{"id":35081,"date":"2025-10-07T15:16:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=35081"},"modified":"2025-10-07T15:16:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:16:08","slug":"qa-ram-1500-manager-amy-augustine-on-hemis-etorque-and-warlocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/qa-ram-1500-manager-amy-augustine-on-hemis-etorque-and-warlocks","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Ram 1500 manager Amy Augustine on Hemis, eTorque, and Warlocks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chelsea<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Amy Augustine, program manager for Ram light duty trucks, and her team have been working at a feverish pace in recent months to bring back a legend.<\/p>\n

The Hemi, Stellantis auto group\u2019s iconic V-8 engine, had been shelved for the 2025 model year for use in Ram\u2019s 1500 pickups under pressure from federal emissions rules.<\/p>\n

Sales tanked as customers shied from the Hemi\u2019s replacement, the inline-6 cylinder Hurricane engine. Heads rolled at Stellantis and the company brought back Tim Kuniskis, mastermind of Ram\/Dodge\u2019s V-8-focused strategy a decade ago, as North American product chief. Buoyed by new management in Washington, D.C., that scaled back automaker regulations, Ram in December set an ambitious schedule to bring the Hemi back to its best-selling pickup in just eight months \u2014 less than half the time of a normal product update.<\/p>\n

\"AmyAmy Augustine, Ram 1500 product manager, has led her team on a feverish pace since December to restore the Hemi V-8 engine to Ram’s cash cow after sales nosedived. Stellantis<\/em><\/p>\n
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Detroit News auto columnist Henry Payne sat down with Augustine at the introduction of the new 2026 Ram truck at the Stellantis Proving Grounds in Chelsea to talk about the Hemi\u2019s return, eTorque electrification and Warlocks.<\/p>\n

Question:<\/strong>\u00a0I’m out at the Proving Grounds in Chelsea testing the 2026 Ram. Amy, they\u2019ve got Hemis back in them, which I know is going to make a lot of truck people happy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/strong>\u00a0Yeah, we brought back this engine because our customers demanded it. They were asking for it, and we knew that we had to act. We listen to our customers, and we\u2019ll be bringing that V-8 back into our truck product lineup.<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong>\u00a0Folks who are not in the truck world may not have noticed. There was a big changeover for the 2025 model year where Ram brought in the Hurricane inline-6 cylinder engine \u2014 a wonderful engine, used in a lot of Stellantis product, including the forthcoming Dodge Charger. But in the truck, the Hemi was the majority of sales and the core customer noticed. They really like a V-8 in this truck, and 40% of them say they will buy nothing else.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong>\u00a0Everyone who’s owned a Hemi, they all have their own reason why it matters to them. So when we took it out of the lineup, we could really feel the customers getting upset. They didn\u2019t understand why we took it out. So we are bringing it back, and we’re super excited about it.<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong>\u00a0It has a great sound. I’ve been lashing this thing around the property all morning. The other technology that you brought in with your V-6s and V-8s \u2014 even before you got to the Hurricane inline-6 \u2014 was so-called eTorque technology. Talk about that a little bit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
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The 2026 Ram 1500 eTorque V-8 Hemi has been brought back for the 2026 model year. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A:<\/strong>\u00a0Our eTorque is a fuel-efficient technology that we have on the trucks. It really helps with the efficiencies of a vehicle.<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong>\u00a0People hear \u201ceTorque\u201d and they’re going to think plug-in hybrid. But it’s not a hybrid. You use this tech differently than you would find in a typical electrified application.<\/strong><\/p>\n