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Electrified Ram pickup on the way, FCA CEO says

Ram will build an electrified pickup, FCA CEO Mike Manley confirmed during the company's third-quarter earnings call Wednesday. Manley provided no details, but confirmed that electrification is on the way for its truck brand. This also means that it's not clear whether this truck will be a full electric, or if it will be a conventional or plug-in hybrid. It's still significant, though, since this is the first time we've heard a clear message from FCA leadership that electrification will be a priority for Ram.  “I do see that there will be an electrified Ram pickup in the marketplace, and I would ask you just to stay tuned for a little while, and weÂ’ll tell you exactly when that will be," Manley said, according to the Detroit Free Press.  With concrete plans starting to emerge from both Ford and General Motors, FCA is now looking like the odd one out. Company representatives have been tough to nail down on the question of electrification. Without ruling it out entirely, Manley and other shot-callers have been somewhat dismissive of the notion in previous announcements and interviews.  "The reason we haven't spoken much about electric pickup trucks is not because we view that market as non-existent. We've always had a slightly different view of timing and adoption rates, particularly in North America in terms of full electrification. We are very committed to our electrification strategy — most of which we have revealed," Manley, said in August. Of course, what had been revealed at the time did not include a pickup. That hasn't exactly conclusive, either, as FCA's future product roadmap has been nebulous (to put it charitably) for essentially the past decade. The announcement of a merger with PSA resulted in yet another strategic reboot, and we've yet to see exactly how Stellantis will integrate existing PSA electrification plans with FCA's fast-and-loose approach to EVs.  Given the fact that PSA is not a player in the full-size pickup game, it stands to reason that Ram's development would likely come from this side of the pond. Whether FCA/Stellantis will keep the development in house or tap one of America's electric startups as a potential partner or supplier remains to be seen. Either route has potential, with a number of electric truck start-ups in the U.S., and extensive EV and hybrid experience within FCA and the soon-to-be-integrated PSA group.

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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.