It will be interesting to find out how much this system can help with braking. If it can effectively replace engine braking on a diesel and put that power back to the ground when it is needed instead of losing it as heat that will be great that will be great! That would give gas engines a one-up on diesels. The cost is the next big issue.

Thanks, Mark!

I am glad to see that auto manufactures are developing this type of technology...but current fuel prices nullify any its benifits

Thanks Mark this is real interesting.

Please talk to Toyota at the show too and grill them on when we will see a new Tundra. It's very outdated and is getting killed on MPG by the competition. Also, when and what will Toyota have for an update to the Tacoma? It's will have the lowest in class horse power and torque figures. Especially with the new Ranger and a 2.3 Liter Ecoboost with a 10 speed auto!

Thank you

So it uses battery power to spin an electric motor attached to the crankcase by a drive belt...hmmm... actually very simple... by using electric power to help spin the engine it reduces the load on the engine during acceleration transition.... as long as that drive belt holds up... very simple hybrid.

Walt - it can only assist up to the point where the battery is full. At that point, it can't contribute to braking

M Jensen - GM has actually had this for quite some time on many of their models. The only real difference is that Ram gave it 130 lb ft while the GM models are only 15 - 30 hp worth of assist.

@Toycrusher
It will contribute to braking all the time, if programmed in tow haul mode.
It has nothing to do with battery.

So 135 lb-ft transmitted thru that belt? Hope that belt is as durable as motorcycle drive belts.

It's 16Hp. Motorcycle engine transfers much more.

I like what I see with the new ram. The new Chevy...... Not so much. I'm still wary of ram though, especially the electronics. We know they can build a nice truck, but my 09 ram has had an insane amount of problems with electronics. Would probably be shorter to tell you what hasn't been replaced. This hybrid system that converts from 48 volts to 12. Hope it is robust or it could just compound the problems with electronics.

Interested in Beebe's comment: I replaced my '09 trouble free Ram Bighorn 4X4 with 2016 F-150 XLT 4X4; my story is opposite his. Ram trouble free thru 91k, electronic gremlin in Ford from factory they can't seem to find. Makes it do all sorts of weird things. I will wait for a debug period before I get the next RAM, however. I sure hope that system is trouble free. It can take RAM past Chevy, where it already is in my world.

Joel
My ram is now over 150,000 miles. The first 60,000 we're relatively trouble free, then things got bad. Now I can't seem to go 2,000 miles without some new electrical problem. Seems every sensor on the truck has been replaced, ignition switch twice, radio 3 times, window motors, HVAC, and on and on.

Should see a 1-2mpg gain for most people. I would be curious as seeing a dyno chart for the v6 and v8 with the system. Why would dodge not want to show off the power delivery.

Seems Ram is taking a similar approach to hybrid tech that GM used previously on the Malibu.

http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2011/Dec/1212_malibu/1212_eassist.html

I have found out that the battery only has .43Kwhr of storage which is rather tiny. This does not just limit how long the motor can run but it also limits charge/discharge rate for the system. That in turn limits how useful it can be. I would be much more interested with a least 4 times the storage capacity.