7k Low Miles Ram 3500 4x4 Truck One Owner 6 Speed Manual Very Rare on 2040-cars

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Stellantis moves to set up its own lending unit

Stellantis is buying Houston-based auto lender First Investors Financial Services Group to set up its own finance arm in the U.S., a move that should support sales and eventually boost profit. The only major traditional automaker in the U.S. without its own finance company agreed to pay $285 million to a group of investors led by Gallatin Point Capital and Jacobs Asset Management, according to a statement. The transaction is expected to close by year-end. Stellantis was formed via the merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group early this year. Carlos Tavares, the PSA boss who became the combined company’s chief executive officer, called the deal to acquire First Investors a milestone that will increase earnings and enhance customer loyalty. “Direct ownership of a finance company in the U.S. is a white-space opportunity which will allow Stellantis to provide our customers and dealers a complete range of financing options,” Tavares said Wednesday in the statement.  Having an in-house finance company has helped rivals General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. pad profits, especially during the global semiconductor shortage that has limited production and crimped sales. GM bought subprime lender AmeriCredit Corp. in 2010 and renamed it GM Financial. The operation generated a $2.76 billion profit in the first half -- roughly a third of the companyÂ’s adjusted earnings before interest and taxes. Trouble for Santander? The First Investors acquisition could spell trouble for Chrysler Capital, the operation that Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. and Chrysler set up in 2013 before the U.S. automaker completed its merger with Fiat. In a statement, Santander Consumer said itÂ’s committed to supporting Stellantis through the term of their existing agreement and its transition. Santander Consumer will also have “ongoing conversations with Stellantis about long-term mutually beneficial opportunities beyond 2023,” the company said, adding that its consumer business remains strong and has “delivered solid results for our shareholders.” This, along with support from its parent company, will allow the lender to “pursue additional opportunities as they arise.” The lenderÂ’s U.S.-listed stock fell 1.5% in New York trading Wednesday after Bloomberg reported Stellantis was preparing to announce a new finance partner. Stellantis shares rose as much as 1.3% in Paris trading Thursday.

Ram Rebel TRX concept is a Hellcat-powered Raptor-fighter

Ford has proven that fast off-road trucks are awesome. Dodge has proven that ridiculously powerful supercharged V8s are awesome. Combining the two would theoretically be even more awesome. The Ram Rebel TRX, which was unveiled at the Texas State Fair, proves that theory. As you may have guessed from the intro, the Rebel TRX uses a supercharged V8. A version of the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 from the Hellcat twins (and, we suspect, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk). Because of some new calibrations to make the engine more suited for off-road driving, it doesn't make the full 707 horsepower of the Charger and Challenger. But the TRX engine still cranks out 575 horsepower, which is a full 125 more than the new SVT Raptor. That's enough to propel the mega-sized truck to 100 mph in its off road terrain mode. Power is transferred through an 8-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels. At the back, the Rebel TRX has an electronic locking differential. The TRX also gets an updated version of the Ram's 4x4 Performance Control System featuring Normal, Wet/Snow, Off-road and - best of all - Baja modes. The latter mode is the one that will do triple digits through the desert. Of course a sweet powertrain needs chassis and tire upgrades to round out the package, and the Rebel TRX has plenty of improvements. The standard Ram 1500 frame is unchanged, but bolted to it are custom front control arms, internal bypass shocks at each corner and new springs. The changes bring suspension travel to a full 13 inches all around. It also provides enough space to fit massive 37 x 13.5-inch tires. Ram also added six-piston calipers with 15-inch discs at the front and 14-inch discs at the back. Finally, Ram gave all this heavy duty equipment a big, burly wrapper. The body is a full six-inches wider than the standard 1500 with large composite fenders to cover the aforementioned tires. The truck also has a vented and scooped hood based on the Ram HD. This was necessary to help cool the engine and provide vertical clearance for the supercharger. A large sport bar was added to the back and has provisions for carrying a pair of spare tires, plus an LED light bar on top. The truck also has a big steel skid plate up front, and a sweet integrated side-exit exhaust behind the doors. Inside, the truck gets plenty of leather, suede and carbon fiber. The front seats also have racing harnesses attached to a harness bar that spans the B-pillars.

FCA issuing software update for 1.4M vehicles to prevent hacking

In the wake of a Jeep Cherokee being hacked remotely while on the road through its Uconnect infotainment system, FCA US is now issuing a software update for 1.4 million vehicles in the United States. Affected customers will receive a USB stick in the mail with the improved version; owners can check this website to see if their cars are affected. A large variety of models with FCA's 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system are affected. They include the 2015 Chrysler 200, 2015 Chrysler 300, 2015 Dodge Charger, and 2015 Dodge Challenger; 2013-2015 Dodge Viper; 2013-2015 Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500; 2013-2015 Ram 3500, 4500, and 5500 chassis cab; 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee; and 2014-2015 Dodge Durango. According to FCA in its announcement, the new software "insulates connected vehicles from remote manipulation." As of July 23, the company also "fully tested and implemented within the cellular network" additional security to prevent access to many of a vehicle's systems. FCA US says that it's conducting this campaign out of an abundance of caution and disputes the notion that there's a defect with these vehicles. Beyond the demonstration of the hack in the Cherokee, the automaker says that it's unaware of any other reports of these attacks actually happening. Related Video: Statement: Software Update July 24, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is conducting a voluntary safety recall to update software in approximately 1,400,000 U.S. vehicles equipped with certain radios. The recall aligns with an ongoing software distribution that insulates connected vehicles from remote manipulation, which, if unauthorized, constitutes criminal action. Further, FCA US has applied network-level security measures to prevent the type of remote manipulation demonstrated in a recent media report. These measures – which required no customer or dealer actions – block remote access to certain vehicle systems and were fully tested and implemented within the cellular network on July 23, 2015. The Company is unaware of any injuries related to software exploitation, nor is it aware of any related complaints, warranty claims or accidents – independent of the media demonstration.