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Ram HD Pickup Lineup First Drive Review | The torque king cometh

LAS VEGAS — Ram is thriving. The truck brand is coming off its best sales year ever, and its all-new 2019 Ram 1500 has won just about every truck award there is to win, including North American Truck of the Year. Now Ram is launching the world's torquiest pickup truck ever, the new 2019 Ram Heavy Duty. The burliest version packs 1,000 pound-feet of twist, but there's a lot more to this truck than its obscene amount of low-end grunt. It's also the quietest, most comfortable, and most refined heavy-duty pickup Ram has ever made. Most power, payload and towing The 2019 Ram Heavy Duty isn't exactly all-new. It's more of a major refresh, the HD's first since 2014 and the second since this generation debuted in 2010. The truck is now infused with much of the styling, technology and much of the interior of its light-duty little brother, the Ram 1500. Only the HD's cab, doors and bedsides are essentially unchanged, along with its 6.4-liter Hemi V8, which is now standard on all 2500 and 3500 models. The unpopular 5.7-liter Hemi is no longer available. Ram continues to offer two versions of its Cummins inline six-cylinder diesel power on all models except the 2500 Power Wagon. The 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel, which costs an extra $9,100, and the High-Output version have both been reengineered for more power, more durability and significantly less noise. The Cummins still pumps out 370 horsepower at 2,800 rpm, but its torque output has jumped from 800 to 850 pound-feet at 1,700 rpm. The HO version, which is only available on the 3500, gets a 15 hp bump to 400 hp at 2,800 rpm, and its torque climbs from 930 to that magical 1,000 lb-ft at 1,800 rpm. Redline remains at just 3,250 rpm, and a column-shifted six-speed automatic still backs both engines. Hemi models, including the Power Wagon, have been upgraded to an 8HP75R eight-speed from ZF and a dash-mounted rotary shifter. The Hemi's power ratings are unchanged at 410 hp and 429 lb-ft of torque, but the V8 now has a more advanced cylinder deactivation system for improved fuel economy and smoother operation when only four of its cylinders are firing. The eight-speed's gearing also betters the Power Wagon's crawl index from 35:1 to 51:1 for improved low-speed off-roading. Most Ram HD buyers spring for the diesel. The most popular model is the 2500 4x4 Crew Cab Laramie with the Cummins, but trucks with the 6.4-liter and the new eight-speed feel considerably quicker on the road. Even the big boy 3500s.

2021 Ram 1500 TRX Back Seat Driveway Test | Jump that gorge with the kids!

The TRX is the newest and sexiest 2021 Ram 1500. It's also the most powerful by a few hundred horsepower and its eye-popping suspension makes it capable of truly eye-popping things off road. As in both "off the paved road" as well as "we've jumped off the road and will eventually land back down upon it." Thing is, though, that suspension makes the TRX shockingly comfortable when you're back on terra firma. It's downright plush, the result of its four-wheel coil springs with extra-long initial travel. In other words, this is one high-performance vehicle you can get without fear of sneering from the significant other about buying some firm-riding sports thing that makes long journeys miserable. Just don't tell them about the fuel bill.  Besides the ride, though, the TRX shares the same crew cab as any other 2021 Ram 1500. Besides having the same sort of palatial legroom as the crew cabs of any full-size truck, the Ram's goes above and beyond in a number of ways, especially in an upper trim level like the TRX.  First off, it reclines. Though not the only truck to do so (hello Tundra!), this is nevertheless a great feature that fully takes advantage of the immense legroom the crew cab affords. Note that the front seats are as far back as they can go in this picture.  One tidbit: The seatback doesn't just tilt backward. There's no room for that. Instead, the top of the seat basically stays put while the bottom slides forward along with the seat bottom. Airplane seats and the reclining chair in my office work in a similar manner. And, since you're basically pulling the seat forward, the reclining mechanism is located between your legs under the seat bottom.  Lots of power available back here, too. There's a proper house-style outlet so you can plug in a toaster or whatever, along with both USB-A and USB-C ports. Note that there aren't four ports, just two with a choice of port type.  Also, check out those seat controls. Not only do the back seats recline, not only are they heated, but they're also ventilated. That's really cool. Literally! Besides the little shelf you can store a phone while it charges, the center console cupholder unit doubles as a tablet holder. Thoughtful touch. Admittedly, that trim piece is a bit wonky. Only noticing that now in the picture. Didn't see it in person.  Here's another thoughtful touch I'm quite certain is specific to the TRX: Molle straps on the front seatbacks to attach whatever you want.

Kia leads J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for 2022

For the first year ever, Kia leads J.D. Power's annual Vehicle Dependability Study with a score of 145 problems per 100 vehicles. Buick (147) and Hyundai (148) round out the top three. The highest premium brand on the list is Genesis, with a score of 148. It's common for so-called "mass market" brands to lead this particular study, according to J.D. Power, as "premium" brands "typically incorporate more technology in their vehicles, which increases the likelihood for problems to occur" and aren't necessarily built to a higher standard that less-expensive brands. The highest-rated single nameplate is the Porsche 911. It's the third time out of the past four years and the second year in a row that Porsche's quintessential sports car has taken top honors. Porsche as a brand sits in seventh place (162) just behind Lexus (159) and ahead of Dodge (166). At the very bottom of the list is Land Rover with a dismal score of 284; the SUV specialist held the same unfortunate distinction on last year's list. Ram (266), Volvo (256), Alfa Romeo (245) and Acura (244) also performed poorly. The overall industry average score sits at 192 — mass market brands average a score of 190 while premium brands sit 14 points lower at 204. While Tesla is unofficially included in some of J.D. Power's results, the agency says the sample size it has access to for this study is too small to include. As has been the case for the past several years, infotainment systems dominate the list of problems reported by owners. Popular (or unpopular, depending on your point of view) complaints include built-in voice recognition (8.3 PP100), Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity (5.4 PP100), built-in Bluetooth system (4.5 PP100), not enough power plugs/USB ports (4.2 PP100), navigation systems difficult to understand/use (3.7 PP100), touchscreen/display screen (3.6 PP100), and navigation system inaccurate/outdated map (3.6 PP100). While problems with the car's infotainment and technology packages are indeed bothersome, it's important to remember that such issues aren't usually leaving owners stranded with an immovable vehicle like a broken transmission or blown engine would. Culling infotainment complaints from the results would reduce the average problem-per-100-vehicle score by a staggering 51.9 points. The vehicles included in this study are from the 2019 model year. That means owners have had three years to get to know their cars and trucks. It's the 33rd year that J.D.