It is hard to talk about the Ram heavy duty truck lineup and yesterday, the Chrysler Group announced a massive milestone for the tried and true diesel engine as the folks at Cummins built the 2,000,000^th Cummins Turbo Diesel engine for the Ram HD.  Cummins first began building "light duty" diesel engines for the then-Dodge Ram in 1988 after launching their partnership in 1985 when the two companies collaborated on a "new" 5.9 liter inline-6 cylinder, 12 valve engine that would eventually become the production motor for the 1988 Dodge Ram 2500.

"The Ram Truck-Cummins diesel partnership is one of the industry's most enduring and certainly fitting of such a tribute," says Fred Diaz, President and CEO - Ram Truck Brand and Chrysler de Mexico. "Both companies have benefited greatly, but Ram diesel customers are the real beneficiaries. Every day they experience the toughness and capability a Cummins-powered Ram can deliver."

To those DodgeForum.com members who are lucky enough to daily drive a new Ram 1500, it probably comes as no big surprise but the folks at Motor Trend have announced that the redesigned 2013 Ram 1500 is their Truck of the Year.  The 2013 1500 beat out a small field of trucks that fit the requirements which are all either all new or heavily refreshed for the new model year.  Those trucks that meet those standards are then judged by the folks at Motor Trend on six criteria - Design Advancement, Engineering Excellence, Efficiency, Safety, Value and Performance of Intended Function.

"We had a small but solid field of contenders for Motor Trend's Truck of the Year," said Edward Loh, Editor-in-Chief of Motor Trend. "But in the end, the choice was clear: Ram 1500 not only withstood our rigorous testing, it impressed at every step along the way. Our judges were won over by the performance of Ram 1500's broad array of standard and optional equipment. It's a truck that can be tailored to meet most anyone's needs. For these reasons and more, we're excited to name the Ram 1500 the Motor Trend 2013 Truck of the Year."

The folks at AOL Autos are currently conducting their 2012 Technology of the Year award and among the six finals is the Chrysler UConnect infotainment/connectivity system.  As a final step of the award process, the group is accepting votes online for the award so you can help Ma Mopar and the Chrysler Group win this title by heading over to the AOL Autos website and casting your vote for the UConnect system.  (Shown above is the massive infotainment touch screen that controls the UConnect feature in the 2013 SRT Viper.)

The AOL Autos 2012 Technology of the Year award is broken up into three categories but there is only one winner.  Those three categories are Telematics, Connectivity and Active Safety with two finalists in each group.  The Chrysler UConnect system is in the Connectivity category along with Ford's MyFord Mobile.  The Telematics group is comprised of Audi Connect and the Cadillac CUE system while the Active Safety category is filled by the Nissan Tire Pressure Alert system and the new Honda LaneWatch.

Performance racing parts dominated the 25^th annual PRI show in Orlando, FL this past Nov.29-Dec.1, but there was no lack of cool, classic muscle on display for enthusiastic fans of past and present racing. While Ford, Chevy, Mazda, and groups of manufacturers displayed racing Corvettes, up-ended 'Stangs and Camaros, and the littlest race cars that could (go-carts and minis were aplenty), the sparkling collection of Dick Landy's Dodge Charger, the Sox & Martin Plymouth 'Cuda, and the Mopar Missile shown like beacons of power in the middle of the show floor.

The news came last week that the great minds at Consumer Reports decided not to add the 2013 Dodge Dart to the "recommended" list of new compact sedans.  Their press release announcing their findings did mention that the Dart had a quiet cabin, promising handling and good ride quality but they were not happy with the engine options at the time of testing.

Their reasoning behind not recommending the 2013 Dodge Dart was that the 2.0L Tigershark base model engine was under powered while the turbocharged 1.4L MultiAir engine was "raspy" and it had drivability issues when mated to the 6-speed dual clutch automatic transmission.