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Ram 1500 TRX spied with remote-reservoir shocks and supercharger whine

The highly anticipated Ram 1500 TRX, Ram's Ford F-150 Raptor rival, has been spied again. And the big news is all in the suspension. Compared with the last prototype we saw, this truck sits much higher, and it now has fender flares to cover the wider track. It looks like some of the extra width may be from slightly bigger tires and higher offset wheels. But those might not be the only factors. Looking closely, the rear wheels have eight lug nuts versus six on the front. The previous prototype had six lugs on the rear. So this version may have a beefier rear axle, maybe from the Ram 2500. That axle may be a bit wider. The suspension itself is clearly farther along, too. Up front, there are some burly looking lower control arms. But in the back, any suspension reinforcements are long gone, and the axle seems to be supported by equally beefy trailing arms. Most exciting are what appear to be fancy remote reservoir off-road shocks tucked in the rear wheel arches. They're covered by little black sacks to hide them. The Rebel TRX concept from a few years ago featured internal-bypass shocks, and the Ford F-150 Raptor features the same kind of shocks. That Ram TRX concept also had 13 inches of suspension travel at each corner. Besides the updated suspension, we're pleased to report that the TRX is still rocking Hellcat power. Our spy photographer tells us that there's very audible supercharger whine. He also caught the truck on video, and it sounds gravelly and angry. We're very much looking forward to the truck's launch, which should be sometime before 2022.

2019 Ram 1500 pickup production problems costing FCA $300M to fix

Fiat Chrysler is spending more than $300 million to fix production issues with the new 2019 Ram 1500 pickup as the plant where it's built is running below capacity and suppliers reportedly struggle to keep up with building it and the 2018 version simultaneously. The truck's ramp-up is well behind schedule, Automotive News reports. FCA's Sterling Heights Assembly plant in Michigan began building the pickup in mid-January but is running at only 60 percent capacity, CEO Sergio Marchionne said on an earnings call last week. Sources told the publication the plant is still undergoing construction and was building about 1,000 trucks per day toward a run rate of 1,400 per day. It's operating two 10-hour shifts per day, seven days a week, with plans to keep the factory running every weekend and holiday through Labor Day to meet production targets. More than 2,500 of the new pickups were reportedly awaiting unspecified electrical repairs before they could be shipped. FCA could use the boost from the heralded new 2019 Ram 1500, which figures prominently in its aggressive annual financial goals. The company is relying on the previous-generation 2018 Ram 1500, demand for which has been sagging. First-quarter sales of the pickup are down almost 13 percent year over year to 103,964, according to carsalesbase.com figures. Meanwhile, sales of Ford's F-Series pickups over the same period rose 4 percent to 214,191, while Chevrolet Silverado sales have climbed 5 percent to 135,545. Dealers have started receiving deliveries of the 2019 Ram 1500, but only the version fitted with the 5.7-liter V8. The EPA has yet to issue fuel economy ratings for the standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 paired with the eTorque 48-volt mild hybrid system, nor the same system mated with the V8. As we noted in our recent First Drive review, upgrading to the (non-hybrid) V8 costs $1,195, which is actually $255 cheaper than before. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: FCA Plants/Manufacturing RAM Truck sales

Pickup sales may hit 2M units for first time since 2007

Even as fuel prices creep back up, trucks are still a hot item among new-vehicle shoppers. To see how popular pickup trucks still are, you don't have to look any further than how much effort automakers put into the continual one-upmanship of their trucks. Backing this fact up, USA Today is reporting that the segment could top two million sales this year - a total not matched since 2007, though still far from the pre-recession, three-million-unit levels.
Through August, the Ford F-Series continues to be the segment leader with almost 500,000 units sold, but the Chevy Silverado (328,269), Ram 1500 (234,642), GMC Sierra (122,232) and Toyota Tacoma (110,293) are all seeing at least 20-percent sales increases, helping to account for around 1.44 million truck sales so far this year - not including possible outliers like the Suzuki Equator and Chevy Avalanche.
This year alone, General Motors has completely redesigned its fullsize trucks, Ram and Toyota have significantly updated their offerings, the next-gen Ford F-150 will be out next year and Nissan is promising an all-new Titan around the same time with an eventual Cummins diesel under the hood. It would seem, then, that truck sales are poised to continue their upward trend.