Jun 26th, 2008 by RJ Menezes
The trends seem to be going the opposite way from what Dodge is doing. While other automakers are scrambling to make their ever-less selling big trucks more fuel friendly, Dodge has given it’s new Ram pickup truck a 13% bump in power to a stout 390hp.
Yet, Dodge said the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 also delivers an improvement of 4 percent in fuel economy, which translates to less than 1mpg more. So it is more efficient, but barely. While the EPA has yet to post official numbers for the 2009 Ram, the 2008 model year Ram 1500 two-wheel-drive model with a 5.7-liter V8 and a five-speed automatic transmission returns 13 mpg in city driving and 19 mpg on the highway.
Dodge claims it’s gains in power and fuel economy were due to improved variable valve timing, a reworked cylinder-cutoff system and better aerodynamics with the new body style. The fastest ’09 Ram model, an R/T regular-cab 4×2 model equipped with a short bed and 4.10 gearing, goes zero to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds.
Dodge also announced that a new Cummins turbodiesel in its light-duty pickups will be introduced after 2009. This model will get a 25 percent improvement in fuel efficiency and a 20 percent reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions over a gas engine. Now that’s an improvement!
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