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Ram introduces 33-mpg Tradesman HFE EcoDiesel

Ram announced Tuesday that its 2021 1500 Tradesman HFE EcoDiesel trim goes toe-to-toe (tow-to-tow?) with the segment's most efficient diesels, offering 23 mpg in the city, 33 mpg on the highway and 26 mpg combined. That's good enough for a first-place tie in the segment, as those numbers now match those of Chevy's Silverado 1500 with the 3.0-liter Duramax oil-burner.  "Ram is committed to innovation and powertrain leadership, and as the no-compromise benchmark for efficiency and performance, we continue to listen to customer input by offering unsurpassed fuel economy," said Ram boss Mike Koval Jr. "The Ram 1500 is America’s most powerful half-ton diesel pickup with 480 lb.-ft. of torque and the most capable light-duty diesel with towing capability up to 12,560 pounds, and delivers up to 1,000 miles of range on a single tank of fuel." From a glance at Ram's specs table, it appears the HFE EcoDiesel configuration (based on a Crew Cab Tradesman with the 5-foot 7-inch bed) is good for 8,210 pounds of trailering and 1,780 lbs of payload. It's worth noting that the Chevy matches the HFE's fuel economy while also providing more towing capability. You can trade the HFE's small fuel economy gain for a bit more towing capability by going to a 3.92:1 rear axle. That will buy you another 1,700 lbs of towing. Even more towing capacity (specifically, the 12,560 lbs maximum quoted above) comes with the Ram 1500 Quad Cab EcoDiesel.  Standard equipment for the HFE includes 20-inch aluminum wheels, a black grille and bumper cover, a tonneau cover, step rails and some perfectly decent cloth seats. The HFE EcoDiesel is available in one of a whopping two finishes: black or white. Exciting. Ram says the HFE will start to appear on dealer lots in the second quarter, and the truck will start at $43,935 (including $1,695 for destination). Related Video:

Ram 1500 TRX Hellcat-powered prototype spied testing in Arizona

For the past few years, FCA has been on a Hellcat craze. Ever since the first Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger Hellcat debuted, we've seen that supercharged 6.2-liter V8 stuffed under the hood of the bonkers Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and turned up to 11 in the Demon and new Hellcat Redeye. There was also the Hellcat-powered Ram 1500 TRX concept vehicle, which FCA announced back in May would finally go into production as the Ram TRX. Today, we have our first look at an early prototype. Unlike the Ram 2500 Power Wagon — a personal favorite of mine — the TRX is aimed squarely at the Ford F-150 Raptor. While we don't have any under-hood shots, the photographer said there was no mistaking the whine emanating from the truck for anything but a supercharger. While we don't know how much power the truck will make, expect a minimum of 707 horsepower. For reference, that's 257 more horsepower than the F-150 Raptor. Power is likely to be sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Aside from that, there's not much to say about this prototype. While it mostly looks like a Ram 1500 Big Horn, it is fitted with with a set of one-piece Fuel D579 wheels and BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires. It also looks like it has a slightly wider front and rear track than the standard Ram 1500. The longer exhaust tips look temporary and are certainly going to look far more polished on the production model. We don't know when we might see the finished product as FCA's plans were a little more nebulous at this past five year plan. Our fingers are crossed for something this next auto show season. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Chrysler set to make $266M-investment into 8-speed transmission production

Chrysler will shortly make a significant $266-million investment into its Kokomo, IN transmission factory in a bid to expand production of its eight-speed automatic transmissions. The gearboxes, which are built under license from Germany's ZF Friedrichshafen, have been well received by customers and critics, and according to an SEC filing obtained by Automotive News, the transmissions will eventually find their way to all of Chrysler's rear-drive offerings (Viper and heavy-duty Ram models, aside). According to AN, a Chrysler spokesman says the investment has not been confirmed, but once it is, it'll mark the company's latest in a growing line of investments at the facility. Chrysler has poured $1.5 billion into Kokomo since 2009.