Latest news with #Kuniskis
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
A Hellcat-Powered Ram TRX May Be Coming Back After All
Last year, Ram replaced its outrageous, Ford F-150 Raptor-fighting TRX 1500 with a more subdued six-cylinder Baja-style truck called the RHO. There's plenty to love about the Hurricane-powered "Rhino," but many Ram fans could not help but miss the big supercharged V-8 in the TRX. Fortunately, they may not be missing the TRX for long. Stellantis enthusiast blog Mopar Insiders reports that inside sources have revealed the TRX is set for a return in the near future, complete with the Hellcat V-8 that made the original famous. Wilder still, the outlet's reporting suggests that the next run of V-8 TRX models could be more powerful than the 700+ horsepower output of the last generation. The new old truck would return in 2026. If the TRX does make a comeback with a V-8, it would be a signature move for recently-unretired Ram executive Tim Kuniskis. Last year, Kuniskis abruptly retired in May, before returning to the job days after Carlos Tavares resigned. Reports in December suggested that Tavares and Kuniskis clashed over the end of the beloved Hemi V-8, although Kuniskis told Road & Track in January that the engine's return was not necessarily imminent. Although a Hellcat-sourced V-8 is still available in the Dodge Durango for the 2025 model year, and other Hemis are set to continue in the Durango next year, a full revival of either the basic Hemi or the powerful supercharged Hellcat variant has not yet been formally announced. If the motor does come back in the TRX, the natural next question is if the supercharged V-8 will ever make its way into the new Dodge Charger. At the moment, the brand only plans to sell that car with either electric power or an inline-6 engine. Kuniskis previously told Road & Track that the Hellcat badge would not return to the Charger unless it came with a supercharged V-8. Who knows? If that engine is re-entering the Ram lineup, a Charger Hellcat revival may still be possible. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger electric pickup promises to have it all
Ram has revealed details of its radically engineered 2026 1500 Ramcharger electric full-size pickup, including the vehicle's 690-mile cruising range and 14,000-pound towing capacity. The vehicle is expected to go on sale in the second half of this year, and while prices are TBD, Ram boss Tim Kuniskis made it clear the plan is to make them competitive with gasoline and diesel pickups like the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500. That is despite the Ramcharger's elaborate powertrain, which uses a 92 kWh battery and a gasoline powered electricity generator to deliver the brand's bold performance promises. But don't expect a Ramcharger priced like a base-model internal-combustion pickup. The goal is to be 'slightly higher than' the average transaction price of an internal combustion pickup, Kuniskis said, before launching into an ode to a hypothetical electric pickup priced at $69,985. That would place the hypothetical truck within the price range of conventional F-150s and Silverados, unlike the premium-priced first editions with which other automakers launched their EV pickups. Kuniskis, who previously ran the Dodge and Ram brands, recently returned to Stellantis after a brief retirement/sabbatical during which some of his previous bosses got broomed for a string of bad decisions. He brings with him a record of success and credibility inside and outside the company. It's unlikely the wily executive pulled a number of his hat. If there's not a well-equipped production Ramcharger priced within shouting distance of his hypothetical electric pickup by the middle of next year, somebody's gonna have some explaining to do. The Ramcharger is an electric vehicle with an asterisk, but it's an asterisk pickup buyers may welcome. Its 149-mile battery range is paltry compared with the battery range of the F-150 Lightning and Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 electric pickups, but the Ramcharger comes with a gasoline-powered generator and 27-gallon fuel tank to produce more electricity when the battery is exhausted. Combined with the battery, they give the Ramcharger a highway range up to 690 miles. On top of that, towing increases the drain on batteries. Many pickup owners worry an EV means stopping to charge every couple of hundred miles ― maybe even less. Towing uses more gasoline, too, but not as much, and it's easier and faster to fill up at a gas station than to recharge at even the quickest available DC fast chargers. A Ramcharger could tow a horse trailer coast to coast and never stop longer than it took the fill the tank. The downside to that: Just about all Ramchargers will at least occasionally run on gasoline, and that procures more emissions than driving an EV charged from the electric grid. A possible upside: Most owners can probably do nearly all their daily driving using cleaner and less expensive electricity they charge with at home overnight. More: Stellantis' ex-CEO had total compensation of more than $24M last year More: Experts: Auto industry can only tolerate Trump tariffs on Mexico, Canada for a few weeks The Ramcharger's super power is delivering all the benefits EVs promise with none of their potential downside, Kuniskis said. It provides the towing and long-range performance pickup owners expect with the benefits characteristic of electric power: smooth, quiet operation, immediate torque and strong acceleration. The generator can send energy to the battery or the two pickup's electric motors, but it's never connected to the wheels, one of the reasons the Ramcharger is an EV rather than a plug-in hybrid. The system's controls won't let the battery run completely out, keeping a reserve to supplement the generator's power if needed towing up a hill, for instance. The pickup will offer a long list of unusual features: More torque than what is produced from the most powerful Hemi V8 engine Four-wheel drive 250 kW front motor 248 kW rear motor Disconnecting front wheels to switch to two-wheel drive for efficiency Simulated low range for off-road Electronic locking rear differential Ability to power a house, worksite or charge a stranded EV STLA-F frame reinforced for towing and crash protection Interior design and controls similar to conventional Ram Available one-pedal driving 'It does the things people already do with trucks, but even better,' Ram chief truck development engineer Doug Killian said. Four-wheel-drive, five- or six-seat, four-door full-size electric pickup Powerplant: 250kW electric motor on front axle, 248 kW motor on rear Total system output: 455 horsepower; 523 pound-feet of torque Generator set: Gasoline-powered 3.6L V6 engine linked to 202 kW electric generator Power: 617 hp, 610 pound-feet of torque Estimated battery range: 145 miles Estimated range with full battery and tank of gasoline: 690 miles Battery: 400-volt 91.8 kWh lithium-ion. 69.7 kWh useable power Charging time: Eight hours at 240 volts; 20%-80% in about 45 minutes at 350 kW 0-60 mph: 4.5 seconds Top speed: 114 mph Wheelbase: 144.6 inches Length: 232.4 inches Width: 81.2 inches Height: 77.3 inches (Air suspension normal) Ground clearance: 9 inches (Air suspension normal) Battery weight: 1,216 pounds Estimated curb weight: 7,507 pounds Estimated payload: 2,625 pounds Estimated towing capacity: 14,000 pounds Assembled in Sterling Heights, Michigan Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@ Follow him on Twitter mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger electric pickup promises to have it all
USA Today
08-03-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Can Ram's returning CEO Tim Kuniskis bring back the Hemi?
Can Ram's returning CEO Tim Kuniskis bring back the Hemi? When petrol-head Tim Kuniskis returned to Stellantis and his old role as Ram brand CEO in December, having retired in June, the most-asked question was whether he would bring back the Hemi V-8 that was dropped from the 2025 Ram 1500 lineup. The storied engine was dropped in favor of the Hurricane family of more powerful and efficient 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged I-6 engines as part of the refresh of the fifth-generation light-duty fullsize truck. The answer is not simple and won't be fully answered until the botched launch of new 2025 Ram 1500 is fixed and Kuniskis can get some real-world data on sales with the I-6 and whether the loss of the Hemi is to blame. Personally, the man associated with muscle cars like the Dodge Demon loves the Hemi, he tells MotorTrend in an interview. But as a prudent executive he says he knows he has to be realistic. 'If I am being honest, and objective, and not being myself, if I look at the T6 versus the Hemi, the T6 (Hurricane I-6) is a great engine, a far superior engine to the Hemi. The one place it falls short is the sound.' To make a humungous bet and investment to restore the Hemi based on the sound, he would need compelling data showing the market wants it. The executive does not have that data yet because the updated 2025 Ram 1500 launch has been a mess. The full range of the fullsize light-duty truck was supposed to launch in June 2024, which is when Kuniskis retired. 'We should have had the full range of this truck out at volume last summer.' Ram 1500 launch is still a mess That still has not happened. The truck is not yet at full production at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. The trucks rolling off the line don't have all the tech that they should. 'We don't even have all the trims out that we should have," Kuniskis says. 'We still have less than two-week's supply of RHOs, less than a two week's supply of Tungstens. We're struggling with all the different trims.' Pickup performance: The 15 quickest pickup trucks MotorTrend has ever tested The result is light-duty truck sales are down 30 percent. When he gets more trucks to market, Kuniskis says he will be better able to gauge whether the loss of then Hemi is an issue. 'Until that is fixed, I won't know.' If sales are still down 20 percent after the launch is fixed, then he will have a clearer picture of the impact of losing the Hemi. Does the industry want V-8s anymore? But he does not think that is what the data will show. He admires Ford which has done an excellent job of marketing the EcoBoost 3.5-liter V-6 in its F-150 trucks while continuing to offer the 5.0-liter V-8. Even with the choice, the take rate on the V-8 is only 25 percent, he says. He looks at the growth of the Toyota truck sales, which also ditched the V-8 in the latest generation. The industry has a V-8 take rate of about 30 percent, largely because GM is heavily reliant on the 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter V-8s. 'Personally, I would love to have a Hemi but does the marketplace want it? I don't know yet because I haven't fully launched this truck. If I fully launch this truck, and I still have a gap, will I be scrambling [to bring back the Hemi], maybe, if I can convince everybody that it is still going to be OK with our compliance plan.' The other unknown is changes to emissions regulations under the new Trump Administration. In case you missed it: The most luxurious full-size pickup trucks on the market MotorTrend evaluated three trims: the budget Warlock work truck, performance RHO and premium Tungsten, with the standard and high-output Hurricane engines. We were impressed enough to name the Ram 1500 the 2025 MotorTrend Truck of the Year. Ram Heavy-Duty launch For those who really want the V-8, the 6.4-liter V-8 is still available on Ram's heavy-duty trucks. Kuniskis is bullish on the new 2025 Ram heavy-duty pickups launching now but not because of the Hemi. He is more excited about the upgraded 430-hp, 1,075-lb-ft Cummins 6.7-liter diesel engine that is now available in the 2500. It is mated to a ZF eight-speed transmission with more torque multiplication. In the past, the high-output I-6 diesel was only offered in the Ram 3500. Now it is in both trucks. The 2500 is in the heart of the market, accounting for 70 percent of Ram heavy-duty sales. While the 3500 customer is more work-focused, the 2500 buyer is both work and personal. In this battleground, Ram is fortified with a 2500 with 70 percent more torque. 'That's the game changer,' Kuniskis says. Creature comforts and big screens are the cherry on top for these buyers, but you need the right powertrain to be in the game. Ramcharger versus REV As Ram expands its lineup, the automaker will start taking orders for the 2025 Ramcharger extended-range EV plug-in hybrid in May. The truck will be available early in the second half of the year, but Kuniskis is trying to pull it forward even further. Even before he left the company in June, Kuniskis tried to prioritize its launch ahead of the Ram REV electric pickup because the Ramcharger presents a unique selling proposition for Ram. No one else offers an extended-range or EREV truck where the motor acts as a generator, providing 690 miles of range and more towing capability than a battery-electric model. Ram would have the advantage of being first until the competition caught up, Kuniskis said. 'I lost that fight, and the decision was to prioritize the REV.' But that decision was made in the absence of any real-world data. Fast forward a year and sales of electric trucks are not at projected rates. One of his first acts upon his return in December was to swap the launch cadence, moving the Ramcharger up and pushing the REV back to 2026. He says he has heard from the never-BEV crowd who have told him they find the Ramcharger interesting for overcoming fears of losing range and towing capability. I don't want to be the ultra-CEO With the departure of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in December — Kuniskis came out of retirement a week later to resume his Ram duties — is he interested in the top job ultimately? 'No. No. Not a snowball's chance in hell. No way. First, not smart enough. Second, zero interest. I love product, not politics. Life is so much easier when you understand who you are and what you like and what your limitations are. I started out as a dealership mechanic. I went from a mechanic to the sales department to working as a sales rep for this company and now I have this job. I have gone way beyond my IQ. I like this job. I screwed up leaving last time. I just needed a vacation. I didn't need to retire.' And since he has already run pretty much every brand, he says he is happy to stay with Ram and postpone a second retirement for awhile. Photos by Manufacturer and MotorTrend staff
Axios
03-03-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
A "Goldilocks" electric pickup truck with 700 miles driving range
Stellantis is calling its upcoming Ram 1500 extended-range Ramcharger the Goldilocks of pickup trucks — an electric truck with a backup gas-powered generator good for nearly 700 miles of worry-free driving. Why it matters: Extended-range EVs, already popular in China, are a bridge technology for consumers who aren't ready to commit to a fully-electric vehicle whether because of cost, charging access or other concerns. And, because they use a much smaller battery, they're also thousands of dollars cheaper than a fully-electric equivalent model. The Ramcharger will be the first extended-range pickup for sale in the U.S. Driving the news: Amid slowing demand for electric pickups, Stellantis in December shuffled its product plans, pulling the Ramcharger ahead of the Ram 1500 REV, its first battery-electric truck. The Ramcharger will be available for sale in the second half of 2025, while the fully-electric version is pushed to 2026. Zoom in: The Ramcharger's 92-kw battery is good for 145 miles of pure electric driving, after which a 3.6-liter gasoline engine kicks on to power an onboard generator. Total range is expected to be up to 690 miles. The truck only runs on electricity; the engine powers the generator, but not the wheels. Between the lines: One of the complaints about electric pickup trucks is that the driving range drops significantly when towing or hauling, or climbing up a steep grade. The advantage of the backup generator is that performance doesn't suffer, Stellantis said. The Ramcharger can tow 14,000 pounds and carry more than 2,600 pounds of cargo. "There are absolutely no downsides," Ram brand CEO Tim Kuniskis said. What to watch: Pricing has yet to be announced. In a briefing for reporters Monday, Kuniskis floated a hypothetical price of $69,995. That's higher than a typical gasoline pickup, but would be $8,000 to $14,000 below a fully electric model with a larger battery, he said.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Dodge Is Back in Court with First-Year Durango Hellcat Buyers
'The Hellcat Durango will be a single model year run," Dodge's then-CEO Tim Kuniskis said at the launch event for the 710-horsepower supercharged SUV. Those words, and a few other statements like it, are at the center of a lawsuit-turned-mediation-turned-lawsuit between the automaker and its customers. The sticky issue is now heading back to court after the parties couldn't come to an agreement — and the strange part is that none of the legal wrangling has to do with a defect or flaw. Seven 2021 Dodge Durango Hellcat owners sued the automaker in 2023 for deceiving customers. They call it a "classic bait and switch scheme," in which the carmaker encouraged people to buy the car based on its limited production duration — Then, lo and behold, the Durango Hellcat returned for the 2023 model year. On its face, it's easy to see where the plaintiffs' complaints are coming from. Kuniskis's statement above is only a tiny piece of Dodge's marketing at the time. Kuniskis himself went on in that same quote to say, "When we turn the order books over to the '22 model year, the Durango Hellcat will be gone. So you've only got one shot. The 2021 Durango Hellcat is only a single model-year run, ensuring that it will be a very special, sought-after performance SUV for years to come." Dodge, however, isn't just rolling over and going along with this claim. The carmaker asserts in the suit that none of the plaintiffs have proven that they bought the car for its rarity, or that the company's marketing statements at the time influenced their buying decision. For its part, Dodge explained its move to restart Durango Hellcat production because it managed to meet emissions requirements it hadn't expected to. The two sides had entered mediation but reports that they're back in court after those talks fell through.,You can read the lawsuit in its entirety here. In the meantime, Dodge currently offers three 2025 model year Durango Hellcat variants, according to its website. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
