2019 Ram

[DanR]

1 minute ago, iamsuperdan said:

Yeah, major shift for FCA to do this. I'm just waiting for a certain someone to take all the credit for a move that has been two years in the making.

Anyway...

 

Personally, I like it. Should reduce order times and shipping times by at least a couple of weeks. And as long as the cost of the truck doesn't go up, I think it's great.  I hope production of the Promaster vans follows suit, as right now order time is insane at 4-6 months for delivery. 

Well, politics is a loaded topic these days, but Fiat-Chrysler did specifically state that the reason for the move is that the recent tax changes have made moving production back to America an attractive idea.

[Aaronw]

4 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Actually, the manufacturers can do both. THe problem is that people don't want basic anymore. Go to a dealership and walk the lot. There might one or two basic stripped down work trucks. And 100+ loaded up full option trucks. The dealers order what sells.

And invariably, yoou'll get people that say "I just want a cheap truck," so they go to the dealership, look at the base model, and they say "Okay, but can I get the remote starter? Actually, I want satellite radio. Heated seats would be nice. Oh I have to have leather with heated seats? Okay..." And so on and so on. Pretty soon, they're in a mid to high level truck, and the base model sits, drawing people in as a price point.

As I've said earlier, you can order a work truck, with all the mechanical stuff that makes it a tow beast or a working piece of equipment, it's that most don't. Even a lot of business now ask for a simple work truck, but then they say they want their guys to be comfortable, so those trucks now have satellite radio, and a remote start, and foglights, etc, etc.

 

Anyway, if anyone wants a basic work truck, hit me up. Vehicles are my job.  

 

 

 

I'm not talking about loaded, that stuff has been around since at least the late 80s. Its basic design, these new trucks are so overstyled with big swoopy flared fenders, large plastic grills etc that any damage requires replacement. The older designs were simple, you could pound it straight , maybe tack weld more severe damage like a deer strike and it looked good again. We have a lot of unpaved roads at work and the new trucks just don't hold up, the body panels tear, tail gates break loose and the plastic clips begin to fail within 2 years. We mostly run 3/4 tons, so they should expect them to be doing work. I understand the 1/2 tons are largely aimed at casual truck users. 

The fenders may be big, but they are not well designed. Many don't work to keep the mud under the truck anymore, we get back in after the rain and the whole truck from the front wheels back is brown. Sometimes there is even mud on the roof! On the older trucks before big manly flares became popular,  you just had a patch behind the wheels to hose off.

This is going back some way, but we got one new truck that within 30 days was having all sorts of power issues. Turns out it was the air filter, first year of a new design and some rocket scientist thought it would be ok to put the air intakes behind the front wheels. As the truck was so new it took awhile for somebody to think to check the air filter. We probably got 3 pounds of dirt out of it. After that we started carrying 3 extra filters and would shake out the filter each week and after every fire.

We noticed the following year they had extended the air intakes up to the grill.  

 

Chevy has been the light weight better looking, better highway driving truck of the big 3 for a long time, but it used to be after the 4-5 years of use the Fords and Dodges were a good buy at auction for people who needed a cheap work truck. As we tended to baby the Chevys they weren't a bad choice either. These days we are limping them along for the last year or 18 months and once they hit auction they are mostly good for parts, or good bones for a major rebuild. We keep up the maintenance so the guts are good but the bodies are coming apart.  

Edited January 18, 2018 by Aaronw

[High octane]

1 hour ago, DanR said:

I just read that Fiat-Chrysler is moving Ram production from Mexico back to Detroit. I like knowing that Americans will once again be paid to produce American cars and trucks.

That's why in 2016 I didn't order a Ram truck as the dealer told me that MY truck would be made in Mexico, and I said no comprende.  I went to my local Ford dealer and ordered a truck from them, and I'm happy with it.

[redneckrigger]

The new Ram at least bears a strong resemblance to the Ram we have become used to. That said, I owned a 2006 Ram 2500HD. It was a very nice looking truck, bore strong resemblance to the bloodline, and was unfortunately the biggest POS I ever owned. I had previously been a GM guy, through and through, with a very few exceptions, (two previous Dodges, a '74 and an '80, and a '93 full size Bronco, and ALL were great vehicles), and I LOVED my 1980's square body GM trucks. So I went back to Chevy for a 2012 Silverado, and flat out love that truck. Chevy/GMC has always had a strong year to year resemblance and one could tell that a truck was a Chevy or GMC by it's look alone. They carried looks and features over well from year to year. It is sad to see that they have ventured far away from that trend with the 2019 truck. In my humble opinion, it's look is very polarizing, I hate it, others may love it. But, as always, it isn't the cover of the book that tells the true story. Hopefully, all of the makers don't abandon their loyal fans and come out with something so new, one cannot tell the make of it when using it. Still love GM!

[iamsuperdan]

 

I hear that discussion all the time with guitars. So many people that feel if a guitar is made anywhere but in the US, it's garbage. 

To each their own, but personally I don't care where my stuff is built. At the end of the day, as long as the quality is there, then where it's built doesn't interest me at all.

When we look at our own fleet, we have more warranty issues with a certain US made truck than we do with the Mexi-made ones. 

 

I fear this is starting  to veer into politics, so to get back on track, when will kit manufacturers smarten up and get some licensing for a modern Ram truck? I want several in 1/24 or 1/25 scale. Now.

 

[Rob Hall]

8 minutes ago, iamsuperdan said:

 

I fear this is starting  to veer into politics, so to get back on track, when will kit manufacturers smarten up and get some licensing for a modern Ram truck? I want several in 1/24 or 1/25 scale. Now.

 

 Would be nice...there are plenty of modern trucks (and SUVs) I'd like to see kitted.    I'm not really a truck guy, but I have liked the Ram for a long time and like the newest one quite a bit..

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 minutes ago, iamsuperdan said:

...To each their own, but personally I don't care where my stuff is built. At the end of the day, as long as the quality is there, then where it's built doesn't interest me at all...

The funny thing is that wherever a vehicle is made these days, the vast majority of it is built by robots anyway. When you buy an American-built vehicle, you're not getting American "craftsmanship", any more than you're getting Mexican "craftsmanship" on a vehicle built down south...for the most part.

What really differentiates the quality of one manufactured THING from another is primarily the quality of the engineering and design that are in it from the beginning, and how well the specs are followed from tooling fabrication through production...and the level of post-production quality control that's in place.

Specification-drift, shoddy materials, building-to-a-price, and poor this-side quality control is what damms so much of the offshore crapp we get shoved down our throats today.

[martinfan5]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

The funny thing is that wherever a vehicle is made these days, the vast majority of it is built by robots anyway. When you buy an American-built vehicle, you're not getting American "craftsmanship", any more than you're getting Mexican "craftsmanship" on a vehicle built down south...for the most part.

What really differentiates the quality of one manufactured THING from another is primarily the quality of the engineering and design that are in it from the beginning, and how well the specs are followed from tooling fabrication through production...and the level of post-production quality control that's in place.

Specification-drift, shoddy materials, building-to-a-price, and poor this-side quality control is what damms so much of the offshore crapp we get shoved down our throats today.

This is actually a very good point ,   and the location plays a very small role in the over quality of said vehicle.

 

[martinfan5]

1 hour ago, Rob Hall said:

 Would be nice...there are plenty of modern trucks (and SUVs) I'd like to see kitted.    I'm not really a truck guy, but I have liked the Ram for a long time and like the newest one quite a bit..

I would own a Ram over a Ford/Chevy, but not over a Nissan or Toyota

The 2015 Ram I get to drive is very nice, solid truck, and feels like a truck,  my only issue I have with the Ram is the turning radios,  its horrible.

[martinfan5]

4 hours ago, DanR said:

I just read that Fiat-Chrysler is moving Ram production from Mexico back to Detroit. I like knowing that Americans will once again be paid to produce American cars and trucks.

Hmm,  Itailan is now American, I did not know that.

[MrObsessive]

I'm not a truck fan----I don't mean to sound what may be to some annoying, but it would be nice to see the roads some day not be so "trucky". Makes driving behind one tiring as I don't like not being able to see around them. The same goes for waaay too many CUV's and SUV's I have to be stuck behind.

My hope is that the '20's (especially mid '20's forward) will see less of 'em. Just my own 2¢ worth.....not meant to be a killjoy for those that can't get enough of 'em.

Edited January 18, 2018 by MrObsessive

[Ace-Garageguy]

13 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

I'm not a truck fan----I don't mean to sound what may be to some annoying, but it would be nice to see the roads some day not be so "trucky". Makes driving behind one tiring as I don't like not being able to see around them. The same goes for waaay too many CUV's and SUV's I have to be stuck behind.

My hope is that the '20's (especially mid '20's forward) will see less of 'em. Just my own 2¢ worth.....not meant to be a killjoy for those that can't get enough of 'em.

You'll think of these as the good-ol'-days when there are legions of nose-to-tail self-driving sheepmobiles, and you have to wait an hour for a break in traffic...  

[martinfan5]

19 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

 

My hope is that the '20's (especially mid '20's forward) will see less of 'em. Just my own 2¢ worth.....not meant to be a killjoy for those that can't get enough of 'em.

Dont hold your breathe,  SUVs and Trucks are what people want and that trend does not seem to be slowing down.

[gotnitro?]

2 hours ago, martinfan5 said:

Dont hold your breathe,  SUVs and Trucks are what people want and that trend does not seem to be slowing down.

Exactly right , people want the suv/ trucks and the factories pump them out . My employer is a HUGE manufacturer of timing systems for most of the automotive industry. .most not all ..and we're always informed how important truck sales are . The big announcement we were excited to hear is Ford hinted about the return of the full size Bronco..I can't wait to see one first hand knowing if the Coyote 5.0 is inside...my company and coworkers produced the chain and timing components inside. 

Now that gas mileage has increased into the mid 20s..except the beloved Tundra....people can enjoy those trucks and suv's without the pain at the pump.

[slusher]

5 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

I'm not a truck fan----I don't mean to sound what may be to some annoying, but it would be nice to see the roads some day not be so "trucky". Makes driving behind one tiring as I don't like not being able to see around them. The same goes for waaay too many CUV's and SUV's I have to be stuck behind.

My hope is that the '20's (especially mid '20's forward) will see less of 'em. Just my own 2¢ worth.....not meant to be a killjoy for those that can't get enough of 'em.

Bill, I saw on the news that car sales are down another year to SUV's and Trucks. Here in the south almost everyone has at least 1truck per house hold and some have 2. I bought a program Dodge van for room and it's easier to get in and out on the drivers side with MS.  I did not want a truck and didn't find a SuV I liked. Being in the south I have been use to trucks but trucks are getting bigger.

 

[martinfan5]

9 minutes ago, slusher said:

 but trucks are getting bigger.

 

Yes there are, and now we have the medium size truck market with the New Ranger, Colorado/GMC, those are about the same size of what trucks use be about 10/15 years ago,  the Frontier and Tacoma are still closer to small , for now.

Edited January 19, 2018 by martinfan5

[highway]

5 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

I'm not a truck fan----I don't mean to sound what may be to some annoying, but it would be nice to see the roads some day not be so "trucky". Makes driving behind one tiring as I don't like not being able to see around them. The same goes for waaay too many CUV's and SUV's I have to be stuck behind.

My hope is that the '20's (especially mid '20's forward) will see less of 'em. Just my own 2¢ worth.....not meant to be a killjoy for those that can't get enough of 'em.

I really hope you don't feel the same way about the trucks that bring your groceries to the store, but if you do I'm sure you would change your mind when you have nothing to eat. One plus though, you wouldn't have to worry about the roads being so "trucky" because you wouldn't have any gas to be on the road anyway. 

[Rob Hall]

I've been an SUV fan and owner for decades, never had a truck. Never had a need for one.  But down the road may get one, especially if I need to tow (thinking about getting a boat).  I really like the looks of the new Ram..the upcoming Wrangler pickup (to be called Scrambler I've read) sounds interesting also. 

Edited January 19, 2018 by Rob Hall

[iamsuperdan]

46 minutes ago, slusher said:

... but trucks are getting bigger.

 

You nailed it. Park a 2018 Ram next to one from 1998, and 1978, and 1958. Trucks are huge now. But that's not just trucks. Park a new VW Golf next to the original. Or a new BMW 3 series next to the original 3 series. Massive!

The other growth area for trucks is capacity. A current 1/2 ton will do pretty much what a 15 year old 3/4 ton will do. And a current 3/4 ton will out-two and out-carry a 10 year old one ton.

More capacity, with better fuel economy, while adding more creature comforts?

So I guess in some respects, bigger is better? 

[MrObsessive]

Folks don't get me wrong. I'm not totally against trucks as they do serve a useful purpose. The point I was making is that to me it's a bit depressing to see the automotive landscape have too much of a "sameness" that I didn't notice even 10 years ago. True, car sales are down, but one has to wonder why is that?? Some can say the same about cars of today, but trucks to me have always had that upright sameness (for obvious reasons) that have never appealed to me as much as cars.

Could it be the reason that cars have lost their luster as like they use to say "they don't make 'em like that anymore"? Trucks have become popular because they are the replacement "big cars" that the auto industry can't or won't make anymore. Yes, I know tastes change, but the reason I pointed to the mid '20's is that I'm looking at the young ones right now who are in their mid teens, and will be buying cars at that time. Particularly come the mid to late '20's.

One has to ask............will they want to drive what their parents are driving?

I'm looking way down the road and I'm saying no, but my crystal ball's been on the blink for some time and of course I could be wrong. We'll see......

2 hours ago, highway said:

I really hope you don't feel the same way about the trucks that bring your groceries to the store, but if you do I'm sure you would change your mind when you have nothing to eat. One plus though, you wouldn't have to worry about the roads being so "trucky" because you wouldn't have any gas to be on the road anyway. 

Of course not!

I'm talking more of the "me too" think of everyone and their brother having the need to have a truck. I know that there are some that HAVE TO HAVE a truck. I'm not talking about the commercial trucks that are needed to move things to and fro. Remember I LIVE in Central PA......the Keystone State? You gotta come through here to get to parts of New England.

I may one day break down and buy a truck and I will admit I like the older Dodge Rams (mid '00's), but a single cab one not the "crew cab" versions or whatever those are called. I just don't care for them on a daily basis as I've never cared for vehicles that sit up so high. I'm a sports car, kind of guy I guess.

I may try and compose a post down the road and title it "The '20's" and list what I think the trends will be come next decade, which hard to believe is just two years away. Might be interesting.......or a firestorm!

[dieseldawg142]

..........

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by dieseldawg142

[iamsuperdan]

5 hours ago, dieseldawg142 said:

 

these aren't too bad.... 

this would look good in 1 ton crewcab longbox SRW 4x4 flavor

 

This one has a bit of outfitting, but it's in your colour. I await your deposit! lolz 

 

 

[Rodent]

FCA has been playing a big plant shuffle. Ram 1500 production was being moved to Sterling Heights for the new generation trucks. Now they are moving HD RAM production from Saltillo to Warren. They are supposed to be building a couple of large Jeep SUVs (probably based on a RAM platform) at Warren also.

It makes sense to build your high dollar, high profit vehicles in the US or Canada where costs are higher, and your low margin vehicles somewhere else where costs are lower. Also, without getting political, FCA may be hedging their bets against NAFTA disappearing. A 25% "chicken tax" on a $75-80k truck would blow them out of the market. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

17 minutes ago, Rodent said:

...A 25% "chicken tax" on a $75-80k truck would blow them out of the market. 

Not many people remember the "chicken tax"...

[Rob Hall]

6 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Not many people remember the "chicken tax"...

Pretty well known, I would think..that's why we don't get trucks built in Japan nowadays.  And also why Ford shipped Transit Connects from Turkey with seats that they later removed and recycled.. 

Edited January 19, 2018 by Rob Hall