powerboatr
living well in Texas
As some may know i get a neat trade book every month dealing with automotive design and production
there may be things out there now on the 2013 ram 1500 pickups, but some of the new stuff is worth mentioning.
ram 1/2 tons already ride like a lexus (well not exactly). They have rear coil springs instead of traditional leaf springs, which makes em soft and compliant.
however the 2013 gets an 8 speed auto, base engine is 3.6 v6 penstar (built in mexico)
the 5.7 hemi is also available plus one more engine a 4.7 v8
the interesting item that grabs you back a few years is the ON DASH shifter knob, no column or floor shifter, sort of like the old fury III and the like
and the optional four wheel air ride suspension. yes all four wheels
and its available with the four wheel drive chassis
it load levels as one would expect
but
put it in park and it squats 2 in. from normal ride height
AERO mode for highway speeds the systme will drop the ride height down by 1.1 inch, not huge but does get down,
when in the off road mode it raises the ride up 2.0 inches
also during the aero mode....gets a soften ride
and the off road gets a stiffer ride.
and the front grill gets SHUTTERS for diverting airflow at highways speeds and is good for reducing drag by 3 to 5% and gain 0.5% fuel economy
and lets not forget they use a start stop engine technology to similar to the new ford focus for a 3.3% mpg gain...
but its still a dodge and butt ugly
but now has some features that I am sure are headed for the bigger trucks
superduties should have already had air ride
i for one love having four point air ride, headlights aim where they should no matter the load and the ride is suuuuppppper
plus i can drop the air and practically put the frame on the ground for easier egress and entry......this is on the rv of course
stand by for the neat stuff on the 2013 focus
its going to blow your socks OFF
there may be things out there now on the 2013 ram 1500 pickups, but some of the new stuff is worth mentioning.
ram 1/2 tons already ride like a lexus (well not exactly). They have rear coil springs instead of traditional leaf springs, which makes em soft and compliant.
however the 2013 gets an 8 speed auto, base engine is 3.6 v6 penstar (built in mexico)
the 5.7 hemi is also available plus one more engine a 4.7 v8
the interesting item that grabs you back a few years is the ON DASH shifter knob, no column or floor shifter, sort of like the old fury III and the like
and the optional four wheel air ride suspension. yes all four wheels
and its available with the four wheel drive chassis
it load levels as one would expect
but
put it in park and it squats 2 in. from normal ride height
AERO mode for highway speeds the systme will drop the ride height down by 1.1 inch, not huge but does get down,
when in the off road mode it raises the ride up 2.0 inches
also during the aero mode....gets a soften ride
and the off road gets a stiffer ride.
and the front grill gets SHUTTERS for diverting airflow at highways speeds and is good for reducing drag by 3 to 5% and gain 0.5% fuel economy
and lets not forget they use a start stop engine technology to similar to the new ford focus for a 3.3% mpg gain...
but its still a dodge and butt ugly
but now has some features that I am sure are headed for the bigger trucks
superduties should have already had air ride
i for one love having four point air ride, headlights aim where they should no matter the load and the ride is suuuuppppper
plus i can drop the air and practically put the frame on the ground for easier egress and entry......this is on the rv of course
stand by for the neat stuff on the 2013 focus
its going to blow your socks OFF
