2022 Ram 1500 Longhorn on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ram trucks lead 2021 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study

For the first time ever, Ram leads in J.D. Power's annual Initial Quality Study with a score of 128 PP100, or problems experienced per 100 vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. Ram was in third place in last year's rankings. Coming in second place is Dodge (139 PP100), a sister division to Ram under the Stellantis umbrella, followed by Lexus (144 PP100), this year's highest-ranked premium automaker, in third. These findings reinforce an overall trend over the last few decades where mass-market brands have outperformed premium brands that tend to introduce bleeding-edge technologies that can confuse owners or fail to work entirely. Genesis (148 PP100) is the only other premium automaker to perform better than average. At the bottom of the official rankings is Chrysler (251 PP100), which seems to make little sense considering most of its technologies are shared with Dodge and many with Ram until you consider that Chrysler only offers two platforms and one of them is the Pacifica/Voyager minivan twins that are unique to the brand. The next worst are Audi (240 PP100) and Volkswagen (213 PP100). Tesla would fall in between VW and Audi with its score of 231PP100, but because the electric car manufacturer doesn't provide access to J.D. Power in every state, it's not officially included. Interestingly, J.D. Power said on a followup call that the problems that Tesla owners report most often are more traditional issues, such as panel fitment, interior noises or paint problems instead of problems with the car's electronics. According to J.D. Power, the industry averaged a score of 162 PP100. That is four points higher than the overall score in 2020, and 20 of 32 brands improved their quality scores over the last year. That's a two percent increase in quality in 2021, which is good but slightly lower than the average rate of improvement over the last decade. On a car-by-car basis, the Nissan Maxima leads the overall field with a score of 85 PP100. Issues with infotainment systems — and in particular problems pairing smartphones with in-car technologies — continue to be the top-reported problems. Headaches connecting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto dominate the complaints. "Owners want wireless connectivity, and the industry has responded," according to Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive quality at J.D. Power. "However, this has created a bigger technical challenge for both automakers and tech companies.

2023 Ram 1500's Built to Serve EMS edition honors medics

Ram's latest iteration of its Built to Serve line of Ram 1500 pickups is out, and this time the truck maker honors emergency medical services personnel, the folks who bring lifesaving aid to your door. As we've emerged from a pandemic and are settling into an endemic, the choice to honor EMTs and other emergency field workers seems a natural one. It's a group of folks who have a critical role in society, especially in the past couple of years. “The Ram 1500 ‘Built to ServeÂ’ EMS edition is our way of honoring and expressing deep gratitude to the frontline heroes who serve or have served our country,” said Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. “At Ram, we are pleased to recognize the important work emergency medical service workers provide to their communities every day.” The EMS edition comes in two colors, the Hydro Blue that you see here, and Bright White. The interior is black, with "performance" cloth and vinyl seats that have blue accent stitching. You'll also know it, along with others in the Built to Serve line, by the American flag and Built to Serve branding on the quarter-panel. It has a black grille and dark accents that include the side steps and exhaust tips, 20-inch gray aluminum wheels, and it's equipped with 4x4 Off-Road Equipment Group content so you can go wherever you're needed: all-terrain tires, skid plates, locking rear axle and hill-descent control. Inside, it shares features from the other Built to Serve trucks: the Velcro upholstery panels that allow you to adhere department or unit patches, along with the PALS/MOLLE webbing on the front seat backs for organizing gear. And of course there's badging inside the truck as well as outside. So far, there have been Built to Serve editions to honor the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Firefighters. (But nothing for Space Force?) A second round of trucks is meant to honor first responders: firefighters, police and now EMS workers. Built to Serve packages are based on Big Horn/Lone Star Crew Cab models. You've got a choice of the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 or 5.7-liter eTorque and non-eTorque V-8. The Built to Serve EMS starts at $56,810, which includes the $1,895 destination charge. It's on sale now, with builds starting soon. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX is the most intense off-road truck ever built

Ram's 700 mini-truck blends Fiat genes with 1500 styling cues

Ram's on-again, off-again sub-1500 pickup is allegedly on its way to production, but we haven't seen it yet. In the meantime, the company's Mexican division introduced a trucklet named 700 built on a unibody architecture. The 700's positioning suggests it picks up where the Dakota left off, but it's a completely different breed of truck. And, while its unibody bones are reminiscent of the Honda Ridgeline, it's a much smaller model that's essentially a badge-engineered version of the Fiat Strada. No, not the hatchback briefly sold in the United States from 1979 to 1982; we're talking about the little, economy car-derived pickup sold in dozens of global markets. Think of the 700 as the Dodge Rampage's distant heir. Visually, its front end borrows a handful of styling cues from the 1500, including an upright grille characterized by a bold Ram emblem and mesh inserts. Called SLT, the base model wears a decidedly downmarket look with black plastic bumpers and steel wheels covered by plastic hubcaps. The mid-range Big Horn blurs the line between a commercial vehicle and a crossover with a practical cargo box, while the range-topping Laramie variant is aimed at motorists who want an outdoorsy daily driver. Ram offers two- and four-door models, though only the SLT is available in the former configuration. The 700 boasts a usable 1,653-pound payload and an 880-pound towing capacity. Power comes from a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that sends 84 horsepower to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. Buyers can pay extra for a turbocharged, 1.3-liter four that delivers 98 horsepower. It doesn't appear that four-wheel drive is available, and there's no automatic transmission on the menu. Small and cheap doesn't necessarily mean basic. The 700 can be equipped with a seven-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, a rear-view camera, and electronic driving aids such as ABS brakes and traction control, plus LED headlights. Laramie models also benefit from partial leather upholstery. Ram will release the 2021 700 in the Mexican market this month, but we're not expecting the model to find its way north to the U.S. Drivers who want a small, unibody truck will need to wait until Ford releases the Maverick, which will ride on the same basic platform as the Escape and the Bronco Sport. It's tentatively due out in 2021 as a 2022 model.