Blog Posts
Will 2019 Ram Pickups Make a Splash or a Splat?
There's currently a lot of noise about the supposed delay of the 2019 Ram 1500 pickup trucks equipped with the new mild-hybrid eTorque 3.6-liter V-6 and 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engines and sluggish Ram sales. The simple and elegant 48-volt battery-assist mild-hybrid system was announced when the vehicle debuted at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. In fact, our compatriots at Cars.com named the all-new pickup truck the Best in Show.
When we got our first chance to drive the new truck, which had the standard 5.7-liter Hemi under the hood, we were told we'd be getting full background and a test drive of the new powertrains later in the summer, with models equipped with those powertrains going on sale soon after.
Six months after the reveal of the 2019 Ram 1500, truck-hungry Fiat Chrysler Automobile dealerships are getting impatient about waiting for Rams equipped with the new engines. And it seems that some of them are being vocal about it. So, it's not surprising that some of our media colleagues are suggesting that Ram has delayed or mismanaged arrival of the new engines, and that the "delay" could possibly be connected to the EPA and the questions it's had about EcoDiesel emissions in previous-generation Ram 1500s.
Not that we're trying or need to make excuses for Ram, but the eTorque rollout, from what we were told at the January debut, wasn't going to happen until much later in the model year. From our calculations, Ram is right on schedule. In fact, we're scheduled to get our first-drive backgrounder later in August. And you can expect us to share our findings soon after that.
For now, according to FCA's most recent five-year plan, we've got quite a few new pickups coming our way, including an all-new Ram heavy-duty lineup and a brand new mid-size player.
