2021 Ram 1500 Laramie on 2040-cars

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NHTSA investigating over 600,000 Ram trucks due to stalling engine

More than 600,000 heavy-duty pickups built by Ram during the 2019 and 2020 model years are the target of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation due to a faulty fuel pump. Only trucks powered by the 6.7-liter turbodiesel engine are affected. Documents posted on NHTSA's website explain that the agency's Office of Defects Investigation has received 22 complaints and two field reports claiming that the 6.7-liter turbodiesel straight-six either lost power or stalled completely while driving. The issue potentially affects 604,651 trucks, including the 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 variants of Ram's popular pickup. The 1500 model is not included. The agency notes that the high-pressure fuel pump is to blame; stalling occurs when the part fails. It adds that the issue mostly happens above 25 mph, and that the engine can't be started again after it turns off. Interestingly, while the investigation was announced in October 2021, Ram has been looking into it since November 2019. It asked dealers to "collect, monitor, and correct quality issues" on some trucks powered by the 6.7-liter Cummins. It has collected and inspected several pumps as a result of this campaign, according to NHTSA. As of writing, there have been no crashes, fires, injuries, or fatalities linked to the alleged defect. NHTSA officials explained they're looking into "the scope, frequency, root cause, and potential safety-related consequences" of the problem. If the issue is deemed a safety hazard, the agency could ask Ram to recall affected trucks and fix them. Ram said it's complying with investigators but provided no further details. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2019 RAM Heavy Duty | Everything You Need To Know About The New RAM Trucks

Stellantis announces ‘Circular Economy’ business to drive revenue, decarbonization

Stellantis has already announced its plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2038. Today, the automaker has announced a new business unit to help it reach that goal while generating 2 billion euros per year in revenue by 2030. The “Circular Economy” business will help make revenue less dependent on finite, rare and ecologically problematic materials. The Circular Economy model features what Stellantis calls a “4R” strategy, comprising remanufacturing, repair, reuse and recycling. The goal is to make materials last as long as they can, reducing reliance on the acquisition of those precious new materials in the future by returning them to the business loop when theyÂ’ve reached the end of their first life. Through these processes, Stellantis says it can save up to 80% raw material and 50% energy compared to manufacturing a new part. Remanufacturing, or “reman” in Stellantis shorthand, means dismantling, cleaning and rebuilding parts to OEM spec. Nearly 12,000 remanufactured parts are available for customers to purchase. Some remanufacturing is done in-house, and some with partners and through joint ventures. Repair is pretty obvious — fixing parts to put back into vehicles. This also consists of reconditioning, to make a vehicle feel like new. Stellantis boasts 21 “e-repair” centers for repairing electric vehicle batteries.  Reuse refers to parts still in good condition from end-of-life vehicles sold as-is. Stellantis says it has 4.5 million multi-brand parts in inventory. These are sold in 155 countries through the B-Parts e-commerce platform. Reuse also refers second-life options, such as using batteries outside of automotive purposes. Recycling involves dismantling parts and scraps back into raw material form that is then looped back into the manufacturing process. Stellantis says it has collected 1 million parts for recycling in the past six months. Recycling doesnÂ’t get counted in that aforementioned 2 billion euros of revenue, but it does save the company money on acquisition of raw materials. As for batteries, specifically, Stellantis expects this recycling business to ramp up after 2030, when the packs currently in service begin to reach the end of their lifecycle. Stellantis will use its new “SUSTAINera” label to denote parts that are offered as part of its Circular Economy business.

Ram, Jeep redesigns on hold, Alfa Romeo models may come sooner

Last summer, FCA outlined an ambitious five-year plan that sketched out the company's product intentions for each of its brands through the end of 2018. However, even the best strategies sometimes need tweaking. According to Reuters after speaking with unnamed people at auto suppliers, FCA is now possibly delaying at least a dozen projects in North America for a variety of reasons. From vehicle to vehicle, these postponements allegedly last anywhere from just a few months to over a year. The sources from the suppliers claim that in some cases these tweaks are for engineering and design changes. The next-gen Ram 1500 reportedly has among the shorter delays and is being pushed from mid-2017 to November 2017, according to Reuters. Also, the much-discussed future Jeep Wrangler is allegedly moving a little later to July 2017. Among the vehicles purportedly seeing longer delays, the next-gen Grand Cherokee could get pushed back about a year to 2018. That then forces the launch of the three-row, luxury Grand Wagoneer to be even further away. Jeep's upcoming C-segment CUV and the all-new Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and Challenger might also see postponements. The one brand allegedly seeing an accelerated plan is Alfa Romeo. Without going into detail, the sources from these suppliers claim that the Italian automaker is getting even more vehicles for its lineup and could get them even faster than planned. "Those plans need to be flexible and fluid, with the potential to add some vehicles, pull some forward and extend the life cycle of others," FCA said to Reuters about all of these allegations. "We look at these programs on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis." Investment in the auto industry has been a major topic for FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne as of late. He believes consolidation is necessary so that companies aren't burning money on the same projects. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Sergio Marchionne FCA fca us