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2020 Ram Power Wagon Review | What mud?

A 2020 Ram Power Wagon is not your typical heavy-duty pickup truck. All of them try to be the tough kid on the block, but the Power Wagon goes even further. Just the name, Power Wagon, is synonymous with a tenacious, brash, and mean attitude.  “LetÂ’s go hop in my Power Wagon,” I shout at my friend. I donÂ’t even need to add anything else to that sentence to sound braggadocios. The Ram takes care of it for me. And I do mean hop into it. One does not gracefully step in and out of a Power Wagon, because it is simply far too high off the ground. There are side steps, but they're not one of those automatically-retracting ones that forms a staircase into the cabin. Instead, I grab the A-pillar handle, yank myself onto the step, and then swivel around to fall onto the large, comfy seat.  Once inside, the tough kid mantra starts to slip, but only slightly. Ram brought all the fancy interior appointments from the 1500 over to the Heavy Duty lineup with the 2019 refresh, which means the 2500 Power Wagon also gets all the goodies. Our heavily-optioned test truck doesnÂ’t feel rugged or basic on the inside at all. ItÂ’s covered in black leather, piano black and carbon fiber-look trim, metal accents and digital screens galore. There are still some rather large ‘Power WagonÂ’ badges here and there, plus the big mechanical transfer case shifter (the only Ram HD with one), but the inside is much more luxurious than one would expect from an off-road vehicle. 2020 Ram 2500 Power Wagon View 20 Photos Taking stock of my height relative to other vehicles on the road brings the reality of the Power Wagon back into perspective. Throughout my weekend behind the wheel, there wasnÂ’t another pickup that I passed or pulled up next to at a light that was sitting taller than me. This comes as no surprise, as the Power Wagon features a 2-inch lift from its custom suspension versus other Ram Heavy Duty trucks. It also has Bilstein shocks, front and rear locking differentials and an electronically disconnecting sway bar. Armed with all that, leaving the pavement is a must. Lacking any great off-road trails or logging roads in the southeast Michigan area, I turned the Power Wagon south and aimed for dirt roads. We had just received a few big rains in the area, and some of the dirt roads around here can get egregiously bad to navigate in winter. Thankfully, I found some mud.

Fiat previews new Toro sport-utility pickup

Fiat is preparing to roll out a new midsize pickup. We've seen spy shots of the prototype running around, but heavily camouflaged as it was, we didn't get much indication of what it would look like – and even less about its name. But now the Italian automaker has given us an indication of both. Previewed in the teaser image above is the forthcoming new Fiat Toro. The vehicle is billed as a "sport-utility pickup," which Fiat touts as a new segment, though there are already plenty of vehicles out there that aim to blur the line between pickup and SUV. Models like the Honda Ridgeline and Chevy Avalanche come to mind, but the Toro is likely to be smaller than either – more like the long-gone Ford Explorer Sport Trac that bridged the gap between the old truck-based Explorer and the Ranger pickup or the Subaru Baja. Whatever it ultimately looks like, the Toro will be limited – at least initially – to the Latin American market. There it's set to be introduced early next year by Fiat Automoveis Brasil, which also offers the Strada pickup car. Whether the Toro ever makes it out into other markets remains to be seen, but we wouldn't hold out too much hope of getting a Ram version this far north as Chrysler doesn't think there's a market for compact or mid-size pickups in America to replace the old Dakota. Related Video:

7 major automakers to build open EV charging network

A new joint venture established by BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis will build a new North American electric vehicle charging network on a scale designed to compete with Tesla's industry-benchmark Supercharger network. The 30,000-plus planned new chargers will accommodate both Tesla's almost-standard North American Charging System (NACS) and existing automakers' Combined Charging System (CCS) options, effectively guaranteeing compatibility with the vast majority of current and upcoming electric models — whether they're from one of the involved automakers or not.  "With the generational investments in public charging being implemented on the Federal and State level, the joint venture will leverage public and private funds to accelerate the installation of high-powered charging for customers. The new charging stations will be accessible to all battery-powered electric vehicles from any automaker using Combined Charging System (CCS) or North American Charging Standard (NACS) and are expected to meet or exceed the spirit and requirements of the U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program." Critically, the automakers involved will have a say in how the charging tech is implemented, guaranteeing that the hardware will play nicely with each automaker's in-house charging systems. Hyundai and Kia, for example, were hesitant to jump on board the Tesla NACS bandwagon earlier this year over concerns that the Supercharger network is insufficient for powering the two automakers' 800-volt charging systems; similar tech is used by Volkswagen and Porsche.  In addition to providing much-needed capacity and high-output charging for America's growing fleet of electric cars and trucks, the new network will integrate seamlessly with each automaker's in-app and in-vehicle features, rather than forcing customers to use third-party tools and payment systems, as is the case with some existing public charging infrastructure.  "The functions and services of the network will allow for seamless integration with participating automakersÂ’ in-vehicle and in-app experiences, including reservations, intelligent route planning and navigation, payment applications, transparent energy management and more. In addition, the network will leverage Plug & Charge technology to further enhance the customer experience," the announcement said.