{"id":133433,"date":"2019-02-06T03:29:47","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T08:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=133433"},"modified":"2019-02-06T09:46:18","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T14:46:18","slug":"ram-brings-on-multifunction-tailgate-for-pickups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2019\/02\/ram-brings-on-multifunction-tailgate-for-pickups\/","title":{"rendered":"Ram Brings on Multifunction Tailgate for Pickups"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 2019 Ram 1500 will have the Multifunction Tailgate. It will be available across all the 1500 models.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Call it the battle of the beds. The cargo beds, that is.<\/p>\n

With the fight for market share in the lucrative pick-up truck market steadily escalating,\u00a0Ford Motor Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobile N.V. and General Motors all have new or upgraded pickups ready for consumers that focus on features and functions that are heating up their traditional competition.<\/p>\n

While some of the updates improve creature comfort, there’s a heavy emphasis on functionality, especially when it comes to both carrying — and accessing — cargo. Ram Truck, FCA’s truck brand,\u00a0is unveiling a new tailgate for the Ram 1500 that it says will make it easier to use.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Breaking News!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Ram Multifunction Tailgate is intuitive to operate, and owners will find it immediately useful,\u201d said Reid Bigland, head of Ram Brand \u2013 FCA. \u201cCombined with Ram\u2019s class-exclusive RamBox feature and new tailgate step, we\u2019re taking Ram\u2019s cargo management and storage to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ram 1500 Multifunction Tailgate feature “is unique” among all pickups, and offers customers cargo-access flexibility without compromise, Bigland said. But the Detroit brand isn’t alone in targeting access for the cargo bed on the Ram 1500, which was named North American Truck of the Year for 2019. The two runners-up for the award, handed out at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month, had similar ideas in mind.<\/p>\n

The GMC Sierra 1500’s tailgate can open in a variety of ways. An portion of the bed can fold down to form something of a table, or flipped the other way when the entire tailgate is opened to create a bed extender. Chevrolet’s Silverado 1500, meanwhile, offers an optional power-operated tailgate that even can be opened remotely using the keyfob.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The lift gate doors when split both open to allow the user a shorter reach to access payload in the bed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(FCA debuting special anniversary minivans in Chicago. <\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for the story.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether the Ram Multifunction Tailgate is the better of these mousetraps will be up to buyers to decide. But the new feature will be available across all seven 2019 Ram 1500 models and will reach dealerships in the second quarter of 2019. Manufacturer\u2019s Suggested Retail Price is $995. The optional center step is $295, he added.<\/p>\n

While retaining the capabilities of a fully-dampened, drop-down tailgate with remote release options, the Ram Multifunction Tailgate adds first-of-its kind 60-40 split, barn door-like, swing-away functionality.<\/p>\n

Ram’s Multifunction Tailgate\u2019s dual side-hinged tailgate doors enhance the 1500\u2019s bed access and utility. Independent opening features make curbside loading easier.\u00a0In addition, being able to access the bed closer to the bumper makes stepping up easier, the brand says, which makes loading and unloading bulky items easier. It also makes cleaning easier and allows forklift loading.<\/p>\n

(<\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for more about FCA helping employees with college tuition bills.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike other multi-element tailgates, the Ram Multifunction Tailgate is trailer-friendly and does not require that the trailer and hitch be removed before opening, Bigland said. With a 2,000-pound load rating, Ram Multifunction Tailgate retains all of the traditional tailgate\u2019s capability.<\/p>\n

Packaged with a spray-in bedliner, the Ram Multifunction Tailgate has four configurations: open flat, open left door only, open right door only and open both doors. Each door swings open 88 degrees, and access can be further enhanced via a retractable center-mounted step option.<\/p>\n

The Ram Multifunction Tailgate also complements other features such as the RamBox cargo management system, which includes weatherproof, lockable, illuminated and drainable storage bins built into the bed rails. RamBox bins also feature a 115-volt, 400-watt outlet. Also available with RamBox is a pickup bed divider\/two-foot bed extender and cargo rail system with four sliding, adjustable cleats.<\/p>\n

(Fiat Chrysler settles emissions cheating case for $800 million.\u00a0<\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for the story.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Interior storage was also high on the priority list for the new Ram 1500. The Ram 1500 features more than 151 liters of interior storage capacity \u2014 nearly 100% more than the closest competitor.<\/p>\n

If the competition in the light-duty pickup segment is heating up, it’s also becoming tough in the heavy-duty market. Chevy on Tuesday rolled out its all-new Silverado HD line, following by two weeks sibling GMC brand’s debut of the Sierra HD. Ford this week revealed significant updates to its Super Duty line and Ram has updated its new heavy-duty models, as well.<\/p>\n

(Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the fight for market share in the lucrative pick-up truck market steadily escalating, Ford Motor Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobile N.V. and General Motors are all have new trucks or new features ready for consumers. Ram is unveiling a new tailgate for the Ram 1500 that it says will make it easier to use. See it at TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20009,"featured_media":133452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,8,5],"tags":[],"make":[98],"post-state":[],"category_old":[149,150,123,267,173,299,132,125,124,217,288],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133433"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133433"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=133433"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=133433"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=133433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}