And Then There Were Three - Ram 1500 Revolution EV
…the folks in Auburn Hills were the remaining part of the classic ‘big-three’ that had not thrown their hat into the electric full-size truck ring.
That ended at this month’s CES where Ram showed off their long anticipated Revolution electric truck.
Trucks are one of the hottest segments on the move to electrification. While startups are working hard to break into this market (for instance, Rivian with their R1T, Lordstown with the Endurance, and Canoo with their…’pickup truck’) the companies that we know can be trusted both to build hundreds of thousands of examples every year and to exist a decade from now are the classic ‘big three’ automakers from Detroit.
Chevrolet and GMC, using GM’s new Ultium platform, brought us electric trucks. First under the Hummer name, Then with variants under the Chevrolet and GMC brands.
After that first Hummer electric truck, Ford brought us the Lightning. Ford’s truck is an electrified version of their popular F-150. Their truck was both the least ambitious (essentially adding batteries and electric motors to the regular F-150) while also being most likely to change the world since Ford could rapidly scale up this truck to meet demand, as it uses mostly off-the-shelf components.
This has left the folks in Auburn Hills as the remaining member of the ‘big-three’ that had not thrown their hat into the electric full-size truck ring.
The wait ended at this month’s CES where Ram showed off their long anticipated 1500 Revolution electric truck.
Built on Stelantis’ STLA Frame platform, the Ram 1500 Revolution concept previews a production truck that is expected to be shown later this year. This short wait before the production reveal means that most details are likely locked in, but not enough to badge this truck as more than a concept.
However, there are plenty of juicy details in the concept that suggest some very truck-y and versatile features will be heading our way.
Powertrain
Packed between the concept’s frame rails is a low mounted battery pack that mirrors all the other electric trucks we have seen so far. This keeps the extra mass down low and out of the way of the cabin and cargo areas of the truck. It is the smart play as it leads to sporty handling, especially for a truck.
Putting power to the pavement are an electric drive unit (motor) at each axle. This likely previews the all-wheel drive and high-power variants of the production truck. It is likely that Ram will offer a rear-drive option as well at a lower price point.
Otherwise Ram has been mum on power, range, and performance. We’ll have to wait for the production truck announcement to learn more.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t other news in the powertrain announcements. Confirmed by Ram management, is a range extender (as gas powered engine that drives an electric generator) will be part of the powertrain offerings. So you’ll be able to get your Ram electric truck with the ability to continue its journey even if you can’t immediately find a charging station. We don't know yet the details of how, exactly, Ram will implement a range extender. This could be a significant differentiator for Ram in the market when their truck goes on sale.
Carg-whoa
Beyond that powertrain hedge…there are several cargo and interior features that show that the minivan and truck crew at Ram/Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler haven’t lost their touch.
We thought that GM held a patent on the mid-gate idea. Apparently not. Where GM is planning to offer the Silverado and Sierra EVs with a 60/40 mid-gate separating the cabin from the bed…Ram is planning to offer a 50/50 split. This will allow, along with the folding rear and front passenger seats, the ability to extend the cargo bed into the cab.
But, that’s far from the only trick.
The Revolution includes a split tailgate that opens, dutch-door style. To extend the back of the bed further, the bed floor slides rearward to extend to fill the space between these dutch doors and then the inner skins of the tailgate halves pivot out to make a new rear bulkhead to contain even longer loads.
But, what if you have something really long to carry?
The Revolution has a front trunk where a classic engine would live…but Ram went a step further. They have designed in a passthrough to the cabin in the center of the trunk as well. This means that, when taking advantage of all the extra cargo carrying tricks…that you could carry 18’ long lumber with it extending from the front of the trunk…through the center of the cab (under the center console)…through the mid-gate…and ending with the extended bed floor and dutch doors open and the barrier deployed for the longest bed config available. That is a mind-bending level of flexibility all without ever having to worry about attaching a red flag to the end of your boards as you drive home from the hardware store.
Comforts
Room for your cargo isn’t the only place where the Revolution shines.
The interior also has what the brand calls ‘Ram Rails’ that are used in the bed and trunk for cargo management…but, inside the cab, they are used as mounting points for the seats. This allows the 2nd row seats to slide fore and aft just like the front row. Note, that is ‘2nd row’ not ‘rear’…because this cab, which is the longest of any Ram truck that has come before, also has a pair of jump-seats mounted to the mid-gate. So, this is the first full-sized truck with 3 rows of seating.
These jump seats mean that you can have extra passengers in a pinch, though we wouldn’t expect you’d ever want anyone you really care about to sit back there for long.
The Revolution concept also shows thoughts on the ever expanding center screens of modern vehicles. In this case, a pair of screens make up either a single large center display or one can be hidden away or re-purposed. The release video showed this second screen being mounted above a shelf on the dash to act as a pseudo laptop. This seems like one of the most concept-y ideas of this concept and likely won’t see production.
So, with Ram’s new Revolution concept, we see where the Auburn Hills brain-trust are thinking of taking their full-size truck in the world of electrification. Given their public statements that a production truck could bow in a number of months…and that Ram historically shows new trucks at the February Chicago Auto Show…we don’t think we have long to wait to see what of this truck will make it to market. Even then, we wouldn’t expect a truck you can buy until possibly 2025 as a 2026 model.
2008 Jeep Liberty
Unique to the Liberty, besides some styling details, is what Jeep is calling the 'Sky Slider' roof. Not a conventional big sunroof since Jeep's is fabric, covers from the front seat almost to the hatch, and can be opened from the front or rear and any combination of the two.Retained are the independent front suspension that had Jeep faithful howling when the original Liberty came out (to replace the XJ Cherokee), prompting the name change in the North American market (the Liberty still goes by Cherokee in Europe). However, we now get a new 5-link rear suspension (sounds like an independent arrangement to me)...I can just imagine the hate-mail Jeep will get now.
It appears that Jeep's product planners hear the faithful screaming about 'not a real Jeep' and think that means it isn't square enough, needs a fabric roof (how very Wrangler), and needs a snappy press release touting the heritage of Jeep...it's a shame they don't understand their own ad copy.
Chrysler and Sirius to offer back-seat TV system
The initial offering will be 3 channels of live, family TV programming from Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network delivered directly to the vehicle.
The system will later be made available in the 2008 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum, Jeep Commander and Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The system will carry an MSRP of $470, which includes the first year of service, when packaged with Chrysler Group’s Rear Seat Entertainment System and SIRIUS Satellite Radio. After the first year, SIRIUS Backseat TV is available for $7 per month when packaged with SIRIUS Satellite Radio ($12.95 per month).
It's still on its way...Caliber SRT-4
According to a chat with the SRT guys held at the CaliberForums.com site, we should be seeing SRT-4's on the streets come fall of this year (of course, assuming that Chrysler's new masters are okay with such hooligan-ism).Remember, the Caliber SRT-4 is a turbo 2.4l powered front-driver packing at least 300hp. Seeing how Mazda needed computer trickery to get the Mazdaspeed3's 260hp to flow well - it will be interesting to see how Dodge manages the trick of putting down an additional 15% over the Mazda.
It should be interesting, if not all that refined an experience.