How the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel HFE Achieves 29 mpg - Torque News
During the Ram Truck press unveil at the Detroit show, I snapped a photo of Bob Hegbloom, President and CEO of Ram Truck, with a "29 MPG" backdrop as he quickly announced the HFE's mile per gallon gain before moving on to the exciting Rebel unveil. The more mundane news, though, was intriguing and as the crowd amassed around that big red truck after the unveiling, I instead headed for the plain-by-comparison silver truck situated off-stage and began looking it over. So I found Nick Cappa, the go-to guy at Ram for all things truck, and asked him how they did it. "It's all aerodynamics," he confirmed. Changes to the front fascia, air dams, and the tonneau cover were the key. That last bit threw me off because the debate over how much a bed cover improves aerodynamics has raged for some time. Digging around, I noted and snapped photos of the expanded air dam underneath the front end, the lower and smoother front fascia, and, of course, that bed cover. Around the corner from the 1500 EcoDiesel HFE was a standard EcoDiesel wrapped to showcase its Green Truck of the Year status. Most notably, though, astute observers will see that the tonneau cover used has a distinct arch to it. That arch runs side-to-side, as the above photo illustrates), but also front-to-back. Along the sides, it smoothly covers the side caps. Source: www.torquenews.com
