the new 2013 Ram 1500, and our research tells us that resonates with truck buyers." The Ram 1500 unseated the previous Truck of Texas, the 2012 Ford F-150.
The Texas Auto Writers Association Truck Rodeo was also an occasion for journalists to award an SUV of Texas, and thankfully, the distinction is made between SUV and CUV. The Jeep Grand Cherokee took top honors in the SUV department, with TAWA pointing to models like the off-road-ready Trailhawk and feature-laden Overland Summit. It is the third consecutive year that the Grand Cherokee has achieved this accolade. The award for top crossover went to the 2013 Buick Enclave, which is in its first year of a new design. To read more on the Truck of Texas award and all the finalists, check out the press release below.

2021 Ford F-150 Raptor vs. 2021 Ram 1500 TRX | How they compare on paper

Yep, the F-150 Raptor is back, though you'd be forgiven for not noticing that it ever left. Ford's off-road model is taking a few months off to accommodate the broader 2021 F-150 redesign from which it benefits. And the fine folks over at Ram took full advantage of that lull to launch the new 702-horsepower TRX, which in one big way (hint: it's the engine) stands at the top of the performance pickup heap. Ford says that's all going to change in 2022, but for now, the Raptor returns with a familiar 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 (albeit with an unspecified power figure) along with several other revisions to Ford's tried-and-true formula. The 2020 Raptor was already a worthy adversary to the beefy Ram despite the latter's definitive power advantage, so how has that picture evolved for 2021? Let's take a look.    Powertrain This is a big question mark for the Ford right now, but it seems reasonable to expect a bit more than the outgoing model's 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. The TRX's Hellcat-sourced powerplant needs no introduction. Its 702 horsepower will easily eclipse whatever Ford has planned for its 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, even if the V6 has more grunt than it did before, but that's OK. It's not the base-model Raptor's job to dethrone the TRX in straight-line speed; that honor will go to the 2022 Raptor R. We also don't know what the Raptor's fuel economy will be like, but we suspect it will be better than the TRX's, if only slightly.  Both these trucks come with four-wheel-drive standard, and they both have a number of drive modes that alter the powertrain’s characteristics depending on the terrain. Baja mode transforms the trucks into the desert runners that they both are at heart, but theyÂ’re plenty capable of crawling around rocks, too. We wonÂ’t know for certain which is best at specific tasks until we can get them both on (or off) equal ground. Suspension / off-roading capability And the ground is where things narrow significantly, both on- and off-paper. The specs are freakishly similar when we compare ground clearance, approach/departure angles and water fording, but the Raptor's leapfrog here is clearly evident. Both trucks utilize a coil-sprung rear suspension now, with Ford having abandoned the Raptor's previous leaf-spring setup with the redesign.  The two use different shocks to handle 100-mph-plus desert running.

2021 Ram TRX will get new FCA 'Know & Go' app to educate owners about their truck

FCA has developed a new app called “Know & Go,” and itÂ’s debuting with the 2021 Ram TRX. The purpose of the app is to help owners get more acquainted with and learn about their vehicle without having to dig through the ownerÂ’s manual. Instead, the app allows you to point your camera at certain things within and around the vehicle, and then it brings up information about what your camera is trained on. It uses augmented reality technology to make it work. For example, if you point the camera at the engine bay, youÂ’ll be prompted with a detailed description of the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 that makes 702 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. 2021 Ram 1500 TRX front 3/4 in motion View 53 Photos The few photos provided by FCA show items that the app can read such as your drive mode switcher, off-road pages, paddle shifters and more. ItÂ’ll pull up sections of the ownerÂ’s manual, suggest how-to videos for certain functions and even prompt you to dive into features you might not know existed. Considering how complex and complicated modern cars can be, we imagine this has the potential to enlighten some folks about features that would otherwise go undiscovered. Of course, that also assumes the owner will actually download the app and use the AR technology correctly. FCA says the app is rolling out with functionality for the TRX initially, but says we should expect to see it on other FCA vehicles soon. ItÂ’s very likely still no replacement for reading your ownerÂ’s manual cover-to-cover, but the quick and easy access to information is still a boon in our eyes. 2021 Ram 1500 TRX interior View 21 Photos Related Video: