Ram Trucks has announced a new off-road package for the 2015 Ram 1500.
Unveiled at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, the model equips a multitude of trail-ready equipment, including 33-inch tires, a 3.92 axle ratio, new skid plates, front tow hooks, and exclusive air suspension that raises ride height by one inch.
The ‘Rebel’ package is offered with the 305-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6 and the 395-hp, 5.7-liter V8.
“Offering an off-road-style package on the Ram 1500 has been on our to-do list for some time but the right combination didn’t present itself until now,” said Bob Hegbloom, CEO of Ram Trucks. “The Rebel drops right into a core segment of the truck market with unique design cues and can-do attitude backed by Ram Truck engineering.”
Despite a ride height of 10.3 inches and a bolstered body, the biggest changes to come with the Rebel package are aesthetic.
The front end has been completely revamped, with a RAM adorned grill replacing the stock unit’s “cross-hair” design. The 1500 looks much more modern and aggressive now, accentuated by new LED fog lamps, projector headlights, and a twin-snorkel aluminum hood.
Moving back, there are flat black badges and 17-inch aluminum alloys, and the rear is highlighted by a powder coated bumper with flared cutouts.
The rugged off-road theme continues inside the cabin, as the vinyl seats wear a tire tread pattern that matches the Toyo rubber touching the pavement. There are ‘Radar Red’ accents aplenty and logo-laden surfaces everywhere, tied together with black headliner and red stitching.
The Ram 1500 Rebel goes on sale in the second half of 2015.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.