2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel

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I’ll be back.

Arnold said it – but Ram meant it.

The now-number-two best-selling truck brand was forced to pull its “Eco” diesel V6 off the market last year because of emissions certification troubles; the standards are such that a camel squirming its way through the eye of a needle is easy in comparison.

But they did it – and the Ram diesel is not only back, it’s stronger.

So strong, in fact, that a Ram so equipped pulls 12,560 pounds –  de facto the same as the gas V8 equipped Ram can (12,750) while also doing something the V8 Ram can’t, which is travel 1,000 miles before it needs to be refilled.

That’s something not even a Prius hybrid can do.

And the Prius can’t tow anything.

What it Is

The Ram 1500 is a half-ton truck and has become America’s second best-selling truck, after the Ford F-150. This all by itself is a remarkable achievement because Chevy’s Silverado 1500 had been the second best-selling truck for decades.

Ram (and before that, Dodge) has been the perennial – and distant – number three.

Not anymore.

Ram snatched away second place last year – and is now gunning for first. Which it might just pull off on the the strength of its diesel – and its body, which is still mostly steel rather than light but easy to bend (and not cheap to fix) aluminum, as the F-150’s now is.

No turbos, either.

Or even direct-injected anything.

There are other reasons to favor the Ram, too – including a fold-down or fold-out tailgate, which no one else offers, an air suspension that drops the body closer to the road for better aerodynamics at speed – and raises it up for greater clearance off-road, massively more interior storage capacity than other 1500s and unusual additional storage capacity in the sides of the bed.

There are some things you can’t get, though – including a regular cab or an eight-foot bed.

Rivals still offer both.

But if dollars down is the ultimate expression of what most buyers want, then the absence of these options hasn’t dissuaded many.

Prices start at $32,145 for the Tradesman trim with quad cab (two standard doors and two smaller rear doors) 2WD, standard trailer sway control and a 3.6 liter V6/mild hybrid set-up Ram styles “eTorque.” The truck doesn’t move on electricity but electricity does power most accessories when the truck isn’t actually moving – and when the engine isn’t running.

This system is also available with the optional 5.7 liter V8. Or not, if you prefer just the V8.

It isn’t available with the 3.0 liter “Eco” diesel V6 – but you can buy this engine and either version of the Hemi 5.7 V8 as a stand-alone option with any trim, including the base Tradesman trim.  Which is another reason, probably, why this truck sells so well. Some of its rivals only offer their available engines (including their available diesel engines) in certain trims – the ones that cost a lot more than the standard trim.

The 2020 Ram is sold in six primary trims – the base Tradesman, Lone Star, Laramie, Bighorn, Rebel and Limited – all in quad or crew (four full-size door) configurations with either a 5.7 or 6.4 foot bed and with so many possible combinations of packages and options its possible to order up a custom truck that actually is that – right from the factory.

But be careful.

A loaded Limited crew cab 4WD with the optional diesel and air-adjustable suspension stickers for about $75,000. Some will point out you can buy a home for that – which is true.

But this truck can move a home. And it’s nicer inside than many homes.

What’s New

In addition to the return of the king – the hunky diesel V6 – two new appearance packages  (Night and Black) are available.

An efficiency-minded HFE package is also available for the Tradesman. It includes low-rolling resistance tires and a few “deletes” (including 4WD) that reduces weight for the sake of an extra mile-per-gallon vs. the standard Tradesman with the V6.

There are also appearance upgrades – including an available 20-inch wheel/tire package (also low rolling resistance) that are the real reason for selecting this trim.

What’s Good

Tremendous pulling power – and range.

Tremendous cargo capacity – inside and out.

Tremendous versatility – including a class-exclusive two-piece/two-way tailgate.

What’s Not So Good

Fewer cab options.

No eight-foot-bed option.

Over-sensitive “assistance” systems.

Under The Hood

The Ram’s standard engine is the same 3.6 liter V6 that you’ll find under the hood of various FCA vehicles, including the Charger/300 sedans and some Jeeps, too. It produces 305 horsepower and 269 ft.-lbs. of torque and is paired with the mild-hybrid system mentioned above, which consists of a 9Kw/48V battery and 90 ft.-lb. starter-generator rig. This takes some of the load off the engine and thus improves both fuel economy (the main reason for it) as well as focuses all of the engine’s power on moving the truck.

The other thing it does is make ASS less unpleasant.

ASS  is the Automated Stop/Start system most buyers dislike but which most new cars and trucks come with anyway – because it’s a way for the car companies to comply with federal fuel economy mandates. But the repetitive stop/starting is jarring – because 12V starters and batteries were designed to start a stopped engine just every now and then, not at every red light.

The 48V system gives almost immediate – and almost unnoticeable – restarts.

Still, it’s a lot of trouble to go to for the sake of 1-2 MPGs vs. the same vehicle without ASS –  especially when gas is much cheaper than a new 48V battery (located behind the back seats).

The optional 5.7 liter Hemi V8 makes 395 horsepower and produces 410 ft.-lbs. of torque. It can be paired with the mild-hybrid eTorque system, too.

Or not.

If you skip it, you’ll save about $200 up front – the difference in cost of the Hemi with the eTorque system ($1,695) and the cost of just the Hemi ($1,495). You may also save on the cost of batteries, as the Hemi Ram without the eTorque system only has one – the usual 12V starter battery – and it costs a lot less to replace than a 48V battery.

Either way, the Ram so equipped can pull 12,750 lbs.

And so can the optional 260 hp (and 480 ft.-lbs. of torque) 3.0 liter diesel V6 – or just about – while using much less fuel and going much farther. It rates 22 MPG in city driving and 32 mpg on the highway. With its 33 gallon gallon tank topped off, the Ram diesel can keep on trucking for more than 1,000 miles.

You will probably need to pee before the Ram needs to stop.

All three engines are paired with an eight-speed automatic and with or without 4WD.

Neither of the Ram’s gas engines is direct-injected. And neither the 3.6 V6 nor the Hemi needs premium gas, either.

On The Road

You get into this thing as you would the cab of a locomotive – by climbing up. It doesn’t have rails and steps but it does offer auto-deploying running boards to help you  make the climb and an available air suspension with “kneel” function – which reduces the distance you have to climb.

The air suspension also improves high-speed handling once you’re rolling (“aero” mode).

Speaking of rolling.

There is almost no diesel burble audible from inside the truck – and no diesel smoke is visible from the outside the truck. If you want to roll coal, this isn’t the truck for you. Other than the DEF gauge in the main cluster and the tach that doesn’t register to 7,000 RPM, this is a diesel on the down low.

But if you want a truck that can pull the equivalent of four Priuses – and  go farther than two of them, fully fueled – you will really like this truck.

My test truck still had almost 300 miles of range left after a week of driving 60 miles up and down the mountain every day. Most of the vehicles I test drive are close to running empty after traveling 300 miles on a full tank.

Assuming they can get that far.

It’s true, of course, that diesel costs more than regular unleaded – thanks to the government and its Ultra Low Sulfur diesel mandate. But what is the value of your time? A full tank in this truck means being able to traverse several states without stopping once . . . unless you want to.

The diesel’s other virtue is its relaxed nature – which will relax you.

It is almost never necessary to push the accelerator pedal more than half-way down to feel as though the front wheels just left the ground.

That’s because all 480 ft.-lbs. of torque generated by this tiny engine – just 180 cubes – are generated down low, like JD Sumner’s voice (at 1,600 RPM, a fast idle). Contrariwise, it’s necessary to rev the gas-fed Hemi to 4,000 RPM to achieve its only marginally higher torque peak.

One thing that’s not as relaxing is the Ram’s Ready Alert back-up “safety” system – which sometimes applies the brakes (hard) when you’re not expecting them to come on at all. It all depends on what the camera thinks it sees. Your eyes can see you’re not going to back up into something. But the camera disagrees – and on come the brakes. This can happen (it happened to me) when backing down a steeply inclined driveway; apparently, the angle of the camera is such that it “sees” the pavement as something you’re about to back into – and on come the brakes.

This can be pushed through – by pushing down on the gas – but (like ASS) it’s a “feature” that causes more problems than it solves. The fulsome scurvy truth – which no one wants to say out loud, but I will – is that people who can’t back up a half-ton truck without “assistance” ought to be driving something else.

Or maybe not at all.

At The Curb

GM made a mistake by making the Silverado ugly. It has a mug only its mother could love – after a few gin and tonics.

Ford made a mistake making the F-150 aluminum.

You can fix ugly; it’s hard to fix aluminum – and not cheap, either.

The Ram isn’t ugly – and it’s mostly made of steel, which is tougher to hurt and easier to fix if you do.

All the trucks in this segment are big – but the Ram is biggest on the inside. It has truly vast storage space (151.1 liters) in multiple underfloor cubbies, in the huge center console, in the doors, under the seats and practically everywhere that extra space could be carved out.

The rear seats don’t just slide, either – they also recline.

The tailgate folds down – and out. Or both. At the same time.

No other half-ton truck has a two-piece tailgate, which gives you the extra sideways room to load/unload when you can’t drop the tailgate. You also have the option to partially close the tailgate, if that makes sense.

Or just because.

The Ram can also be ordered with a pair of very handy Ram Boxes – weathertight/lockable additional storage cubbies built into the bed walls, on both sides. These are also drainable, if you get the drift.

If only there were more bed.

Last year, there was. If you bought the Ram Classic – which was the previous generation Ram 1500 – you could get an eight foot bed as well as a  two-door regular cab. It was sold new alongside the new new Ram, which only comes with in four-door (quad/crew) cab styles and only with a 5.7 foot or 6.4 foot “long” bed.

Ah well, you can’t have everything.

And both beds are steel – so less worry about trying out the Ram’s 2,300 lb. payload capacity . . .and possibly punching a hole in it.

The beds are high – 36.4 inches off the ground for the 4×4 – but you can lower that by almost three inches (32.9 inches) if you have the air-adjustable suspension. Still, it’s a big step up, even for a very tall man. This is true of all the current 1500s – even the 2WD versions. As a practical matter, a lower bed would be much easier to get into and out of – as well as to load and unload.

The Rest

Another item the Ram offers that the others don’t is a touchscreen almost as big as the Ram itself – a 12 inch vertical tablet that makes touching (and swiping) more accurately done while the Ram is moving – which is no small thing.

Because the icons for the various apps and other functions are bigger.

Using smaller touchscreens with tiny icons is like trying to use your phone while the vehicle is moving. It’s hard to touch/swipe them accurately while moving without looking closely at the screen – which means not looking closely at the road ahead. The Ram’s system is one of the best designs on the market, if only because it’s the right size for the purpose.

It’s also among the most intuitive system on the market, too.

Another thing to like about this truck is that there’s still a 12V power point – in addition to a 115V three-prong household outlet – and it’s not hidden in the warren of storage compartments or shunted off to the side someplace where you can’t see it or reach it.

Instead, it’s right there on top of the dash – the perfect place to plug in your radar detector – which you’ll want to do when you’re rolling in this rig.

The Bottom Line

If you buy the second-best selling truck on the road you might soon be driving the best-selling truck on the road!

. . .

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36 COMMENTS

  1. In case this helps anyone: after three months with my 2020 ecodiesel I can report that getting 32mpg at 65mph is pretty much a matter routine (onboard calculator is off about 0.3MPG from hand calcs). Over 68mph, though, and mpg drops to well under 30.

    It took just under 6,000 miles to go from completely full DEF to the onboard “warning vehicle will not start in 30 miles” this refill.

    Only quality issue so far is driver’s side door speaker went out at 3,000 miles but repaired under warranty.

    Only complaint overall is you *will* notice the very annoying lag between accelerator input and the immense thrust of the torque if you have to stomp on it to get onto the freeway. For passing, though, hardly ever happens.

  2. Great review as always Eric!

    Have a 5.7 w/out the Etorque, so there’s no ASS, which I love. The backup assist is a major pitfa, fortunately it can be turned off and since then, it no longer brakes and makes me look stupid to the neighbors.

    Side note, you hit the nail on the head with Diesels being relaxed, which is why I can’t seem to stand my dad’s (leased) Range Rover, as I have to put the trans in sport, then the setting in dynamic to really make it hustle, whereas my Truck is just up and ready to kick some ass!

    Wait, the rear seats recline?! I had no idea, mainly since I never use them for passengers but mostly lift them up so I can stuff my truck when I need to do supply runs. Definitely learned something new today

    What trim were you driving btw?

  3. Ram … yawn. Where’s the Nikola e-truck review? /sarcasm

    Just kidding, but some out-of-control speculators are not. From an article this morning:

    As Barron’s Al Root noted, the trucking startup Nikola, named after the same famous inventor as Tesla, sports a market value over $30 billion.

    That’s larger than heavy-duty truck makers such as Paccar and Traton who sell hundreds of thousands of trucks a year.

    Nikola went public last week and hasn’t sold any trucks yet. On Monday, Nikola founder, Trevor Milton, tweeted about taking in reservations for the company’s light-duty truck called Badger starting in late June.

    ————

    As the current Tom Tomorrow fantasy rolls on despite the ominous cracks appearing in the economy, sexy e-truck vaporware trumps boring old IC-engined Detroit iron that actually runs and drives today.

    How many auto makers disappeared forever during the 1930s Depression? Please don’t ask. Believe in e-miracles; feel the joy of anticipation!

    • Hi Jim,

      And they ask me why I drink….

      With regard to trucks: The “e” trucks will tout their tremendous torque/pulling power. Which they have. Just not for very long…

      • According to Bloomberg, as of yesterday Nikola founder Trevor Milton is worth nine billion dollars.

        That’s due to NKLA stock having risen eightfold since the beginning of March.

        Nikola is forecasting zero revenue for 2020 and its first billion-dollar year in 2023. It doesn’t expect to be fully utilizing an Arizona assembly plant that it hasn’t built yet until 2028.

        Who is insane here — curmudgeonly skeptics like ourselves, or punters piling into a company that has some cool, muscular-looking renderings, but not a dollar in sales?

        As ol’ George Thorogood used to sing, One drink ain’t enough Jack, you’d better make it three … garnished with fentanyl sprinkles to kill the pain. Bottoms up!

        • Jim that’s why we’re about to have a revolution, a non-violent one I hope, but no matter what I’d like, a revolution. There were 331 CEO’s of major corporations cash in from 1-1-20 to sometime late in Feb. They knew, just like Trump and everyone else in DC knew, there was about to be a real shitty in the form of a plandemic foisted on the workers of this country.

          I’d say “people of this country” but that wouldn’t be accurate. I won’t go further into it right now, I am tired(it happens when you’re so young you don’t realize what’s going on), as one commenter here said of me.

          But I’m old enough to chill out with Evan’s white label and go to bed….and hope I get up and live to fight it out one more day.

        • “Who is insane here — curmudgeonly skeptics like ourselves, or punters piling into a company that has some cool, muscular-looking renderings, but not a dollar in sales?”

          Us, apparently, since choosing to live in the real world is now considered “abnormal”.

          • bg, there is a new normal. I’m trying to find that “alternate universe” like in Twilight Zone where everything was opposite. It would be like coming home.

    • Nikola? Really? Wonder if there will be four more EV startups with the names Thomas, Edison, George, and Westinghouse? That right there shows just how “original” these technocrats are.

      • Right bg. It really chaps my ass that these companies besmirch the good name of Nikola Tesla by using his namesake. And yes, the originality of these types is so lacking but that seems to be par for the course with regards to the culture at large. Everything is just recycled, from music, movies, etc.

  4. I just picked up a new ’20 Ram for work. Tough buying times with no factories open the past few months, so my choices were limited. I told the salesman 6-4 bed and V8-only (no e-torque), crew. He had 2, a limited at 75K and a Laramie at 60K. they were giving deep discount off of those. Interesting to me was they had a lot of v8-e-torques, I guess most don’t want them. I got the Laramie with many up options I wouldn’t have ordered like the 12″ screen, air-ride, and sunroof. But I didn’t have time to wait till the end of summer for an ordered truck.
    After 1000 miles I am very impressed. I’ve owned 10+ GM’s and 1 ford. This Ram rides better than my 300-V8, is just as quiet, a touch slower than my quick 300-V8 (weight), but not by much because the Ram came with the larger 3.92 gears (no choice in the matter). It rides soooo good that a new Ram may replace my two vehicle (300 & Ford) setup in another location, eventually. I’m calling the new Ram the large sedan I desire, it just has a bed now. Another surprise was as I was driving it’s maiden voyage the ride was so impressive, that I knew it was going to suffer when I got into the twisty mountain roads closer to my house. Nope, it handled very well, and turn in and body role was very good. Again, impressive. I was actually squealing the tires a little just to see what it would do, and it did very well.
    I was wrong on the 12″ screen and air-ride. The 12″ screen has been very useful when I need to navigate lots of dirt roads and be able to see where they go because the map is so much larger now. The air-ride is a game changer as I can get the bed lower than normal to load motorcycles which lately has been a big challenge with current higher and higher trucks. I put it in in highest setting (only to 20mph), and sent i pic to my son “I have a lifted truck with a push of a button, haha”. He thought it was pretty cool. And of course the ‘exit/entry’ setting it gets pretty low, but you can not drive in it cause it literally puts it on the bump stops. I can get in-out well, but you will still need running boards for elderly people. The sunroof will never be opened, so that is a waste, but I had no choice in the matter.
    Now to be fair, my mileage suffers at fast highway speeds because of the 3.92 rears, by about 2-3 mpg compared to the standard 3.21’s, but everywhere else the 3.92’s are a bonus. Ok compromise for me.
    The interior is nicer than my 300.
    Well done Ram, very well done.

    ohhh, Eric, the reverse safety thing was a huge PITA as I need to back-up with the tailgate down a lot, and it literally wouldn’t let me slamming on the brakes every foot or so, I guess cause the camera is seeing the ground. I luckily found a simple setting in setup stuff and you can turn it off, I think it’s permanent too. I have not witnessed ASS either, but I did see some setup screen about it, maybe it’s just for the e-torque engine I don’t have.

      • My first ever Ford I got 2 years ago rode way better than any prior GM I had, but my new Ram takes it to a new level. Railroad crossings are always harsh in trucks, but you wouldn’t even know you went over tracks in the Ram if you didn’t hear them. I have not driven a normal spring Ram, so I don’t know if they ride different than the air-ride unit I have.
        And while my Ford is a relative stripper, I do like the 5.0 and 10sp. Works pretty well. I too did not want their turbo engines. GM’s 5.3 is a no go for me (poor trans tuning, for me), and while their 6.2 is current hp king, GM still f’s the trans tuning for max-mpg that I don’t like how they drive, IMO. The GM 6.2 is a beast at full throttle, but suffers everywhere else because of tuning. The 5.7 Ram is the best compromise IMO. Ram could fix the highway mpg issue with the 3.92’s with another gear, but I doubt they’ll do it to keep costs down. Or just a re-ratio’d 8sp cause 1st gear is relatively useless, but again I doubt they’ll do it. 5.7 and their 8sp has been around a while, and few order the 3.92 gears.
        BTW Eric, great review as usual.

    • Chris,
      Love the Rams, great review of your new truck. I’ve had 4 diesel 2500s and loved them. Got rid of the last 3 before DPF problems. Downsized from 5th wheels to ultra lite travel trailers and have had two F-150s, a 2014 5.0 FX4 and now a 2019 5.0 XLT FX4. Would have gotten a Ram but couldn’t find one with the equipment. Rented a couple brand new Ram 1500 Big Horn 5.7 4x4s from Enterprise and they were bonzer trucks. My 2019 F-150 for around 40K after discounts and rebates: 5.0, 10speed, tow pkg, HD payload pkg, LT truck tire pkg (the standard P-Wranglers are soft), trailer brake controller, 36 gallon fuel tank, step bars, navigation, bed liner, chrome package, tint, etc, etc. The F-150 5.0s have never let me down, towing through the Mojave at 120F summertime, never overheating and providing enough power and torque to tow with ease, even through the Tacate and Laguna mountains to San Diego. Get 10mpg and only have to refuel once in Yuma. Thanks Eric.
      Aloha, Vic

  5. Car and Driver rates the Dodge Ram number one.

    I don’t own a pickup truck, I have a Pathfinder with 4 wheel drive. Nothing better to suit my purposes, bought it new, the body on frame Pathfinder.

    I do however rent a pickup for a specific use now and then. Cost of owning is too much, a bargain to rent one now and then.

    I rented a pickup truck that happened to be a Dodge Ram 2011 model. Drove it 483 miles, I fueled up to top the tank, it used about 26 gallons of gasoline.

    Drove down the road like no other pickup can.

    Forget Ferds and Chebies, Dodge Ram 2020 model is the first choice by a country mile.

    • The one I rented got really good fuel economy. I was in a big hurry to see my best friend before he died and didn’t have the time to figure out how to work the damned trip odometer(neither did anyone before me by the miles on it). I didn’t drive it lightly either. I hammered hell out of it matter of fact. After he died I was upset enough to hammer it 400 miles back the other way.

      The wife wanted me to stop and get a room. You’d think she’d know an old trucker didn’t need to stop.

    • Hi drumpish!

      The F-150’s turbo V6 is a no-go for me; I like the 5 liter V8 – which you can still get – but then there’s the aluminum body, which you can’t avoid. Yes, it’s 400 pounds lighter than steel. How does this benefit me – the owner – as opposed to Ford, for purposes of CAFE compliance? I live in the country – deer strikes are as common as kudzu – and a buck piling into an aluminum truck is going to hurt (and cost).

      The Chevy? I’m not hung up on looks, but the thing is ugly – and while GM makes a good V8, the rest of the truck is low-rent in comparison. Especially the interior, which isn’t even in the same league as the Ram’s.

      • I won’t argue about looks but 50 yds away I can’t tell a Ford and Chevy apart but I can’t say that about the Ram and prefer its looks over all the rest. Never thought I’d be saying that about a Dodge. I haven’t seen the interior of my neighbor’s new Chevy work truck but the Ford he bought last year is a lot better than the 2017 Chevy he had but then it was a work truck and cloth seats.

        Mary Barra wouldn’t know a nice interior or exterior if she actually looked at one. There’s probably a Mercedes limo that pulls out of the GM underground parking lot with blacked out windows. That will be Mary’s.

      • Deer on the road and in the ditches are a problem especially at nightfall, the dusk kind of camouflages everything. I always drive at speeds less than 50 mph and slower during the night and at dusk.

        Out in Wyoming the mule deer form herds of 40 and more, when they are crossing the highway, you yield. Deer are no fun to hit and the poor things die.

        Drove by a rest area in eastern Wyoming, there sat a truck loaded with big round hay bales. The truck and bales were burnt to a crisp. Hard to get a firetruck there in time when it is 50 miles to the next small town. There is nothing you can do, you’re helpless. When hay burns, it can’t be doused out with water, you have to roll the big bale out and watch it burn, throw some water on it to prevent spreading.

        I digress.

        My dad had a 1954 Ford pickup truck, floor shift, simple stuff for a six-cylinder engine. More like a tank than anything.

        Had a date one night and had to use the Ford pickup, my she was happy being in that old truck. Long time ago now, then he sold it to my cousin, his favorite nephew and I lost out. All of a sudden the pickup was gone and I had no idea. Miss it to this day.

        Too old to remember much these days, but I’ll never forget that truck and the date that night. har

        Anyhow, it makes me think of the ee cummings poem, she being brand new.

        I have driven all kinds of farm trucks hauling grain and beans. Was driving an IH cab-over out of a field fully loaded with wheat, had the emergency brake on and forgot. It had a lot of power, drove off and ripped apart the bell brake.

        Always something that can go wrong. Always something that needs to be fixed.

        I see plenty of Dodge late model pickups on the roads these days, must be an easy sell.

  6. “No eight-foot-bed option.”

    This simply proves few use these vehicles as trucks. They love those tiny little 5 foot beds because they never haul anything.

    Real pickups have 8 foot beds.

    • Hi Aljer,

      I agree. That is the one thing I don’t like about the Ram. Well, that and no two-door/extended cab to go with. I haul more stuff than carry people – so a long bed is necessary in my world. But I’m a kook. Unfortunately – unlike J. Giggles Flintstone – I’m not a rich one!

      • I recently had to haul lumber and sheets of plywood in my Chevy and was reminded again how much I despise those short beds. When you have all sorts of things to haul at the same time and 8′ material too, they are fairly much a PITA.

  7. Interesting review Eric. The Ram is really kicking ass and taking names the last few years. And I think it’s great to see all the Ridgeline influences starting to take hold in the other truck makes, e.g. the tailgate and backseat in this new Ram. Eerily similar to the Ridgeline that everyone mocks (I feel just the opposite about the Ridgeline).

    • Hi c_dub,

      I don’t mock the Ridgeline. I agree it’s an effective, smart design. Is it a He-truck? No. So what? Many trucks are over-He, built with capabilities not many people use (e.g., how many people rock crawl or even go seriously off-road in a brand-new $50,000 truck)?

      Imagine the Ridgeline with a diesel. Now that would kick!

      • From what I’ve gathered you’re a fan, like myself, of the Ridgeline. And yes, a Honda diesel in a Ridgy? Oh that would be glorious! Give a third pedal with mine too.

        And the types that typically mock the Ridgy are the “he-truck” types that, as you described, own trucks with capabilities they don’t need nor use. Human psychology and are marketing are a fascinating study.

      • eric, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Big 3 selling Ridgeline type pickups soon…..if the economy ever comes back. And used vehicles are already up somewhere around 9%.

        My crystal ball says the price of new autos will continue to fall. And yesterday I saw a piece on VW. The govt. is going to ruin them or simply run them out of the country. I’m guessing the $30B they’re telling VW they owe for their latest EPA scandal is a price they won’t be able to pay.

        Government everywhere has turned into something the people can’t live with. Judges and bureaucrats are off the deep end but I repeat myself. I’m sure we all realize it but it’s not getting better…..yet. I think I see the torches and pitchforks on the horizon.

        Back to the Dodge pickup though, the one I rented rode well enough and ran like a scalded dog but the upper end on the engine was obviously going on the Hemi. The “aero” mode would seem to be a winner if it’s not too expensive. Those tall trucks handle like crap at speed.

        • Anon, I know we’re all under a lot of stress. Hell, I’m in the sticks and just seeing what’s going on stresses me. But the female human in this country seems to be going off the rails.

          I’m about maxed out on screaming females with bullhorns. I gotta quit watching the videos of the protests.

          • Thankfully this one has been gone for a few years now and the nightmare is over. Nice young couple in there now.

            She was paranoid about her “abusive” soon to be ex husband and got this huge Russian dog. It got loose and threatened me once and I scared it away until she caught it again. A year plus later it got loose again and charged me and I killed it. In the meantime her damn sheep and alpacas ran all over the neighborhood. She kept accusing me of sneaking around her place.

            I have no damn patience about supposedly abused women anymore.

          • Orgell got this right 70 years ago”
            “Winston had disliked her from the very first moment of seeing her.
            He knew the reason. It was because of the atmosphere of hockey−fields and cold baths and community hikes and general clean−mindedness
            which she managed to carry about with her. He disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones.
            It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party,
            the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers−out of unorthodoxy.”

  8. The big question that a relative and many off road enthusiasts have been asking; will that diesel engine be made an option in the jeep Gladiator?

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