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Lower weight just one way to boost MPG, Ram CEO says [Detroit Free Press](Detroit Free Press (MI) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 31--While Ford's F-150 aluminum truck will weigh less because of aluminum and will be likely be a more formidable competitor when it comes to fuel economy Bob Hegbloom, CEO of the Ram brand, said he's not convinced it will be a "game-changer," in the extremely competitive U.S. pickup truck market. Ford's 2015 F-150, which goes on sale in December, will be the first light-duty pickup truck to be built with an aluminum body, which will lower its weight, improve fuel economy and help the Dearborn automaker achieve tougher fuel standards in the coming years. Right now, the Ram 1500 gets the highest fuel economy of any half-ton truck when customers buy it with a diesel engine, but that edge could go away when the F-150 goes on sale. Ford has not released the expected fuel economy of its new truck. The company has only said the EPA certification is expected in latter part of November and that it will be better than outgoing model. "(Aluminum) will lower their weight by up to 700 pounds and it will put them roughly 300 pounds less than us. They were the heaviest truck in the market place, so they had to do some things to get down," Hegbloom said today at Chrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills. "Among all of the factors, it is a very small piece of the equation." Hegbloom said Chrysler decided to offer the Ram 1500 with a diesel engine earlier this year because customers had been clamoring for a half-ton pickup that offers the torque and fuel economy of the diesel. While many automakers offer heavy duty pickups with diesel engines, the Ram 1500 with a 3.0-liter EcoDiesel will be the only half-ton diesel-powered pickup on the market. The 3.0-liter diesel engine made by Italian manufacturer VM Motori costs about $2,850 more than a 5.7-liter Hemi V8. In September, the company said it would double the production mix of the diesel version of the truck because demand was even higher than expected. "We've delivered on what customers have asked for," Hegbloom said. "Whether it is a diesel engine, whether it's the different powertrain configurations. I haven't ever talked to anyone who asked for an aluminum truck." The importance of the Ram 1500 pickup for Fiat Chrysler's U.S. operations is hard to overstate. Chrysler has sold more than 319,000 so far this year, accounting for 20.5% of the 1.6 million cars and trucks the company has sold in the U.S. But with fuel economy standards scheduled to get tougher in 2016 and again by 2025, Ram -- along with all of its competitors, must find ways to continue to go farther on a gallon of fuel. Hegbloom said Ram has worked to improve the fuel economy of its trucks by adding an eight-speed transmission, the diesel engine option, a more efficient V6 engine, and a hybrid technology called stop-start in its HFE, or high fuel efficiency model. The stop-start system adds 1 mile per gallon of additional fuel efficiency in city driving for the Ram 1500. The automaker also has added grille shutters that automatically close at highway speeds to make the truck more aerodynamic and a system that lowers the suspension at highway speeds to improve aerodynamics. Hegbloom said Fiat Chrysler will continue to work to improve all of those technologies so to improve the trucks fuel economy. The company also has added aluminum to its truck as well. The hood and a number of other components are aluminum. But Hegbloom doesn't see an aluminum for all pickup manufacturers as inevitable. "Will it be a game changer in the marketplace? Time will tell," he said. ___ (c)2014 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |