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Are the 2019 Ram production doom and gloom articles accurate?
- Thread starter Jared B
- Start date
firecadet613
Ram Guru
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They offer new order tracking for Jeeps and any FCA vehicle. I found the site while doing a Google search and asked if they can track Ram! They said yes - and we ran with it.
alacombe
Ram Guru
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Jeepgarage.com, $25 to track your VIN, they give daily updates, way more detailed and accurate then RAM will provide.
Just thought I'd respond to this older post and share my experience with a new 2018 Honda Ridgeline I bought. My Honda only had 1800 miles on it when I tried to merge into high-speed traffic from a dead stop. I just got into the travel lane when the engine quit for about 3 seconds then started up again. Cars were flying all around me trying to miss me. Yikes! So, I decided to do a little research and found (via a Honda forum), that the problem wasn't isolated to me. Several members had the same issue (over several years' models) and had not found a solution through the dealerships. I could not reproduce the issue, as the problem was intermittent. Rather than deal with it I traded it in on a 2019 RAM. My point is that all the newer models are complex, with software issues, electrical connector issues, and just general too-much-stuff that can go wrong issues. My daughter works as a service advisor at a local RAM dealership and tells me the RAMs have much fewer problems than the other models - so I bought one. So far so good, and I'm liking the ride, mileage and features. My son and bro-in-law are Ford guys and their vehicles are well known to the mechanics at the Ford dealerships. We live in strange times regarding driving machinery with pressure on makers to meet emissions and mileage standards along with consumer demands for high-end electronic connectivity - so I think all brands will have their own issues from now on.
kdnyegaard
Active Member
2019 Ram 1500's outside SHAPS bedliner plant (Real Fast Fotography)
Or should we look at the facts and take them with a grain of salt?
Yesterday, Automotive news released an article titled 2019 Ram Launch slows to a trickle. In the article it is said that the V6 Pentastar with eTorque and the 5.7 Hemi V8 with eTorque have not yet been approved by the EPA. This article has since spread around to many automotive sites putting their own take on it, in some cases resulting in articles not even resembling the original context. Lets break it down and look at the facts.
1) The original article names no sources as to the information about the eTorque EPA approval being delayed. (5thGenRams has reached out to FCA for comment)
2) We never had an on sale date for the eTorque equipped engines in the first place. You can’t be late to a party you never scheduled and while we have speculated the eTorque equipped trucks would begin production this summer, that is based on information from some of our sources and should not be confused with being a start date given by FCA. All that has been said by Ram about eTorque availability since launch is later this year.
3) The headline is sensationalistic. Saying the launch slows to a trickle is very misleading. Production of non eTorque equipped trucks is continuing as planned.
It is known that initially production of the 2019 Ram 1500 wasn’t going as planned as the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant was having a hard time hitting ramp up targets after switching from building unibody Chrysler 200 sedans to the body on frame Ram 1500. Our sources tell us that production has been increasing although they are still in ramp up mode. We do currently have some forum members that are hitting the 45 day mark without their trucks being built yet which is unfortunate but not that unheard of for any new pickup launch.
Here is why I’m not concerned. This is all fairly standard for a full sized pickup truck launch, It goes the same way for Ford and GM as well. While pickup trucks are by nature a very basic vehicle, the amount of configurations (cab size, wheelbase, frame length), powertrains and option spread available on them make them very complex vehicles to build. It is very common for a manufacturer to restrict certain trim levels, body configurations and powertrains during production ramp up. This article published on the Motley Fool back in February of this year explains how the 2019 GM truck launch will cost General Motors roughly 60,000 units of production this year. While that does include them shutting down production on an existing plant to convert into building the 2019 GM trucks, some of that production will also be lost during initial ramp up. The same article also talks about how it took Fords factories several months to get into the swing of building the 2015 F150 and that for months dealer inventories of the new F150 were at about half of what Ford wanted them to be. Gm also went through a similar thing during the 2014 Silverado/Sierra launch.
While it is frustrating for customers waiting for their new trucks, there is nothing out of the ordinary going on here as far as I’m concerned. All these “production issue” articles serve to do is cause panic and confuse the consumer. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the same sort of articles again later this year as 2019 Sierra/Silverado production ramps up.
I ordered my new RAM 1500 Limited with ETorq and Ram Boxes 7 weeks ago and took delivery two days ago.
kdnyegaard
Active Member
I ordered the same, also waited 7 weeks and got it 4 days ago.
It is in FORT MADISON, IA
chrisfuss
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which means nothing from my experience with FCA so far it will take another 4 weeks at least... oh wait that as past thanksgiving means we should add at least a week...
The train has been in Ft Madison for 2 days already, according to FCA the truck has been on a train since a week now and it has moved how far?
Then once it would arrive somewhere around Houston, how long is it going to take to actually get to the dealer? One week, two? maybe 3 because ohhh sorry sorry for the delay...
I gave them until monday for ultimate deadline... I had it ordered early ahead, "oh no problem just 8-10 weeks" said i wouldn't care if it arrives a month before i have to turn in my lease. now I had to return my lease and left with no ****ing car... and of course its all on me and FCA does not give a **** about anything... Builds real good trust and confidence to deal with them in the future...
Once it is on a train, fca really can’t do much. And yes, i am aware that doesn’t help.
chrisfuss
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well they could have built the car as promised... they could have not just gone silent on putting the build on hold... they could have built it really immediately as promised once I accepted to change the color... they could have not made false promises from week to week to keep me waiting over and over... then maybe we would have had 1 month + safety margin for the train zigzagging and sitting somewhere in nowhere claiming its out of their control... they had fujcked this up way before they train that allegedly is out of their control... I won't wait no more... It all comes down they don't give a SHIIIT about customers... Monday is either truck or money pickup time...
Your call, good luck, whatever choice you make
lowell3170
lowell3170
I have been pushed aside too, and know they say build this week, if not give me back my money, There production control people are stopping orders before they even start and are not telling the Customer.
