New 2013 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Heated Leather - Free Ship & Airfare Kchydodge on 2040-cars

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FCA delays Grand Wagoneer and next-generation heavy-duty Ram trucks

The upcoming Jeep Grand Wagoneer has had a tumultuous gestation thus far. At one point it was essentially confirmed, but later it was rumored to have been cancelled. In that context, the latest report from Automotive News is something of a mixed blessing. According to the publication, the Grand Wagoneer has simply been delayed, as has the next-generation Ram heavy duty truck line. This does not seem to affect the fully redesigned Ram 1500, which was previously reported to have been pushed back slightly to 2019. Automotive News says the information came from unnamed sources at the company. Nothing was said about how long the vehicles would be delayed. The publication also conjectures that FCA is delaying the models to save some money to help cover the company's $7 billion of debt , since re-tooling both the heavy-duty truck plant and eventual Grand Wagoneer plant will be expensive. View 6 Photos We reached out to Chrysler for more information on the subject, but the company wouldn't comment on the report. Even so, we wouldn't be too surprised if FCA is indeed delaying these products. The company has delayed a number of vehicles in recent years. In fact nearly every major FCA truck and SUV, including the Grand Wagoneer and Ram line, were delayed about a year and a half ago. We certainly hope the company doesn't delay the Grand Wagoneer for too long, since it's possible it will have a price tag of over $130,000. The profit margins on an SUV with that kind of MSRP would go a long way to helping to pay down the company's debt. Related Video:

2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study shows there's less quality than last year

Vehicle inventory, vehicle pricing, and the supply chain are finally showing improvement. Vehicle quality, on the other hand, is still going the wrong way. That's the takeaway from the 2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study that found overall problems exceeded last year's record high. The study surveyed owners of 2022-model-year vehicles to assess the average rate of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the first 90 days of ownership. The average figure for the 32 ranked manufacturers in 2020 was about 166 problems per 100 vehicles. In the 2021 IQS, that dropped to an average of 162. For 2022, the average jumped to 180 problems. For 2023, the PP100 is up to an industry average of 192 — an increase of 30 problems per 100 vehicles in just two years. Let's get to the good news first: Dodge reclaimed the crown of having the lowest number of problems per 100 vehicles at 140. Buick won last year with 139 PP100, falling to third this year. Dodge was the first American automaker to top the IQS in 2021. Its return as the least problematic gives parent company Stellantis three wins in four years after Ram was crowned in 2021. It also gives U.S. brands a four-peat after Buick topped the chart in 2022 by having owners report the fewest problems. This year's top 10 is Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Porsche, Cadillac, Kia, and Lexus. Stellantis gathered a few feathers for its cap, in fact. Maserati showed the largest improvement year-on-year, followed by Alfa Romeo, and Alfa Romeo posted the lowest PP100 among the premium class, beating Porsche and Cadillac. Alfa Romeo has been vocal about working to improve quality, mentioning Lexus as a target. Last year the Japanese brand finished sixth, the Italians finished near the bottom, between Jaguar and Mitsubishi. This year Alfa jumped to third, Lexus dropped to tenth. Ram was the third-best on the list of improvers from 2022 to 2023.   The individual model with the lowest PP100 is the Nissan Maxima. Now for the troublesome bits. In the words of Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, "The industry is at a major crossroad and the path each manufacturer chooses is paramount for its future.

2019 Ram Heavy Duty gets new face, 1,000 lb-ft Cummins and the towing crown

We've seen uncovered images before in spy shots, but here are the official images and word on the 2019 Ram Heavy Duty pickups. Ram dropped so much verbiage on new features that we'd need the truck's 7,680-pound max payload rating to haul the press releases, so dig in. We'll start with that max payload rating, and the 35,100-pound tow rating. Gimlet-eyed truck watchers will note the Ram HD's max tow rating is exactly 100 pounds more than that available on a Ford Super Duty, meaning the Auburn Hills clan takes the "best-in-class" mantle for a few months. The other big number: 1,000 pound-feet of torque from the high-output version of the 6.7-liter Cummins inline-six turbodiesel, a 70-lb-ft increase over the 2018 Ram 3500 HD. Completing the specs at the top, that HO motor produces all that torque at 1,800 rpm, and makes 400 horsepower at 2,800 rpm. One step down, the standard-output 6.7-liter Cummins puts out 370 hp and 850 lb-ft. Thanks to developments like a compacted graphite iron block, lighter pistons, hollow camshaft, and new forged connecting rods and bearings, the Cummins engine has lost more than 60 pounds. The entry-level motor is a 6.4-liter Hemi gas-powered V8 with an unchanged 410 hp and 429 lb-ft. 2019 Ram Heavy Duty View 12 Photos The HO Cummins pairs to an Aisin AS69RC six-speed transmission, with upgraded hardware and programming for better shifting and oversight of the gravity-warping torque. The regular Cummins mates to a "significantly upgraded " version of the in-house 68RFE six-speed automatic. The 6.4-liter Hemi works with the well-known TorqueFlite 8HP75 eight-speed automatic, bolstered for heavy duty obligations, the first time the eight-speed makes an appearance in a Ram HD. A column-mounted shifter works the gearsets on the Cummins-equipped rigs, a rotary dial on the center stack controls the shift-by-wire eight-speed. The Cummins motors come with two 220-amp alternators. The Hemi V8 gets a 220-amp and a 160-amp alternator, which Ram says is the "first gas-driven application of its kind in either class." There will be six trims available: Tradesman, Bighorn/Lonestar, Power Wagon, Laramie, Laramie Longhorn, and Limited. The HD trucks don't share any exterior sheetmetal with the light-duty 1500, and each trim is known by different grilles, bumpers and wheels.