When the 2019 Ram 1500 launched back in early 2018, it became the benchmark for durability, technology, efficiency, and comfort with components never before offered in a pickup. But like many of the former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) vehicles, the fifth-generation Ram 1500 features “Easter Eggs” hidden around the vehicle for its customers to find around the vehicle. The practice started with the Jeep® brand and has since moved to other brands. Product Design Office (PDO) designers incorporate them because they are fun and relatively easy to include in the design process of the vehicle.
One of those “Easter Eggs” is located under the lid of the center console. Tucked away at the bottom of the lid, right between the driver and front passenger, are rules, keys, and fraction/decimal conversion tables, a protractor, formulas, even the Pythagorean theorem. But the mathematical information on the console lid has a functional purpose – beyond helping the strange Ram owner who needs to stop, drop, and perform some trigonometry. It actually solves a problem that came up during the manufacturing process.
When creating the fifth-generation pickup, Ram tried several ways to disperse the plastic for the lid into the mold. The only way the mold would fill properly was by releasing the plastic directly in the center, but this created a visible area where the plastic fell, the drop circle.
For most parties, this would not be a problem; interior components are generally only seen from one side. But the console lid is seen from both sides. Designers needed a way to mask the drop circle, one that still made the part feel appropriate for the fifth-generation Ram 1500 and the updated fourth-generation Ram Heavy Duty.
So what does the hidden formula inside the Ram 1500 and Heavy Duty mean? The design team had some drawing tools on their desks, one of which had a metric conversion graph on it. They also saw a protractor and a right angle at their work stations and thought it would be fun to incorporate this into the design, thus tying in the tools to everything related to design, construction, and creation of things. Ram describes the formulas and charts relate to the inherent reason why many of their customers choose Ram Trucks… for work!
Source: Ram
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