The 2019 Ram has been garnering early praise for several technologies unheard of in full-size pickup trucks: a Tesla-like touch screen, a coil-spring rear suspension and self-leveling air suspension. But its best tech trick is under the hood: mild hybrid power. It’s called eTorque, and it’s standard on every V-6 Ram and an option on Hemi V-8 models.Mild hybrids can’t propel themselves on electricity alone, but they can supplement gasoline power and trim fuel consumption. On the Ram, a liquid-cooled motor/generator connects to the Pentastar V-6’s crankshaft to deliver an electric boost of 8.9 kilowatts (12 horsepower) and as many as 122 newton meters (90 pound-feet) of torque. It’s powered by a 48-volt electrical system, the new wave in automotive electricals, with a DC/DC converter and a compact, 0.4-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery.
RANGE
1,000 km (624 miles)
Fuel economy (combined city/highway)
13.5 L/100 km (21 mpg)
BASE PRICE
US $33,390
That 48-V system permits the use of engine stop/start tech that cycles so seamlessly that it’s nearly undetectable: The Ram rolls from stoplights under electric power before it cranks the gasoline engine to whispery life, without the shuddering or noise that make typical stop/start systems so annoying.Throw in an incredibly creamy ride, and a back seat (in Crew Cab models) with more legroom than any full-size luxury sedan, and you realize how far we’ve come from the days when the General Motors GMT 400 was hailed for having independent front suspension with torsion bars.Ram says the eTorque system saves 5 centiliters (1.7 ounces) of fuel for every 90-second stop. Do that just 10 times a day and you’re conserving 190 liters (50 gallons) of fuel a year. It also saves energy through regenerative hybrid brakes. The latest, 227-kW (305-hp) Pentastar V-6 adds variable intake-valve lift and cam phasing that can run the efficient Atkinson combustion cycle, familiar from hybrids like the Toyota Prius. The 295-kW (395-hp) Hemi V-8 adds its own goodies, including fuel-saving cylinder deactivation, electronic mass dampers on frame rails and active cabin-noise cancellation, the latter two techs designed to erase telltale vibrations when the Ram runs on just four cylinders. Find more Information on best outdoor waterproof car cover.
The upshot is the kind of fuel economy once associated with family cars. The V-6 Ram has an EPA fuel economy of 12.4 liters/100 kilometers (19 miles per gallon) on local roads and 9.8 L/100 km (24 mpg) on the highway, and an unmatched driving range of 1,000 km (624 miles) on a tank of gasoline. Even the burly V-8 eTorque model manages up to 17/23 mpg, in a truck that can tow a whopping 5,783 kilograms, or approximately one African bull elephant.
All-Electric Jaguar Earns its Racing Stripes
Making an electric car go fast in a straight line on the street is one thing; making one that can withstand the rigors of racing is another. Jaguar’s I-Pace eTrophy showed the difference in December by kicking off the world’s first all-electric, production-based championship with a historic run in Saudi Arabia. That eTrophy series, a global undercard for the FIA’s Formula E, included pro women—such as Katherine Legge with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team—competing against men in the kingdom for the first time.I did my laps in that same car at the Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom. And if the I-Pace isn’t the fastest race car I’ve tested—give this technology time, please—it was definitely the quietest. As I shot around Silverstone’s Stowe Circuit, I could barely hear the motor’s gentle whir above the groans of the suspension and the rumbling of the 56-centimeter (22-inch) Michelin Pilot Sport tires.
DUAL MOTORS
294 kW (394 hp)
0–97 km/h (60 mph)
4.5 seconds
BASE PRICE
US $260,000
Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operations has built 20 of these groundbreaking racers, which use as a starting point the same electric I-Pace you see in showrooms. The racers have the same 90-kilowatt-hour battery, for example, and also the same dual synchronous motors with 294 kilowatts (394 horsepower) and 700 newton meters of torque. Despite a 610-kilogram battery, the racers trim 225 kilos from the road-going version’s hefty 1,965 kg.In this newfangled series, durability and safety matter as much as performance: Motors are designed to last for the series’ entire three years, or 30 races, with only the battery getting replaced after each season. The Terra 51 Charge Station, a DC fast charger with roughly 50 kW of power, is custom-designed to be compact and easily portable, for transport and racing. Those races last for 25 minutes plus one lap, or roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles), depending on the course.
I’m strapped into the car, sharing its safety cage with the battery, which is cradled inboard for safety. Gasoline fire has always been a prime danger in racing, but the Jaguar’s electrical system, with 389 volts and up to 550 amperes, brings its own challenges: If I crash, I’ll need to toggle separate switches that trigger two levels of electrical isolation and minimize the chance I’ll be electrocuted. Lights on the Jag’s exterior and dash glow green when there’s no live electricity but glow blue or red for potential threats. In that case, emergency workers are equipped with rubber gloves, mats, and specialized gear to aid the driver and car.
To maximize cooling, the race version has hood and fascia openings larger than those in the showroom car, as well as double the A/C system capacity, the better to cool the battery pack. Regenerative brakes create up to 0.4 g’s of deceleration. When the battery is fully charged, no energy recovery is possible, but as the race proceeds, drivers can adjust the regenerative brake over 11 settings. The results are pretty impressive for a two-metric-ton crossover: The racing I-Pace scoots to 97 km/h (60 mph) in 4.5 seconds, with a top speed twice as high, at 121 mph.But this competition is also about putting Jaguar on the EV map, according to James Barclay, director for the Panasonic Jaguar Racing Team. “We have 9,500 engineers in [England] developing this technology,” Barclay says. “As a British company, we’re the first to have gone racing with our electric car, and we’re very proud of that.”
The Newest BMW 3 Takes the Worry Out of What’s in Your Rear View
BMW’s franchise model, its 3-Series sport sedan, has been slipping in sales and reputation. It’s been hammered lately by the Alfa Romeo Giulia, among other sporty chariots. But an all-new 3-Series has armored itself for the battle with loads of new tech. First things first: The new 3-Series is fun to drive, in the way BMW fans demand. I learn this firsthand in Portugal while romping an M340i on the devilish Portimao circuit.The car’s 285 kilowatts (382 horsepower) are a nearly 20 percent jump from last year, even though the car has a similar 3.0-liter in-line 6 at its core. The upgrades focus on the turbocharger: Fuel-injection pressure is nearly doubled, and the twin-scroll unit is lighter and more efficient, inhaling exhaust gas at a toasty 1,000 °C.
ENGINE
3.0-L in-line 6
POWER
285 kW (382 hp)
PRICE
US $41,245
When drivers aren’t pushing the BMW’s limits, they can relax and enjoy the tech treats. Semiautonomous functions, including hands-off driving on highways, are managed through radar and three bundled cameras from MobilEye, an Israel-based Intel subsidiary that produces imagers and software for driver-assistance systems. Another feature, called Narrow Passage Support, keeps the BMW centered in white-knuckle maneuvers, such as driving between giant trucks. The built-in Intelligent Personal Assistant follows orders like an onboard Siri. Blue-laser-powered high beams can illuminate the road ahead for a remarkable 600 meters. And a plug-in hybrid version, designated 330e, heads to showrooms in 2020.
Now, let’s back up and talk about Reversing Assistant: At speeds below 35 kilometers per hour (22 miles per hour), the BMW records the car’s path in continuous 50-meter increments. Go ahead, drive along that dead-end forest path, a steep uphill driveway, the trickiest courtyard or parking garage. You can even park the BMW and get a good night’s sleep. When you return, the BMW will automatically steer itself to mirror the inbound path at up to 5.5 km/h, with the driver touching only the brake and throttle. The system worked like a charm, precisely reversing and scanning for pedestrians, cars, or obstacles, while I monitored its progress on a display screen; all without me having to crane my neck and worry about crunching into something. If every car had the BMW’s system, insurance claims due to reverse maneuvers gone wrong would drop faster than a shorn-off side mirror.
The New Lexus ES 350 Ditches Side View Mirrors for Digital Cameras
For years, automakers have teased us with sleek concept cars that ditch conventional side mirrors in favor of digital cameras. Now, Lexus becomes the first automaker to bring the technology to showrooms, albeit only in Japan for now: The all-new ES 350 sedan will beat the Audi E-tron’s “virtual mirrors” to market by mere months.Lexus calls theirs the Digital Side-View Monitor: a pair of slender exterior stalks housing digital cameras that beam a high-definition view to 5.0-inch LCD screens mounted on either side of the cabin. The main benefit is to save fuel by reducing the aerodynamic drag of chunky conventional mirrors and damping the wind noise that’s been a longtime challenge for car designers. Lexus says the cameras and interior monitors deliver better visibility in foul weather, with the lenses heated and tucked into housings to ward off raindrops, ice, or snow. Drivers can adjust screen perspectives, or the camera can automatically adjust— zooming in when drivers hit their turn signals, or highlighting and alerting to cars that loom in blind spots.Now, if only American motorists could get a peek. Though regulators in Japan and Europe have already approved the digital cameras, U.S. regulations prohibit them.
