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2019 Ram 1500
Feb 4, 2025
Meet the 2019 Ram 1500: the angel is in the details
View Video Transcript
0:01
[Music]
0:08
what's going on here is long-term
0:10
durability testing of the new Ram 1500
0:13
pickup on our road test simulator where
0:16
we recreate the vehicles reactions that
0:20
it would have it that we're driving over
0:22
rough road surfaces how the new Ram 1500
0:25
deals with solved this abuse is
0:28
high-strength steel in its frame and
0:30
body to improve its long-term durability
0:33
the five link suspension with
0:36
progressive great coil springs and new
0:38
frequency response damping shock
0:40
absorbers are dealing with all of that
0:44
abuse that's coming at it from the road
0:46
simulator hydraulic cab mounts are
0:48
isolating and cushioning the driver and
0:51
occupants from what's going on beneath
0:54
the mohair on the simulator we record
0:58
responses from vehicles that we drive on
1:01
our proving grounds we bring that data
1:03
and vehicle back to the road simulator
1:06
and we recreate the responses that we
1:09
measured as we drove over our durability
1:11
roads at the proving ground when the
1:13
responses match here what we measured
1:16
there the vehicle can't tell the
1:18
difference between the tests I do on the
1:19
road test simulator and the actual test
1:22
on the road at the proving ground
1:26
our corporate durability test is
1:29
anywhere from twenty to thirty thousand
1:31
miles long picture yourself driving over
1:34
abusive roads like what's going on
1:36
behind me for thousands and thousands of
1:39
miles over months to accumulate the
1:42
damage that a customer does in a
1:43
lifetime of use the road test simulator
1:46
can run that in six weeks and well not
1:50
beat up a driver in the process our test
1:52
looks very severe because it really is
1:55
the roads that we're recreating here are
1:58
the roads from our proving ground which
1:59
is some of the roughest roads you're
2:01
going to find anywhere and those roads
2:03
have to be rough to incorporate the duty
2:07
cycles that our customers are going to
2:09
equip their vehicles through through a
2:11
lifetime of service this truck will
2:16
endure this testing 24 hours a day seven
2:19
days a week for the next month and a
2:20
half and it's just one of many
2:22
durability tests that the new Ram 1500
2:24
will have to endure to prove its design
2:27
before it goes into production
2:32
so if any of you have ever used a power
2:34
drill before you know how quick the
2:37
response is when you pull the trigger or
2:39
release it's starting and stopping the
2:41
the motor of the drill these dynamometer
2:43
--zz have that exact same capability so
2:46
we are able to almost instantly rev the
2:50
engine to any speed we want or decrease
2:53
the engine speed to any speed we want
2:55
using the dynamometer x' in that fashion
2:57
we are able to simulate extreme
2:59
conditions on the end today we are
3:06
testing a 5.7 Hemi engine with the
3:09
optional torque system capable of
3:11
capturing energy during engine
3:13
decelerations
3:14
and storing them in the 48 volt battery
3:17
pack that energy can then later be used
3:19
to help during engine accelerations or
3:22
for engine stop and starts some basic
3:26
durability testing that we do would be
3:27
to run the engine at peak power for say
3:30
200 plus hours which is 5600 rpm at wide
3:34
open throttle we have cells capable of
3:37
doing deep thermal shock plumbing the
3:39
engine with negative 15 degree
3:41
fahrenheit coolant negative 5 degree
3:44
Fahrenheit engine oil we also run tests
3:47
through our newly upgraded 8-speed
3:49
transmission and 4x4 transfer cases in
3:52
fact all powertrain components of the
3:54
RAM 1500 will be tested in similar
3:56
conditions 24 hours a day seven days a
3:58
week the 2019 Ram also offers an
4:02
upgraded Pentastar v-6
4:03
that comes standard with the e torque
4:05
system on it it's specifically tuned for
4:08
truck duty and rated at 305 horsepower
4:10
and 269 pound-feet of torque
4:12
the newest Pentastar v-6 includes
4:14
additional advanced technology such as
4:16
wide range variable valve timing and
4:18
two-step variable valve lift we put our
4:21
engines through the brutal test that we
4:22
do to make sure that our powertrain will
4:24
withstand anything the customer can
4:26
throw out a vehicle hi this is Dave from
4:30
all 4 and I'm here to talk to you a
4:31
little bit about the 2019 ram 1500 first
4:35
of all let me just say I am really
4:37
really impressed by what they've done
4:39
with this truck it is sort of a
4:41
his near / nerd paradise here because
4:46
they seemed to have gone through every
4:47
aspect of the truck and said how can we
4:50
improve this and not only that but how
4:52
can we improve this way that makes life
4:55
better for our customers as opposed to
4:56
just checking boxes body inspection
4:59
somewhere or trying to make numbers line
5:03
up for comparisons so let's start with
5:06
the e torque system that's basically an
5:09
electric boost for the engineer when you
5:12
need it and it comes standard on the v6
5:14
which has the most reason to have it and
5:19
it's optional on the Hemi and it doesn't
5:22
add to the overall horsepower and torque
5:25
ratings because those are taken at a
5:27
high peak what it does is it fills in
5:29
the gap when you're just starting out
5:31
when your mower begins
5:34
even when the transmission is shifting
5:36
so they have to interrupt the torque
5:38
from the engine you still get a little
5:40
bit of torque from the motor and you get
5:42
a relatively small motor in each vehicle
5:45
it's bigger in the Hemi but they're not
5:47
huge it's not a great big hybrid it's
5:50
basically replacing the alternator with
5:53
a combination generator and motor that
5:56
can either deliver power to the engine
5:58
when the battery is full or can take
6:02
they can just act as a regular
6:04
alternator and the rest of the time so
6:07
that's one thing but there's a lot more
6:10
to this from every aspect of it has been
6:13
gone over to cut weight to increase
6:16
strength or more ability even to heat up
6:20
the axle fluid when you're warming up
6:22
the truck so that it becomes efficient
6:24
earlier and so that there's less where
6:27
they really have done wonders for this
6:29
thing the design I don't know if you
6:33
love it or hate it when you first see it
6:34
but it does grow on you especially
6:35
because it is designed to be very well
6:38
integrated
6:40
it's not just a quick flashy element but
6:43
everything's supposed to work together
6:44
and that I think is the approach the
6:46
drug in general I think that this is the
6:50
engineers taking a real system's
6:52
approach and saying it's not just one
6:55
thing or the other it's not just the
6:56
body it's not just the transmission how
6:58
do we make everything work together well
7:04
the motor also helps the optronic
7:07
stop-start system makes it more seamless
7:09
it makes it faster makes it better you
7:12
can see that the dashboard is very
7:14
similar they've made some changes to the
7:16
center or seven-inch configurable trip
7:20
computer and display but otherwise
7:22
everything's in about the same place
7:24
except here we have in the center
7:26
console the big 12 inch screen which can
7:30
be split in two or looked at all in one
7:32
you can see right now it's got controls
7:33
on the bottom and status plan atop
7:36
here's some styling for you this is from
7:39
the limited the door detail there's a
7:42
quick look at the speaker they have
7:44
special textures that they're proud of I
7:46
believe that this is the top level
7:48
Harman Kardon system you've got your
7:52
little sliding covers for the center
7:54
storage and the cup holders in case you
7:55
don't want to admit that you've got cup
7:57
holders you've got little toggle
8:00
switches off on the left very nice
8:04
everything very well thought-out just
8:06
like in the 1994 Dodge Ram that came out
8:08
in 1993 when that came out people were
8:11
just stunned because they had looked at
8:13
how people use trucks and said hey let's
8:16
design a truck that meets the needs that
8:18
people have in real life and it seemed
8:22
that nobody had really thought about
8:24
doing it this is a REM rebel and it
8:28
shows you what it looks like with the
8:29
8.4 inch display it's very well
8:33
integrated in better integrated than in
8:34
past vehicles
8:35
it's got mostly the same look you can
8:39
see that the accents are very different
8:40
and it gives it a different feel
8:44
personally I really like the red doors
8:46
I'm not a huge fan of black everywhere
8:50
but the accents do help in this case
8:53
so we're just winning for the doors to
8:55
come up you can see the knob a lot of
8:58
knobs in this vehicle actually if you
8:59
look at that console it makes it easier
9:02
for you to do things quickly as opposed
9:06
to having to deal with buttons for
9:07
everything materials engineering one of
9:11
our fundamental approaches is the right
9:13
material for the right application if
9:16
you think of steel in its most basic
9:17
form there's mild steel and it has a
9:19
small amount of carbon and some alloy
9:21
alloying materials so what we want to do
9:23
is something is important is the frame
9:25
of a vehicle that's where we go to the
9:27
high-strength or the advanced
9:28
high-strength Steel's they're very
9:30
complicated materials with complex
9:33
microstructure and chemistry tuned to
9:37
the specific application so it gives you
9:39
a specific performance use you could
9:42
increase strength but then you also get
9:45
ductility which is very important for
9:46
things like forming the parts as your
9:49
stamping drawing one great example where
9:51
materials was involved is the front
9:54
upper control arm and the suspension
9:56
this is a hybrid design of the control
9:59
arm that's unique from anything we've
10:00
done before it's basically a stamped
10:03
steel structure that's over molded with
10:06
a structural plastic it allows benefits
10:09
from the standpoint of good performance
10:12
it's a weight save over the traditional
10:14
control arm
10:15
we used splayed front frame rails and
10:19
they're advanced high-strength steel
10:22
that is it's tubular and then it's
10:25
formed over a mandrel so you get a you
10:28
get a variation in the section in the
10:30
gauge thickness and that gives you
10:32
tailored performance and repeatable
10:34
performance both for impact and for
10:38
durability
10:38
and also helps you save weight their
10:40
fenders doors the roof panel we use a
10:45
variety of steel that's called bake
10:47
hardened steel there through the proper
10:50
choice of materials we were able to drop
10:53
the overall weight of the vehicle 225
10:56
pounds and through clever engineering
10:58
this is without a doubt the best frame
11:00
in the pickup truck market
11:05
hi this is Dave from wall para gain I'm
11:07
here just to narrate you through a
11:09
little bit of this ram rebel coverage a
11:13
few years ago I was speaking to a jeep
11:16
engineer and he said something that I
11:19
think really defines the can-do attitude
11:21
that Jeep has I mean they're faced with
11:24
GM and Ford giving their all to really
11:27
compete as hard as they can in pickups
11:29
and with Nissan coming out with the
11:31
Titan and trying to capture whatever
11:34
share they can and yet they have the
11:37
confidence to build a much higher volume
11:40
factory in Sterling Heights and to
11:44
completely redo Warren where the trucks
11:47
were built until now and they're
11:50
basically coming out and saying yes we
11:52
can do it we can keep building up market
11:54
share we can keep building sales and
11:57
what this engineers said I had asked him
12:01
about how hard it was to keep up with
12:03
all the emissions and safety rules
12:04
coming at them at the same time they
12:06
have to increase gas mileage cut
12:08
emissions and infra safety all at once
12:10
which are mutually contradictory things
12:14
to shoot for and he said basically
12:16
that's the fun of it that's why we're
12:19
engineers that's what we do that's what
12:21
were for that's why it turns us on
12:23
that's what makes us excited and I
12:25
thought that is a kind of can-do
12:26
attitude that you don't hear very often
12:28
and he meant it it wasn't just something
12:32
that he said for the press this is a guy
12:33
who doesn't give that many interviews
12:35
but he was very enthusiastic and it
12:39
shown through and I think that that
12:41
attitude permeates this truck they could
12:45
have gone with aluminum it would have
12:46
cost a lot more it would have cost
12:48
owners a lot more if they had to go to
12:50
body shops and it would have just been
12:51
copying Ford instead they went their own
12:55
way and they just went through and did
12:57
everything that they could they cut 225
13:00
pounds out it's not as impressive as say
13:04
600 pounds from aluminum but it's a lot
13:06
cheaper there are definite rewards to it
13:10
in terms of the solid feel and the ride
13:12
and handling and I think they probably
13:15
made the best pickup truck that you can
13:18
get in this class period end of story
13:21
and I don't take that they have anything
13:23
to fear from Mercedes coming into the
13:25
market
13:31
through extensive testing here in the
13:33
wind tunnel or able to optimize several
13:35
features of the truck that will allow it
13:37
to have a low aerodynamic drag which
13:39
then allows the customer to get the
13:41
improved fuel economy that they desire
13:43
we also spend a lot of time in here
13:45
looking for wind noises and whistles
13:50
have an active grille shutters system
13:52
behind the grille that opens and closes
13:55
based on how much cooling airflow is
13:57
needed we try to keep it closed as much
13:59
as possible because that allows the air
14:01
to be redirected around the truck to
14:03
keep the dragon low on the active grille
14:05
shutters system that we have on a
14:06
current truck we carry that through to
14:07
the new truck but we've moved it forward
14:10
so that it was close to the grille and
14:11
was more effective from an aerodynamic
14:14
standpoint we've added the active air
14:16
dam which deploys at 35 miles per hour
14:19
when that deploys it allows the air to
14:21
be redirected instead of going
14:22
underneath the truck and hitting a lot
14:24
of the suspension components that create
14:26
I drag our class exclusive air
14:28
suspension system has an arrow mode that
14:30
lowers the vehicle half an inch to help
14:31
reduce Aero drag we spend a lot of time
14:34
on the mirrors because those sticking
14:37
out from the side of the truck are big
14:39
sources of drag so we spend a lot of
14:41
time on those and to refine the shape to
14:43
produce as little drag as possible we
14:45
look at the shape of the bumpers the fog
14:47
lamp pockets we've modified to try to
14:49
help the air get around the bumper so
14:51
it's closed efficiently and then when we
14:53
get towards the back of the truck we've
14:54
done things with the tailgate cap to
14:56
keep the drag low we've done things with
14:59
the leading edge of the bumpers trying
15:00
to sort of making them flat they're
15:01
beveled to try to get the air around
15:03
them more efficiently compared to the
15:08
previous round we've been able to reduce
15:09
the drag of this vehicle by nine percent
15:11
so that's a huge improvement over a
15:14
truck that was already a very low drag
15:16
vehicle we now have a class-leading 3:57
15:21
coefficient of drag that's the number
15:23
that quite honestly is better than some
15:25
midsize SUVs and this is a full-size
15:27
truck
15:30
you
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