2014 Ram 2500 Tradesman on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ram teases a new way to get off the beaten path

File this under "What do we have here?" The Ram Trucks Twitter account posted a 15-second video teasing... well, we have no idea what it is, but it's coming this month. The word "Hiking" appears twice in the video of two hikers coming to a fork in a dirt road, where a sign reads, "Caution, unpaved trail ahead." After that, we're only told that "Life's more fun off the beaten path. An exciting new way to get there is coming soon!" Now you know what we know. But if you happen to know more, feel free to give us some clues in Comments. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Ram Trucks via Twitter, World Car Fans RAM Truck Videos

Hennessey Mammoth 1000 6x6 TRX is prehistoric excess

A few things have changed on the way to the Hennessey Mammoth 1000 6x6 TRX, the six-wheeled pickup based on the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX announced in September 2020. Back then, it was going to be powered by the 7.0-liter Hellephant engine, tuned from a stock 1,000 horsepower to 1,200 hp, it would cost $500,000 before customization, and the Texas tuner said there'd only be three built — likely owing to the exceeding scarcity of that crate motor. The good news for folks who thought they'd be left in the cold is that a slightly different but still astonishingly massive Mammoth is going into serial production, and at a lower price. Instead of the Hellephant, a 6.2-liter Hellcat lives under the chest-height hood. In the Ram 1500 TRX the engine makes 702 hp and 650 lb-ft., but a 2.65-liter supercharger is the heart of a Lone Star State overhaul boosting output to 1,012 hp and 969 lb-ft. The rest sticks to the original formula. The lengthened frame stretches overall length to 283 inches, a skosh more than four feet longer than the donor truck — long enough to hold plywood and a picnic in the bed. A Bilstein suspension hangs all that sheetmetal seven feet high over 20-inch wheels wearing 37-inch Toyo Open Country rubber. If for some reason the six-toed contact patch doesn't get a driver out of trouble, the third axle can be locked up. In case of greater calamity, the stinger front bumper is ready to accept a winch, and the rear bumper sprouts a couple of attachment points. There are also footholds in that rear bumper to make rummaging in the bed easier, but those footholds are so high up they could use the same retractable steps alongside the cabin to reach. Naturally, the interior has been reworked, and there are a "dazzling array of LED lights." Hennessey says it will make 12 of these — the largest truck in the company's 30-year history — every year. The Mammoth 6x6 can be ordered directly from Texas or at any authorized Ram retailer for $449,950. We can't wait to see what happens when this meets the GMC Hummer EV pickup on the trail. If you like the idea of the Mammoth but this Mammoth is a tad too mammoth, consider the rest of Hennessey's family of Elephantidae, the four-wheeled Mammoth 900 and Mammoth 1000, or the Mammoth SUV.   Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2013 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists announced [w/poll]

2012 is almost in the books and automakers are spending December gearing up for the 2013 auto show season, which tips off next month at the Detroit Auto Show. Traditionally, the latter opens up with the announcement of the North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards, and this year figures to be no different.
But up until this moment, we didn't know which six vehicles would be parked ahead of the stage as finalists, with executives and engineers waiting for the winners to be disclosed. Whittled down from October's "short list" of nominees (11 cars and 10 truck/utility vehicles), the finalists are as follows:
2013 North American Car of the Year: