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      Ram goes for an oversized battery to give EV truck 500 miles of range

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 5 April, 2023 - 18:54

    2025 Ram 1500 REV front three-quarters

    Enlarge (credit: Ram)

    Ram was the last of the big three automakers to show off an electric pickup truck , finally doing so during this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Ram 1500 Revolution concept was boldly styled, with dramatically raked A pillars, that same angle repeated between cab and bed, and wheel arches so swollen you might think they were having an anaphylactic reaction.

    Today, Ram showed off the production 1500 REV electric pickup at the New York International Auto Show, and while the styling is a lot more conventional than January's concept, a look at the specs left me audibly uttering "WTF."

    If you can’t be first, you might as well go farthest

    So far, Ford and Rivian have the electric pickup market to themselves. GMC had to stop building the gargantuan Hummer EV for a while, and Tesla's Cybertruck is still poised to enter production without any sign that has actually happened. Meanwhile Chevrolet's Silverado EV should be about to start appearing on roads and job sites, as spring 2023 is when deliveries of the work truck version are scheduled to begin.

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      Ram shows off its first fully electric pickup truck at CES, due 2024

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 5 January, 2023 - 22:30 · 1 minute

    Ram 1500 Revolution Battery-electric Vehicle (BEV) Concept grille

    Enlarge / Ram is the last of the Detroit three to show off a fully electric pickup truck. (credit: Ram)

    On Thursday Ram revealed a concept of its first fully electric pickup truck at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Ram is the last of the Detroit Three to show off a full-size EV pickup— Ford's F-150 Lightning went on sale in 2022 , and Chevrolet displayed the Silverado EV at CES last year . But the production Chevy EV is only due in 2024, the same year that the Ram 1500 BEV goes on sale.

    "The Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Concept is our clearest signal yet that we're on the precipice of something extraordinary at Ram and points directly to where we’re going on our electrified journey. At Ram, we’ve redefined what pickup trucks can be and will do so again by pushing past what competitors are offering by delivering the best electric pickups on the market," said Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr.

    Ram's design team has gone for a quite modern look for the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV, some of which—like the pillarless "suicide doors"—might not make it to the production version in a couple years' time. Other features and details should survive, though, like the powered frunk, tailgate, and rear step with active diffuser. The concept also sports side-view cameras instead of reflective mirrors—unless I'm mistaken, we'd need a change of regulations for those to become road-legal in the US.

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      Subaru warns Ascent owners to park outside due to fire risk

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 14 December, 2022 - 17:08 · 1 minute

    A white Subaru Ascent next to a suburban house

    Enlarge / That's as close as you should park your Subaru Ascent to the garage for now, Subaru says. (credit: Subaru)

    This week, Subaru announced a recall for more than 271,000 Ascent SUVs due to a potential fire risk. Although owners won't be formally notified until early February, Subaru says that model year 2019–2022 Ascent SUVs should not be parked in garages or car ports or under other structures. Subaru also says owners should not leave their Ascent running unattended, and if they notice or smell smoke coming from the dash or driver's footwell, they should immediately turn the car off and not attempt to restart it.

    The problem is an improperly grounded terminal for the cars' positive temperature coefficient heater, a heat source for the climate system that does not rely on engine heat. In January 2020, Subaru changed part of the Ascent's assembly process, switching to air tools on the part of the production line that fastens the ground terminal.

    If the bolt isn't properly fastened and the contact area is too small, resistance can build up to the point where the ground terminal gets hot enough to melt, along with anything in close proximity. That's obviously not something you want to happen while you're driving a car.

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