Ram Teases With All-new Heavy-duty Trucks

Motor Trend was onto something when they chose the all-new 2019 Ram 1500 as the Truck of the Year after witnessing how the brand and vehicle managed to carve a significant portion of the pickup segment for themselves when pitted against bitter rivals Chevrolet and Ford. Riding the coattails of that success, it appears that the Ram brand is well on its way to recreating this magic with the programmed introduction of their heavy-duty pickup trucks at the 2019 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Said to be inspired by the transformation of the 1500, the heavy-duty variants (2500 and 3500) will help Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) kick off the 2019 heavy-duty pickup race with them in the lead. Plenty of prototypes have been seen testing on the outskirts and streets of Detroit by spy photographers for months now, but what can we learn from the latest teaser supplied by the Ram brand itself? Let’s find out.

What’s known so far:

Ram is expected to make bigger and beefier heavy-duty models to compete in the domestic heavy-duty truck game. Statistically speaking, experts estimate that about a quarter of the full-size pickup business comes from the sale heavy-duty trucks, thus this is a race that all parties are interested in winning. Inspired by the latest 1500 overhaul, the heavy-duty models are said to have more pronounced muscle on the familiar body design, with headlight and taillight design cues coming directly from the 1500. Another characteristic that appears to be shared with the all-new 1500 is the loss of the traditional crosshair grille in favor of a centered badge with RAM lettering – a feature that the brand has announced will be a lineup-wide standard by 2020. So long classic crosshair grille.

No solid news has come out regarding powertrain options in these heavy-duty trucks, but FCA could very well be interested in earning best-in-class figures. Ram is trying to deliver in the segment and capitalize on the success of their latest beast, so it’s not crazy to expect that they’ll go above and beyond. All heavy-duty trucks in the current Ram lineup are powered either by a 5.7L HEMI V8 engine or a 6.7L Cummins turbo diesel six-cylinder engine. While both of these engines are excellent options for tackling even the toughest of jobs, FCA could have easily decided to bump the power in either of them to round out class-best figures and edge out the competition before they even get a chance. Both Chevrolet and Ford have teased their own heavy-duty trucks, but it’s FCA who beat them to the punch by being the first to reach the big reveal.

Spy photographers have been able to spot other features such as an 8.4-inch touchscreen display using FCA’s latest version of the Uconnect infotainment system, heated and cooled seats, and higher-tier prototypes that even had ornate stitching and etching. The latest teasers also show that the brand will offer the new trucks in the luxurious Limited and Longhorn trim levels. No one knows if Ram will also be adding the eTorque mild hybrid system that made the revamped 1500 so successful, but a heavy-duty truck with an impressive fuel economy range could really get tongues wagging once more.

Follow Miami Lakes Ram on social media as we bring you the latest Ram news. We’ll have all the details once Ram makes all the formal introductions, but in the meantime feel free to take a look at the all-new 1500 inventory if you’re interested in witnessing that Ram innovation up close.

Photo Source/Copyright: tfltrucks.com

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