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2021 Ram 1500 TRX vs. 2020 Ford F-150 Raptor | How they compare on paper

Now that the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX has debuted, it’s time to pit the off-road truck against its only true competitor: the Ford F-150 Raptor. Ford has left us in a weird spot with the Raptor, though. ItÂ’s currently in-between models, as the regular 2021 F-150 is out, but the 2021 Raptor hasnÂ’t been announced yet. Since the F-150 is moving into a totally new generation for 2021, the Raptor is bound to be much different a year (or even months) from now than it is today. Regardless, the Raptor as it stands today is still a worthy adversary for RamÂ’s new super truck. The TRX is much more expensive than the Raptor at its base level, but you can spec out a Raptor that comes close to the TRXÂ’s base price. That said, a TRX can crest $90,000. Neither of these trucks are cheap. So, letÂ’s get to the all-important specs and figures. The chart is below. WeÂ’ll note that Ford offers the Raptor in SuperCab and SuperCrew forms, but the TRX is only offered in Crew Cab size. For comparisonÂ’s sake, weÂ’ve chosen to provide figures for the SuperCrew that closely aligns with the Ram Crew Cab.   Powertrain ItÂ’s fairly obvious who has the advantage here. FCA just keeps spreading the Hellcat love around, and Ram is the latest brand to get a taste. The TRX has a whopping 252 horsepower and 140 pound-foot advantage over the Raptor. ItÂ’s also far quicker to 60 mph than the Ford. Nothing in the truck realm can touch the TRX in a straight line. Plus, the supercharged V8 produces much better noises than the F-150 Raptor and its boosted V6 is capable of.  Fuel economy for the TRX isnÂ’t out yet, but expect it to be even more horrendous than the RaptorÂ’s. If efficiency is even remotely important to you, neither of these trucks should be on your shortlist.  Both these trucks come with four-wheel-drive standard, and they both have a number of drive modes that alter the powertrainÂ’s characteristics depending on the terrain. Baja mode transforms the trucks into the desert runners that they both are at heart, but theyÂ’re plenty capable of crawling around rocks, too. We wonÂ’t know for certain which is best at specific tasks until we can get them both on (or off) equal ground. Suspension / off-roading capability The specs are freakishly similar when we compare ground clearance, approach/departure angles and water fording, but these two trucks use different strategies to get there.

Superman-themed Ram Power Wagon hits the block for charity

If you were tired of seeing Batman get all the cool cars while your favorite superhero was left to his own considerable devices, you may have been intrigued when Chrysler unveiled a special Ram Power Wagon last summer. Tied in to the premier of Man of Steel, the unique truck packed a blueish-grey vinyl wrap (textured like Superman's outfit), gloss-black accents, anodized red trim, 17-inch alloys and an interior decked out with Superman logos.
It was a nice tribute to the superest of superheros, but Ram only made the one, and it wasn't offered for sale. That is, at least, until now. With the movie's debut now long behind us, the one-off Power Wagon is being auctioned off to benefit LA Family Housing, a charity dedicated to helping disadvantaged families in Southern California.
Citing our favorite car site, the online auction page places the donated vehicle's value at $112,674, but bidding as we go to press currently stands at $47,500 with three days remaining. Head on over to Charity Buzz to help out a worthwhile cause and give yourself the chance to get your hands on a one-of-a-kind vehicle and piece of cinematic history.

Stellantis aims to eliminate separate inverter, charger to improve EV efficiency

Stellantis has announced that, in collaboration with French battery company Saft and French National Center for Scientific Research, has made significant progress in eliminating two major components of an electric vehicle powertrain: the on-board charger and the power inverter for the motor. The company claims that doing this will allow for better space use in vehicles, as well as improvements in efficiency, cost and reliability of components. As a quick primer, also explained in the below video, the on-board charger and power inverter are sort of translators to get the right current to different parts of the electric powertrain. The on-board charger takes AC power from the grid and converts it to DC to charge the batteries. Then when power goes from the batteries to the electric motor, the power inverter converts that DC power back to AC. These components aren't exactly small. Frequently you'll find them packaged somewhere under the hood. What Stellantis and its cohorts have developed, and have been using on a test vehicle since last summer, are small power inverter boards that can be mounted very closely to the battery packs. They can handle both conversion needs, for charging and discharging, instead of needing two separate devices. The most obvious perk to this is that you can do away with those traditional components and free up more space, either for making smaller vehicles without losing interior volume, or adding space to a vehicle that wouldn't have had it otherwise. There's the additional benefit of reduced weight, something that EVs struggle with. Stellantis also claims improvements in efficiency, reliability, and cost, however, it didn't go into detail as to how this setup would do that exactly. We'll try to get in touch with representatives from Stellantis in order to get more information. We're still a ways out from seeing this technology in production Stellantis vehicles. The company said it aims to apply it to vehicles by the end of the decade. Saft is also looking at using it on stationary battery systems as well. So maybe we'll see it on a 2029 Ram 1500 REV, but for now, we'll be living with traditional chargers and inverters. Related Video: Green Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Fiat RAM Technology Electric