[AutoGuide.com]

 

[Ch-EV-y]

I was wondering when we'd ever see one of these out in the daylight. Ram better have something up their sleeve for being so late compared to GM and everyone else's electric truck.

 

[Holeydonut]

I was wondering when we'd ever see one of these out in the daylight. Ram better have something up their sleeve for being so late compared to GM and everyone else's electric truck.

Dodge's first EV truck is already available for you to purchase! This article says they're available through selected Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep dealerships nationwide!

2005 Daimler Chrysler GEM e4 First Test - Motor Trend

Top-speed testing is serious business, requiring meticulous preflight inspections, maximum driver skill and safety apparel, a testing facility with adequate room and requisite barriers. With all these factors in place, we stood on the go pedal of a 2005 Daimler Chrysler GEM e4 not knowing what...

www.motortrend.com

 

[aldaran]

Hmmm. Interesting approach to test their EV using a current model shell. Defintely keeping the new design a secret. Maybe they are going to take the Ford approach and build on the same line as their ICE version.

 

[EVTrucking]

It will be interesting to see what Stellantis brings to the EV truck market. I am sure it will be very tech heavy and competitive, albeit late.

 

[JRT]

How late, like backorder for the mach e up to 2 years, Lighting trucks beyond slow to show up, no ordering details for Silverado... it's all slow

 

[EVTrucking]

How late, like backorder for the mach e up to 2 years, Lighting trucks beyond slow to show up, no ordering details for Silverado... it's all slow

Yes it is all slow. It pays to have multiple reservations placed as early as possible. However, $100.00 reservations with OEM car manufacturers is almost worthless because the OEMs do as they please. Reservations are just a way for the OEM to gauge interest in their product.

 

[SilverDan]

Looks like an ICE retread, not a from the ground EV new design. So far all the ICE re-do's haven't matched what you get when you do an EV redesign.

 

[EVTrucking]

Looks like an ICE retread, not a from the ground EV new design. So far all the ICE re-do's haven't matched what you get when you do an EV redesign.

Maybe the reason the Cyber Truck is so popular is that it is not retread.

 

[SilverDan]

Maybe the reason the Cyber Truck is so popular is that it is not retread.

A million preorders is thrown around but I have a hard time believing it, probably only a fraction of those are real. Tesla has lots of sex appeal, and they were one of the first teased trucks - with typical Tesla “act like it’s here already and be the last to finally release it” so sure, toss $100 on it. I almost placed a preorder - the 500 mile purported range had me going, for a while.

I doubt you’ll see any of these except on the coasts.

 

[HVACman]

Looks like an ICE retread, not a from the ground EV new design. So far all the ICE re-do's haven't matched what you get when you do an EV redesign.

I wouldn't judge what Ram's EV pickup will look like based on these spyshots. It is a possibility is that this actually is a production-intent Ram EV truck prototype being tested. The article appeared to suggest that.

But not probable. More probable is this is an alpha truck EV drive train validation mule. OEMs frequently, early in their development cycle, will throw prototype drive units and packs into an existing ICE-platform vehicles so they start doing some early on-the-road testing. One popular example was the Chevy "Malivolt", a Malibu with a prototype Voltec drive-train inserted into it. They call these franken-EVs "mules". GM's engineers cobbled this mule up to road-test early Volt drive train variations prior to having an actual production-intent body structure to put it in.

The reason I think it more probable this is a drive-train mule is both the obvious heavy borrowing from an existing ICE truck structure and that the vehicle's stance just isn't "right". The rear is jacked up higher than the front, which suggests significant adaptations underneath to accommodate something like a pack or a rear drive unit. Also, the back-end spy shots show both what appears to be an aluminum+flex hose glycol cooling loop plus a HV orange power conductor hanging unprotected and dangerously low to the ground. A very temporary and hazardous configuration not at all what a production-intent vehicle would have and something they'd never take out on public roads This road also doesn't appear to be "in the wild" as in on public roads. The road surfaces all appear to be proving-grounds type roads, without center lines, curbs, shoulders, etc. And I think I see a banked road with guardrails in the background. That would be consistent with Stellantis' proving grounds in Chelsea MI, as they have some "road routes" inside large high-speed test loops with banked turns.

Also, Ram's EV truck reveal showed an entirely different cab profile...much more aerodynamic- closer to the Silverado, Rivian, and Lightning's profile - which would be consistent with an actual EV truck's requirements for good range.

 

[tsuintx]

Just a test mule. Nothing to see there.

 

[EVTrucking]

Stellantis would not design anything that plain and ugly.

 

[SilverDan]

The reason I think it more probable this is a drive-train mule is both the obvious heavy borrowing from an existing ICE truck structure and that the vehicle's stance just isn't "right".

Good point, yeah the grill is pure ICE. Well will be interested but AFAIK RAM doesn’t have an advanced EV architecture yet like GM Ultium. Well for that matter nobody does. VW MEB is mostly a specification as far as I can tell.

 

[EVTrucking]

Good point, yeah the grill is pure ICE. Well will be interested but AFAIK RAM doesn’t have an advanced EV architecture yet like GM Ultium. Well for that matter nobody does. VW MEB is mostly a specification as far as I can tell.

Is GM’s Ultium really all that “advanced” as compared to Ford, Rivian, Geely, Volvo, Porche, Audi, Kia, Tesla. I think Ultium is comparable. GM’s hype of course would have you believe it is revolutionary, advanced. Why else would you wait so long for them to finally bring something to market.

 

[SilverDan]

Is GM’s Ultium really all that “advanced” as compared to Ford, Rivian, Geely, Volvo, Porche, Audi, Kia, Tesla.

Just some examples … Tesla is out, their architecture is designed for production, not R&D design. Look at their motor design which uses magnet wire. GM wrote papers on the ideal EV motor wiring which is bars back in the 90’s after the EV1. You want high current and low losses, the downside to bars is they take tricky machinery to manufacture, which Tesla didn’t want to mess with for quick production startup. The battery design is again for production, not good R&D. Remember when Steve Jobs went from cylindrical to pouch? Every other EV OED does pouches, except Tesla and Lucid (startup from Tesla early employees).

Ford doesn’t have an architecture, but a design derived from the Focus EV which was the worst EV in the industry (compliance). They’re designing their first architecture now due to their ‘iPhone moment’ when they realized that hey, EV’s are a thing (Jim Farley’s words)

The Europeans have a mish-mash of designs, the best is VW MEB, while there’s few details I don’t see anything other than a specification. Their software is an absolute mess, as an engineer I can guarantee its a Ball of Mud. They’re trying to work with a Chinese EV OEM to fix it but it won’t happen, best to start over (been there, done that).

Keeping the post short so will mention just one Ultium feature - wireless per module BMS. Nobody AFAIK has anything close. This will allow them and customers to mix/match chemistries and modules. Have a poor module? Swap it out. Want to upgrade your battery? Upgrade as much or little as you want. These features may or may not be offered, but the architecture enables it (nobody else has a per module BMS).

I could go into depth on Ultifi and the specific features (Linux plugin based inversion of control decoupling, and what that means for customers) but you get the idea.

 

[fhteagle]

@SilverDan - you had my attention at Linux (coming up on my 15th year as a user), but the rest of that phrase is Greek to me. Would love to hear more about "inversion of control decoupling" if you care to write it up.

 

[EVTrucking]

@SilverDan - you had my attention at Linux (coming up on my 15th year as a user), but the rest of that phrase is Greek to me. Would love to hear more about "inversion of control decoupling" if you care to write it up.

Only time will tell if the published marketing advantages of GM will actually be an advantage. Right now we only have GM’s words that they will.

 

[Flapjacks]

... Ram better have something up their sleeve for being so late compared to GM and everyone else's electric truck.

It'll have enough fake engine noises to put the rest to shame