Would You Like Some Hybrid With Your Ram?

William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com

May 24, 2011

Starting this week, Chrysler and the U.S. Department of Energy will begin delivering 140 Ram 1500 plug-in hybrid electric pickup trucks around the US. The trucks are part of a a $100 million joint research project funded by Chrysler and the DOE to demonstrate their usability in different driving conditions and their efficient charging.

The PHEV Ram 1500 use a 345-horsepower, 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, a modified two-mode hybrid transmission (manufactured by GM) and a 12.9-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. The truck can travel 20 miles on the battery alone and up to 655 miles with a full 26-gallon tank of gas. Tow rating for the plug-in hybrid Ram stands at 6,000 lbs and a payload of 1,000 lbs.

The first 10 PHEV Ram 1500s will be dropped off in Yuma, Arizona to see how the trucks will handle the extreme temperatures during the summer, with the rest being place in different parts of the US by the end of this year. The PHEV Ram program is expected to run until 2014.

Source: PickupTrucks.com

Now this is the kind of stuff that could potentially show major fuel savings.

Giant meh.

wonder if the tranny is modded to be a 6 speed? the range gives an estimated 25mpg.

ford's 3.7L can get 23mpg highway, though the city mileage, i'm sure, is 20+ on this dodge. otherwise towing seems to be the same. just a little eco comparo.

Truck people want stone reliability and they don't want sissy band-aids or overcomplication to deal with.

or more torque.... yeah, we don't need more torque.

Truck people want stone reliability and they don't want sissy band-aids or overcomplication to deal with.

It's a GM tansmission whose basic design has been in production since 2007. You have nothing to fear.

Not scared, Frank. Simply disinterested. Passionately.

Don't you like Torque?

Yeahbut not Rube Goldberg torque. Real torque.

Edited June 6, 201114 yr by ocnblu

feeeel that magnetic power..... most of the fastest moving objects in production on the surface of the earth use magnets and electricity.

in fact, electrical torque is actually simpler than internal combustion

Truck people want stone reliability and they don't want sissy band-aids or overcomplication to deal with.

The DoE and ChryCo agree with your opinion wholeheartedly. Which is exactly why these trucks are being rigorously tested, and the program is lasting for several years.

Truck people want stone reliability and they don't want sissy band-aids or overcomplication to deal with.

The DoE and ChryCo agree with your opinion wholeheartedly. Which is exactly why these trucks are being rigorously tested, and the program is lasting for several years.

the DoE.... = huge waste of money.

some people here don't have a firm grip on reality. The reality is we are going to continue to flirt with $4 a gallon gas.

Accept the new technology, give up the big truck, or quit whining about gas prices. Pick one.

I only have one word for you people on this subject: LIGHT DUTY DIESEL. Likely more fuel efficient than this tack-on hybrid system, and more reliable (certainly more simple and inexpensive to repair in the long haul).