No Big V-8's in new Rams

[Walkercolt]

OK, everyone, I just got the new sales brouchure on the 2002 Ram. BAD NEWS! The only engines listed for the 1500 model are the new 3.5L V-6 and the 4.7L V-8. Not a word about the new Hemi as "late availability" or anything. The current 5.9L will not meet CARB spec's on emmissions on "light trucks". Even though DC raised the GRVW on the 1500 to like the old Ford"5/8 ton", CARB wouldn't pass it. I'm afraid the Hemi will be a 2500/3500 only engine.DC has said they were going to start using Gertag 6-8 speed "semi-autos"(just like the Porsche Boxster's) in trucks. Which if you can't get engine, you've gotta have gears to tow or pull a load. The Gertag units are constant-mesh(like motorcyle) trannies and will have an "auto-stick" button on the steering wheel. They can be electrically shifted or air shifted, I'd bet on an electric soliniod shift. We may get Diamiler-Benz diesels in our trucks too.DB has a 4L diesel(a "high-speed",ie, over 3500RPM) that is Europe's number one selling engine for "UPS-type" trucks.In fact, that's what UPS uses in all of Europe and the Mid-East. Expect this by 2003, 2004 at the latest.

[ehostler]

Hmmm... I don't see why CARB (California Air Resources Board) would prevent them from making a 1500 with the 5.7l, to sell in the rest of the nation. CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) or EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) maybe, but not CARB. Fed standards are a lot different than CARB standards. CARB would just prevent them from selling the vehicle in California.

[Walkercolt]

CAFE's don't apply (yet) to light trucks. The CARB standards are also used on cars and trucks sold in all states bordering Cal, and New York, New Jersey, Mass., and Conn. all have standards for emmisions almost exactly the same as CARB's. The biggest difference is CARB requires the vehicles' emissions system to last the LIFE of the vehicle and the NY standards are only 100K miles.When you also consider that one of every three new light trucks are sold in CA, OR,AZ,NV,it just isn't profitable to make the 5.9L available to about 1/3 of the US population. The short-stroke design of the Magnum engines is their emmissions down-fall. It is much, much easier to make a cleaner running long-stroke design.The new "mini-Hemi" is this type of design, but Diamler/Benz is pushing their designs of "high-speed"(over3500RPM) diesels for DC trucks. We'll probably see a 4-ish liter turbo-diesel for the Dakota in 2004, since this is the most popular engine for delivery trucks in Europe/Near East/North Africa. Everybody but consumers love compression ignition engines...some of the newest designes can't really be called diesels at all, as one is a six-stroke(like the Mazda 626 Low-emmission engine of a couple of years ago) and several are two-stroke, with pre-ignitor chambers.Think of running the output of a jet-turbine into cylinders and you'll have the general idea.