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2022 Ram 1500 BackCountry bundles a bunch of off-road bits

The Chicago Auto Show is coming up this week, and Ram is leading the reveals with exactly what we would expect for the show: a special trim level of a pickup truck. It's the 2022 Ram 1500 BackCountry, and it's based on the Big Horn and Lone Star models, but gets its own color scheme and a bundle of features for off-roading and for bed functionality. The BackCountry will be identifiable mainly by its two-tone color scheme with a black lower section. That's matched by many more black accents including the wheels, mirrors, headlight bezels, badging and exhaust tips. It also has running boards and a body-color grille and tonneau cover. But what earns it the BackCountry name are the functional parts. It adds to the Big Horn's standard features list the Off-Road Group and the Bed Utility Group. The former includes all-terrain tires, off-road shocks, hill-descent control, electronic rear differential lock, and skid plates to protect the front suspension, power steering, transfer case and fuel tank. The latter adds a spray-in bedliner, bed lighting, bed step and adjustable tie-down points. If you add the RamBox bed-side storage, it includes a bed extender. The interior is fairly plain with black cloth, but you get bucket seats and a 7-inch touchscreen. The dashboard is also adorned with a BackCountry badge. The BackCountry starts at $41,780. These features are available on the Big Horn trim, but the cheapest way to get them is $45,470, so the BackCountry is a significant discount if you're looking for some off-road capability in your Ram. It's available in both Crew Cab and the slightly shorter Quad Cab configurations with either the regular 5.7-liter V8 or the eTorque version of the same engine. Naturally, four-wheel-drive is the only driveline option. You'll be able to get one in the third quarter of this year. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2022 Ram 1500 Laramie now offers Front Lighting Value Package

Were Audi dealers onto something with their Semiconductor Shortage Package? A few days ago, we posted about the Ingolstadt brand's cars adorned by Monroneys featuring the aforementioned package. That line item summarized the vehicle's missing features thanks to global semiconductor woes, and how much money had been subtracted from the MSRP because of the exclusions. Now, Mopar Insiders reports that the Build & Price tool for the 2022 Ram 1500 Laramie includes a Front Lighting Value Package. Choosing the option swaps the Laramie's standard-fit LED headlights and fog lights for halogen headlights and fog lights, saving buyers $495. The image above is a side-by-side of trucks configured with the standard LEDs (left) and the halogens (right). Playing around with the configurator, it appears the change can't be ordered with the Laramie's standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. When attempting to add the value package, a dialogue box requires choosing one of the two optional 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engines or the 3.0-liter V6 EcoDiesel, and one of the 8HP75 eight-speed automatic transmissions fitted to those three engines. The Pentastar comes with the 850RE eight-speed auto.  Thankfully, the Front Lighting Value Package is an option; you can get all the way to the end without selecting it. Nevertheless, we're intrigued by the order constraints. Seems to us that a buyer happy with the entry-level engine might prefer to save some dosh on the headlights, as opposed to buyers spending either $2,795 for a V8 Hemi or $4,995 for the oil-burner. And that's before one considers the savings. The luxury-oriented Laramie trim sits in the lineup $9,000 above the Bighorn, $7,000 below the Limited Longhorn. Swapping the standard halogen headlights and fog lights on the Bighorn to LED units costs $995 for the Premium Lighting Group, the discount to take LEDs off the Laramie is half that. Getting aftermarket LED headlights for the Laramie would cost at least $300, and that's before the hassle of install and questions of quality. So where is the point in saving $500 for objectively worse lighting that will likely cost more to add later? As if it needed saying again: These are strange days. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2020 Ram 2500 Power Wagon POV drive

2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 vs. 2019 Ram 1500 vs. 2018 Ford F-150: How they compare

The full-size pickup truck market is seriously hot right now. Both Ram and Chevrolet have introduced completely redesigned trucks, the 2019 Ram 1500 and the 2019 Chevy Silverado, and as the companies slowly roll each one out, more and more information comes to light. We've put together this comparison post to help you keep track of all the features and specifications of each of these new models, along with the updated 2018 Ford F-150. Among the stats we'll take a look at are engines, power, fuel economy, trim levels, weight and more. Weight savings Both the 2019 Ram 1500 and 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 have gone on a diet for the new model year, similar to the one the F-150 went on in 2015. The Silverado is the weight-loss leader, having shed 450 pounds when comparing quad-cab V8 models. The Ram 1500 lost 225 pounds compared to the current truck. Both trucks achieve their weight loss in part due to the use of aluminum parts. On the Silverado, the hood, doors, and tailgate are aluminum, while on the Ram, just the hood and tailgate are aluminum on the body. Compare that to the F-150, which uses aluminum for all exterior body panels for a total weight loss of up to 732 pounds, which makes the aluminum-intensive F-150 the weight-loss leader. View 160 Photos Engines and transmissions There's only a bit of overlap in powertrains on the Ram 1500 and Chevy Silverado. Each has a V8 for the top engine. The Ram's is a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 making 395 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque. The Silverado will once again use a 6.2-liter V8 as its range topper with the same 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque as the current model. Both of these V8s boast some extra fuel saving technology. The Chevy's 6.2-liter (and some 5.3-liters) comes with the company's latest cylinder deactivation system that can shut off any or nearly all of the eight cylinders. The Ram's V8 boasts an optional 48-volt mild-hybrid system that, in addition to likely helping fuel economy, can provide up to 130 pound-feet of torque right off the line. With the Ram, fuel economy sees an improvement of 2 mpg in the city and combined ratings for 17 and 19 respectively. Highway fuel economy improves by 1 mpg to 23 with two-wheel drive and 22 with four-wheel drive. The Silverado's 6.2-liter V8 only improves city fuel economy by 1 mpg to 16, and actually loses 1 mpg on the highway. The new 5.3-liter engine with the fancy cylinder deactivation does see an improvement over the simpler version.