Dodge Heavy-Duty Pickups

First and foremost, the new 2010 Dodge Ram is about capability. In fact, its many features — including powertrain, towing and payload capacities, driving dynamics, amenities and styling – truly make it the ultimate heavy-duty pickup truck.

‘This is the continuation of the reinvention of our Dodge Ram lineup,’ said Mike Accavitti, Director – Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep Brands. ‘Over the past five years, Dodge has gained market share in the heavy-duty pickup segment, and to stay on that track, Dodge keeps innovating. Our new 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups will continue to build on our momentum.’

The backbone of 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy-Duty pickups is a hydro-formed, fully boxed frame with advanced torsional rigidity and stiffness. A coil-spring suspension setup is used up front, while the multi-leaf spring design is maintained in the rear for heavy-duty capability. Front and rear shocks and springs are tuned for optimum ride quality and capability.

In addition, new 2010 Dodge Ram transmissions include Electronic Range Select, which enables the driver to manually limit the highest available transmission gear, allowing manual upshifts and downshifts based on road speed and engine speed. A tow/haul mode switch enhances tow capability while towing. Tow/haul mode is available on both five-speed and six-speed automatic transmissions.

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Mercedes Benz ML350 Bluehybrid

While the American’s placed a high priority on preserving high towing capacities, BMW will position its X6 hybrid as a performance machine, fitting the twin-turbo V-8 and Mercedes-Benz seeks to maximize fuel economy. Hence this will be the only two-mode employing an Atkinson-cycle engine, with an adaptation of the base ML350’s 3.5-liter V-6. To keep costs down, a 40-kilowatt nickel-metal-hydride battery pack was chosen, instead of the lithium-ion unit powering the S400 Bluehybrid, and it fits completely within the spare-tire well so as not to compromise utility (that is, unless you suffer a blowout that’s too extreme for Fix-a-Flat to handle). The battery pack is water cooled for better performance in extreme hot-weather.

System tuning seeks merely to preserve existing acceleration (the system adds 530 pounds) and top-speeds while boosting fuel economy by 25-30 percent. A sport/economy (S/E) button on the dash switches between 8-speed stepped gearing and a more economical continuously variable shift strategy. Full electric operation is possible up to 34 mph, and a topped off battery will provide about a mile and a half of silent running. The controller will allow the battery to discharge to 35 percent before forcing recharge, which seems a bit lower than usual.

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