Audi is planning one of its biggest LA Auto Shows to date, with up to eight total debuts, three of which are global, all to be presented by chairman of the board, Rupert Stadler. Hooked up to the V6 engine is an excellent new transmission, with a total of eight forward ratios to play with. When the going gets tough, use the manual gearshift buttons on the right side of the steering wheel to keep the engine in its upper-rpm sweet spot and we suspect the six-pot Ram will tow your boat gently to the stream just fine. Compared to the transmissions Ram used to use, the new eight-speed sends more torque to the wheels using numerically lower gearing while still offering overdrive in the last two gears. Adding four-wheel drive lowers those figures to 16/23, which is still very good for a fullsize truck with this sort of capability.
Basically, this means that the V6-powered Ram 1500 feels like it has plenty of power, either to tow loads with or to practice your burnouts while accelerating to highway speed, while still managing EPA-estimated fuel economy figures of 17 miles per gallon city and 25 highway. That engine served base Ram customers well enough until 2012, but even then, its 215 hp and 235 lb-ft were only really sufficient for relatively light-duty applications. The water will turn into steam even before the glow plug tip glows red. It boasts a Diesel Heater (Espar D5) and on-demand diesel heated hot water for cold winter nights skiing. All of this was good news for people who did work with their trucks, but it didn't do any favors for highway driveability or fuel economy. And, instead of returning significantly superior fuel economy over their V8 counterparts, they guzzled gas and spat noxious vapors out their tailpipes. And, for the first time ever, fuel efficiency is a primary selling point for V6-powered pickups. Our test machine was a V6-powered four-door model equipped with the SLT package, but was not a 4x4. We weren't able to test the full 4,350-pound towing capability, but predictably had no trouble whatsoever moving five passengers along with a few hundred pounds in the bed on a few occasions.
Perhaps it goes without saying, but Ram's big 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine, with 395 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque, has no trouble at all pulling loads. Thing is, it's not ideal for pickup trucks, which require strong pulling power down low, as close to idle as possible. Not long ago, the efforts of an automaker to put a six-cylinder engine into a pickup truck went something like this: take the basic bread-and-butter V8, lop two cylinders off one end of the block and call it a day. In the 2013-model-year truck we tested, Ram was using a six-speed automatic transmission, which generally offered seamless operation and went about its business unnoticed. The 2013 Ram V6 sprints to the magic figure in a claimed 7.5 seconds, which makes it an astonishing three seconds quicker than the 2012 model with the old 3.7-liter engine. The Mercedes - Benz Sprinter is also equipped with ABS and brakeforce distribution, and all three of these technologies combined enables wheels to be braked independently, compensates traction by position of the load and the vehicle, and can estimate the van's centre of gravity and mass. The new BMW X3 can be identified by careful revisions to its expressive styling, new colours, and revisions to the interior design and trim options.
Measuring just 4.22 metres in length, the BlueZero models combine compact exterior dimensions with a generously proportioned and variable interior and luggage compartment. Standard models also have good cargo capacity, though four-door coupe models do not. Every wheel and tyre combination has been engineered to have the same rolling radius, giving a consistent ‘wheel to body’ visual relationship. Demonstrating just how impressive this engine and transmission combination feels on the road is the good-ol' 0-60 measurement. And there’s Magic Sky Control, which makes much of the roof glass, with the capability to adjust light transmission with the touch of a button. But this new TorqueFlite 8 transmission - some supplied by ZF and some built by Chryslerunder license - works beautifully in this application. Sometimes I hink we should meet up with USCIS director and explain how unfair the whole system works and how individual cases have suffered! Industry analysts expected the Encore to achieve annual sales of around 18,000 units, but with 15,428 sold so far this year, GM has already increased production to meet the unexpected demand. For the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, RENNtech will be featuring an all-new Project Car to stun the Mercedes-AMG Tuning Industry.
