When it comes to full-size trucks, the competition is fierce. Pickup trucks are some of the bestselling vehicles in America, and so the companies that make them are constantly offering new configurations, new innovations, and new ideas the competition hasn’t thought of yet.
For 2019, it’s Ram’s turn to pull ahead thanks to the completely redesigned Ram 1500 pickup truck. Not only does the new model come with all the unique Ram features you could get last year, but it also has several brand-new features that are firsts for any pickup. The 2019 Ram 1500 may or may not be the perfect truck, but there are several reasons it’s definitely the best choice available today.
RamBoxes
This is one of the Ram 1500’s older features, but it’s still the only pickup truck to offer lockable boxes built into the long sides of the bed. These boxes are long enough to fit garden tools like shovels and rakes, and you can also use them to store smaller tools, work gloves, and other items you wouldn’t want to keep in an open bed or be hard to reach under a tonneau cover. RamBoxes are also waterproof and drainable, so you can fill the whole length with ice and use them to store drinks or keep fish fresh.
Air Suspension
The 2019 Ram 1500 is still the only light-duty pickup truck to offer an air suspension system. An air suspension uses cushions of compressed air as springs to keep bumps in the road from rattling the frame, and they have several benefits over traditional springs. One of the biggest advantages is the fact that you can adjust your ride height, and so the Ram 1500’s air suspension system lets you adjust the rear suspension up and down. This helps give you a level bed even when it’s loaded to capacity.
eTorque
The biggest innovation of the 2019 Ram 1500 is the new eTorque system that’s available with both available engines. eTorque is a light hybrid system, and what it does is replace the traditional alternator with a small electric motor. This motor is smaller than what you’d get on a regular hybrid vehicle, and it doesn’t change the Ram 1500’s top speed or horsepower, but it does help the pickup truck accelerate faster from a full stop by using the instant torque electric motors offer.
12-inch Touchscreen
The interior of the 2019 Ram 1500 got a few big upgrades, too. One of the most obvious would have to be the available 12-inch touchscreen in the center console. The big screen makes it easy to see things like the navigation screen, and you can switch to split-screen mode to see climate control switches and other controls.
The 2019 Ram 1500 combines popular old innovations with several new features that are completely new to the light duty pickup class. Thanks to this, it’s easy to see why the new 1500 could lay claim to being very possibly the best example of its class ever built to date.
Image via RamTrucks.com
Highland Park is technically an independent town, but as a first-circle suburb of Detroit, Michigan, there’s not much to the city beyond the urban sprawl of the Detroit metro area. Once upon a time, Highland Park was a farming community, but those days are long since passed. Still, if Highland Park residents want to get a feel for that old farming life, there are organizations and destinations in the Detroit area that let people experience life in the open fields.
“You Pick” Farms
Visit any grocery store and you’ll see crates and shelves full of produce. However, fruits and vegetables have to survive several days or weeks on conveyor belts, sitting in warehouses and big trucks, and then sitting some more in a grocery store. To make it through that long journey, farmers often harvest unripe crops that then ripen during the journey.
However, there’s a way to get the freshest, ripest fruits and vegetables available in your area. They’re called “You Pick” farms, or else “U Pick” or “U Pick ‘Em.” At places like the Long Family Orchard northwest of Detroit, the owners let visitors pick their own apples, strawberries, or pumpkins. Other area farms have berry patches for visitors to gather blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and more. In fact, Destiny Farm has plots for well over a dozen kinds of plants.
A growing number of cars, including those made by Mopar brands, are coming with an available Wi-Fi hotspot. For a monthly subscription, your vehicle can receive a satellite internet connection, and then an on-board wireless router lets people connect their devices to the vehicle’s Wi-Fi signal. There are several reasons why a connection like this can come in handy on the road.
A Stronger Signal
When you use your phone’s data plan to send and receive information like texts and emails, you’re relying on your provider’s network of cell towers. These towers cover a lot of the United States, but there are still dead zones where there are no nearby towers to receive your phone’s signal, especially if you head west. Vehicle Wi-Fi uses a satellite to connect you to the internet, and while the connection isn’t perfect, it does give you the same good signal just about anywhere in the United States.
Highland Park is a suburb located just outside of Chicago. It is a popular spot for location shots for movies and television shows and a favorite for director John Hughes and his famous ’80s movies. One of the reasons Highland Park is such a great spot is because it has the feel of a gated community without having the actual gates. If you want to check out some of the places you can see up on the big screen, here is a film buff’s guide to Highland Park.
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is a fun ’80s movie starring Matthew Broderick that showcased many different areas of Chicago. One of the most memorable locations in the movie is the glass garage where his friend Cameron’s father kept his prized Ferrari.
You can catch a glimpse of the glass building at its 370 Beech St. location, and it is much more than just a garage. This glass building has a pavilion with a bedroom and a kitchen that are separate from the main house. The design of the house uses a simple, minimalist design to help emphasize its beautiful surroundings.
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