2014 Ram 1500 Slt on 2040-cars

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FCA announces the winners of its Design Sketch Battle contest

Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) designers Ralph Gilles and Mark Trostle announced the winner of the first Design Sketch Battle on their respective Instagram accounts. The 24-hour contest invited designers and enthusiasts from all over the world to submit their "wickedest and most outrageous designs for a Ram truck." Participants flooded the company's various social media accounts with creative submissions that did not disappoint. Ralph Gilles, FCA's head of design, selected submissions sent by Paul Piliste, Rezo Lomaia, Michael Stanfel, Morten Rabiee, and Joshua Reese. The sketches he selected all put a decidedly futuristic spin on Ram's design language, and one is a tribute to the original Power Wagon introduced in 1946. They embrace the company's rugged side with oversized wheels and ground clearance measured in feet, not inches. Don't look for street-oriented, low-to-the-ground performance -— like Gilles' own Tomahawk GTR sketch from 1995 — here. We've embedded his winners below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Mark Trostle, the head of design for Ram and Mopar, published his top picks an hour after Gilles. He selected work by Bryan Johnson, Robin Mathew, Ricky Ryan Goimarac, Jon Sibal, and Sean Smith. His attention gravitated towards futuristic designs, too, but he channeled his inner hot-rodder by choosing what looks like a slammed quad-cab Ram with a front fascia and fender flares from a wide-body Challenger. His fifth pick is one we'd love to see in showrooms: it blends retro-inspired and modern styling cues in a street-oriented high-performance package. His winners are embedded below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In the world of Lego, designers can compete for the chance to add their one-off creation to the company's catalog of current and classic cars. We don't know if FCA will give the Design Sketch Battle winners the same distinction. In the meantime, Gilles and Trostle both said they'd post more stand-out designs on Instagram over the weekend. Spoiler alert: Someone Photoshopped a Ram 1500 Rebel grille onto a Tesla Cybertruck. You've been warned. Related Video:

Feds sue Fiat Chrysler, accuse it of cheating on diesel emissions

WASHINGTON - The US government has filed a civil lawsuit accusing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV of using software to bypass emission controls in diesel vehicles. The Justice Department suit, filed in US district court in Detroit, is a procedural step that may ramp up pressure on Fiat Chrysler. The suit could ultimately help lead to a settlement, as in an earlier probe of rival Volkswagen AG that will cost VW up to $25 billion, but which affected a much larger number of vehicles. VW admitted to intentionally cheating while Fiat Chrysler denies wrongdoing. It did not immediately comment on Tuesday. US-listed Fiat Chrysler shares were down 2.9 percent at $10.44. The suit also names Fiat Chrysler's unit V.M. Motori SpA, which designed the engine in question. Reuters reported last week the Justice Department and EPA have obtained internal emails and other documents written in Italian that look at engine development and emissions issues that raise significant questions. The investigation has scrutinized VM Motori. FCA acquired a 50 percent stake in VM Motori in 2010 and the remainder in October 2013. The lawsuit asserts the Italian-American automaker placed undeclared "defeat devices," or auxiliary emissions controls, in 2014-2016 Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles that led to "much higher" than allowable levels of nitrogen oxide, or NOx pollution, which is linked to smog formation and respiratory problems. The suit seeks injunctive relief and unspecified civil penalties. EPA said in January the maximum fine is about $4.6 billion. In January, EPA and California accused Fiat Chrysler of illegally using undisclosed software to allow excess diesel emissions in 104,000 U.S. 2014-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks. Fiat Chrysler said on Friday it plans to update software that it expects will resolve the concerns of U.S. regulators about excess emissions in those vehicles. The January notice was the result of regulators' investigation of rival Volkswagen, which prompted the government to review emissions from all other passenger diesel vehicles. Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to installing secret software allowing its cars to emit up to 40 times legal pollution levels. In total, VW has agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting US vehicles.

2023 Ram Rebel 2500 HD adds the diesel engine you can't have in the Power Wagon

Have you been wanting a Ram Power Wagon, but couldn’t pull the trigger because Ram wonÂ’t sell it to you with the Cummins diesel engine? Well, today, Ram has an answer for you, and itÂ’s the 2023 Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Rebel. Officially at least. Go ahead and call it Ram Rebel 2500 HD if you prefer. And if you couldnÂ’t tell by now, itÂ’s heavy duty truck week — Chevy released a refreshed Silverado HD earlier this week, and Ford revealed its next-gen Super Duty shortly thereafter. Similar to the light-duty Ram 1500 Rebel, the HD version is a pickup with some off-road chops and off-road looks direct from the factory. YouÂ’ll quickly notice that it looks very similar to a Power Wagon — Ram says much of the exterior design cues are actually shared with the Power Wagon. However, the Rebel differentiates itself with a Mopar “sport performance hood” and Rebel badging throughout. It comes standard with 20-inch wheels and 33-inch off-road tires, but Ram says 18-inch wheels will be made available later in the 2023 model year. It features a unique off-road suspension (optional rear air suspension), four-wheel drive, Warn Zeon-12 winch rated for 12,000 pounds, rear limited-slip differential, rear electronic locker and skid plates to protect the fuel tank and transfer case. DonÂ’t expect it to best a Power Wagon off-road, though, as it doesnÂ’t get above-and-beyond extras like the front-locking differential and electronically disconnecting sway bar. The powertrain story might be enough to sway you to the RebelÂ’s side, however, as unlike the Power Wagon, this Heavy Duty Ram can be had with the diesel engine. Ram still makes its 6.4-liter V8 the standard engine in the Rebel (like it is in the Power Wagon), and it makes a respectable 410 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque. This setup wonÂ’t get you maximum towing capability, but the diesel will, maxing out at 16,870 pounds — a Power Wagon maxes out at 10,590 pounds of towing capacity. The 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel inline-six produces 370 horsepower and 850 pound-feet of torque in the Rebel. You get a six-speed automatic with the diesel, but the gas engine comes with an eight-speed automatic. Maximum payload is 3,140 pounds, which is another huge plus for the diesel-powered Rebel over the Power Wagon that maxes out at only 1,630 pounds. Inside, the Rebel can be had with cloth, Bristol leather or “Natura Plus” leather seats.