I live 45 minutes west of NYC (if theres no traffic) but that never happens so it's more like an hour and a half...so I refused to go to the auto show and I will just look at it when it hits the dealers.

This truck just turned into a bigger pavement princess....I guess we'll see how it holds after a year or two in the real world with someone who actually uses there truck...

 

You guys sure are whining a lot about this.

Stop and think about it... Rotary **** for the shifter, it's all electronically controlled transmission now. You guys complain when the shift linkage gets packed full of ice... you complain when they switch it to all electronic so this won't happen. There are limp modes etc. for getting it to move if necessary. No more shift linkages also means less weight and a whole lot easier assembly process at the factory. What if I go to adjust my steering wheel, but I pull the shift linkage instead of the steering column adjust lever? Come on... if you are that uncoordinated, maybe you shouldn't be driving.

Air bags... they put them on their high end Grand Cherokees, GM put them on hummers, they are used all of the time. The go on 18 wheelers that go for millions of miles and haul more weight than a 1/2 ton pickup.

Electric power steering... Ford did it in '11. What percent of the time do you think that the power steering pump is actually needed when you are driving around? It wastes a ton of energy. What happens if your power steering pump fails... you still have steering. Same concept here.

Start/stop function... To each his own on this, I know there was technology that BMW was working on to operates off of direct injection and spark plug firing rather than the starter motor. Figures out which one is just past TDC and inject fuel w/ spark and you are on your way. (I have no clue if this is how it works, but it would make the most logical sense)

Something has to be done for improvements, a 20% fuel mileage improvements is huge. If you were offered a 20% raise I'm sure you'd turn it down... because then you'd have to pay more money in taxes.

 

8 speed Transmision HA

It's kinda like when they started caling the 545rfe a 6speed because it has two 2nd gears...hahaha what a joke.
I bet to get 8speeds they are counting reverse and nuetral to get to 8...lol..ahahaah


j/k But it would be pretty funny if they did.


Unless the gears are meshed together very well, 8 speeds seems like it would shift far too much for comfort. i know with the newer transmision fluid requirments of more friction modifier, it softens up the shifts, but that doesnt mean the truck wont be constantly shifting. Atleast it wont drop gear and over rev to like 4krpms when you want to pass someone ata reasonable speed. I bet it'll tow real nice! My father REAL 6speed Ferd tow super nice. Way better than my '08.

 

I'm really tempted to get one.
I'm usually the first person to order a custom new RAM where I live, but this time I might wait as I don't know if I want the 6 or 8 spd tranny, plus last time some extra feature were released three months after production started.
Plus reading one article there will be a Crew Cab with a 6'4" bed.
In reading this thread I notice alot of people don't realize that the **** shifter is only for the 8 spd tranny, not the 6 spd. which will have the current shifter.

 

The cherry on top would have been a paddleshifter option. It's not too late for that people...let ur voices be heard and scream paddleshifters for the 2013 Ram!

 

Anyone know when itll be released?!

 

Well, I'm not sure there's anything about the 2013s that would put me off from buying one since my 2010 is a rock solid platform and it looks like it got even better in that regard. The style is still very appealing even though the look is now going into its fifth year. Still looks better than any other truck out there, in my opinion.
But...

The shift ****. Not sure how long it would take to warm up to that. It seems one will need to lean forward to reach for the control. I find that a bit inconvenient. Of course, that action isn't needed until the vehicle starts or stops, but it doesn't look as convenient as the console shifter. I'm guessing that eight forward speeds complicated a conventional shifting design, like do you provide eleven shift gates for an eight speed transmission? Interestingly, I just read that Ford will be introducing push button shifting in some of its 2013s models.

Instrument Cluster. My first reaction is it isn't as aesthetically pleasing to my eye, at least. In fact it looks awkward in the photo. Maybe in real life it's okay. Like it or not I'm betting that research told the Ram concept folks that people, especially younger men, like the wiz-bang "techy" digital appearance with the heavy reliance on graphical display and use of color. At least that's what the human factors people at my last job told us. I'm a ham radio operator and I just bought a new radio that intelligently applied the same philosophy, although I like it better on a radio.

The Grill. Not mentioned by anyone else, but I much prefer the horizontal cross bars over the egg crate look.

The Interior. Here I find nothing to criticize. It looks good to me, but then again I'm a hundred years old. Far better than the last GM I was in!

Transmission. This subject amuses me some. It seems that Dodge just can't get it right. For years they were criticized for not having enough cogs, then when they introduce the 545RFE I started hearing complaints about "too much shifting", from both guys that had 4-speed transmission (GMs when they didn't have a 5-speed), and from Ford and GM guys when they suddenly had a 6-speed. Can a manufacturer ever make everyone happy???

Now I've been in the new Silverado and that one was constantly shifting, even erratically at times and made some God awful noises. I've read some of the same comments from Ford owners. All the auto press pundits think we should have more gears, and it appears that it is one way to get better gas mileage and performance. From what I've read the new ZF eight speed delivers "unperceivable shifts." I'll reserve judgment until I drive one.

Best regards,
Dusty

 

There are no pictures of sports, but I would bet the "billet", and I use that term loosely, will probably still exist on the Sport and SLTs/Horns. You are seeing pics of 2013 Laramie's, which even on 09-12 has a chrome honey comb insert. But hey, they can not make it worse than the 09 US Sports getting a all chrome grill.... Those just did not fit the truck!

 

Did a little reading. Here's the gearing on the 8 speed. Looks like the transmission models will be different between the V6 and Hemi. If your afraid of the possibility of more shifting with the 8 speed and don't want to pay for that option, you can still get the 5 speed with the 6 gears.

"The new 8HP45 and 8HP70 transmissions have twice as many gears, and the bandwidth is impressive: 4.71:1, 3.14:1, 2.10:1, 1.67:1, 1.29:1, 1.00:1 0.84:1 and 0.67:1. Reverse is 3.30:1. The eight-speed will be standard on the Pentastar and optional for the 4.8- and 5.7-liter V-8s; standard will be the 65RFE six-speed."

 

Ah! Thanks for pointing that out.

Is there something just above the Ram's head on the grill or is that just some sort of electronic smudge that I'm seeing?

Best regards,
Dusty