2012 Longhrn Used 5.7l V8 16v Automatic 4wd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is coming soon, but a midsize Ram, not right now

NEW YORK — At this year's New York Auto Show, we had the opportunity to talk with the head of Ram Trucks, Jim Morrison, and he had a few interesting tidbits about what's coming and what isn't for the brand. The first big news is that the 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 diesel is finally coming to the all-new Ram 1500 later this year. Up until now, the engine was only available in the previous-generation Ram 1500 and current Ram 1500 Classic. The new Ram 1500 EcoDiesel won't have the same engine, though. It will be a redesigned 3.0-liter turbodiesel that will also appear in the Jeep Gladiator in 2020. That means it should also make 260 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, unless the Ram gets unique tuning that changes the output. Morrison wouldn't elaborate on any other details, though, including whether it would utilize the eTorque mild-hybrid assist of its gas powered cousins. The other news concerns things we probably won't see from Ram anytime soon — and one of them is a midsize pickup truck. Morrison said there are no plans for one yet, though the company is always considering options. In the meantime, the current strategy is to offer the Ram 1500 Classic as an option to potential midsize buyers. The thinking, of course, is that the Ram 1500 Classic is cheaper than the redesigned Ram 1500, and it's a bigger truck than midsizers. We can't help but wonder if the Gladiator might also make a midsize Ram a tougher sell at the moment. Finally, Morrison still had nothing to say about a regular cab offering for the redesigned Ram 1500. The only full-size Ram 1500 offering with a regular cab is the Classic model, leaving four-door models only on the normal 1500. We know that regular cabs don't sell well, so it's understandable that there isn't an offering yet, but it seems the company will have to offer one eventually when the Classic runs its course. Odds are that a future Ram 1500 regular cab will look something like the Ram 2500 and 3500 regular cab models, but with a more subdued grille.

Stellantis ready to kill brands and fix U.S. problems, CEO Tavares says

  MILAN — Stellantis is taking steps to fix weak margins and high inventory at its U.S. operations and will not hesitate to axe underperforming brands in its sprawling portfolio, its chief executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday. The warning for lossmaking brands is a turnaround for Tavares, who has maintained since Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA that all of its 14 brands including Maserati, Fiat, Peugeot and Jeep have a future. "If they don't make money, we'll shut them down," Carlos Tavares told reporters after the world's No. 4 automaker delivered worse-than-expected first-half results, sending its shares down as much as 10%. "We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money." The automaker now also considers China's Leapmotor as its 15th brand, after it agreed to a broad cooperation with the group. Stellantis does not release figures for individual brands, except for Maserati which reported an 82 million euro adjusted operating loss in the first half. Some analysts say Maserati could possibly be a target for a sale by Stellantis, while other brands such as Lancia or DS might be at risk of being scrapped given their marginal contribution to the group's overall sales. Stellantis' Milan-listed shares were down as much as 12.5% on Thursday, hitting their lowest since August 2023. That brings the loss for the year so far to 22%, making them the worst performer among the major European automakers. Few automotive brands have been killed off since General Motors ditched the unprofitable Saturn and Pontiac during a U.S. government-led bankruptcy in the global financial crisis in 2008. Tavares is under pressure to revive flagging margins and sales and cut inventory in the United States as Stellantis bets on the launch of 20 new models this year which it hopes will boost profitability. Recent poor results from global carmakers have heightened worries about a weakening outlook for sales across major markets such as the U.S., whilst they also juggle an expensive transition to electric vehicles and growing competition from cheaper Chinese rivals. Japan's Nissan Motor saw first-quarter profit almost completely wiped out on Thursday and slashed its annual outlook, as deep discounting in the United States shredded its margins. Tavares said he would be working through the summer with his U.S. team on how to improve performance and cut inventory.

2022 GMC Sierra Denali Ultimate vs. 2022 Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn vs. Ford F-150 Limited | Luxury truck interior face-off

GMC's new uber-expensive 2022 Sierra Denali Ultimate is the latest luxury truck to nudge toward six-figure territory. With demand for upmarket half-tons surging, GMC's otherwise-solid pickup found itself in desperate need of an interior remodel. For 2022, we're getting just that, and it appears ready to take the fight to the segment's best, including the 2022 Ram 1500 Limited and 2022 Ford F-150 Limited. Here's the new Denali Ultimate interior in all of its full-grain, open-pore glory. 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate vs. 2021 GMC Denali  Not only did the material quality and styling both improve greatly, but the new truck also gets a completely different shifter setup (truck buyers don't like column shifters anymore, apparently). It would actually be difficult to overstate the quality of the upgrade here; the photos really speak for themselves. It's also worth noting that in addition to looking significantly more upscale than the model it's succeeding, the new Denali interior also differs a bit more from its Chevy counterpart than its predecessor did. Here's the new Silverado High Country for reference: While some elements do carry over, the entire dash design is different, down to the positioning of the heating and cooling vents. While the main HVAC controls are essentially carried over, note that they're pretty much the only ones. Even the horizontal bar of switches running along the center stack is positioned differently between the two. Yep. This is a pretty big upgrade over the 2021 cabin, and clearly the range-topper in GM's truck hierarchy. But what of the competition? 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate vs. 2022 Ram Limited Longhorn Southfork This one's tough. We're going to have to spend time in them back to back, but the Ram Limited, with its various anniversary editions and other special permutations, is certainly the interior to beat. To our eyes, the Sierra's more horizontal layout is a bit more modern and perhaps luxurious-looking than the more upright cabin treatment of the Ram, but it's tough to say for certain from photos. Both the Denali Ultimate and Ram Limited carry their upscale feel into their back benches too, which is something we can't say quite as confidently about our next contestant.  2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate vs. 2021 Ford F-150 Limited The Ford F-150 Limited holds its own, but it's probably the least photogenic of the models we've looked at here, at least apart from the outgoing Denali.