Traded my 17 Laramie for a new 21 Laramie Sport yesterday

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

HandyCruiser

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Posts
156
Reaction score
170
Location
Arkansas
Ram Year
2021
Engine
5.7 Hemi (no e-Torque)
From what I looked up last night, FCA is gone there is no more FCA at all. And as far as who actually runs the show, I was under the impression that both Peugeot and Fiat were the main two corporations that merged that actually formed Stellantis so that all the companies Fiat owned and all the companies Peugeot owned are now all subsidiaries… including Fiat and Peugeot, of Stellantis.

But when you start talking about the 80’s, I don’t know a whole lot about that but that show they had on about a month ago on the history channel called the cars that built America or whatever it was called, they had a pretty good four part series that talked about the car manufacturers all the way back to the 1800s until now and from what I gather, Lee Iacocco actually helped Chrysler out a lot from the fiasco they had from the Chrysler cricket that suffered the same problems as the Pinto and I believe it was the Chevette, when he introduced the Cherokee and the mini van. From what I understand, that saved Chrysler from bankruptcy all the way back in those days before the next crisis that was Dodge and the transmission fiasco followed by the even bigger crap-storm… I guess we can’t say the grown-up version of crap?… but anyways, from Daimler Mercedes which lead to the further destruction of Chrysler when they handed them off to Cerebrus like a used up hook-er after running them thoroughly into the ground which is why I find it no question why Chrysler had to be bailed out in 2008 and had to be “partnered” with Fiat in the first place.

To me, the stuff Chrysler made back in the 1980s was just more or the Malaise Era stuff. But there was some good in there too. And their newer transmissions were junk until about 2001 until Daimler finally fixed them. I had liked the old Mopar cars and truck through about 1971. But I was very young then. After that it was mostly downhill. I liked the Córdoba and first Magnums in the late 1970s. But they lack any horsepower. What brought me back was a 1996 Ram SLT with 360 engine. That thing was a beast for its day. And it was what I always thought a 1/2 tone truck should be. I bought it used for about $13,000 in 1998. And I drove it until late 2002 when the transmission went out. Since these trannies failed all the time, there was no finding a used one and the truck wasn't worth enough to justify fixing it. So I bought the 2003 Quadcab I have now. It was and still is the best vehicle I've ever owned. I never even changed the plugs for first 200,000 miles. Before that, I think the only work it needed was a lower ball joint. Since then, I've repaired a lot of things on it. But the truck has grown kind of "geriatric" even though it still looks good.

After the 2003 Ram, I've bought eight other Mopars including the 2021 Laramie we just bought. These things inspire a kind of "love" no other vehicles do. At least that's the way it is where I live. Folks drive all brands where I live. But the ones that love their cars and trucks the most drive Mopar. It's kind of like being in a big club.
 

corneileous

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Posts
6,851
Reaction score
3,915
Location
Podunkyville, OK
Ram Year
2018 Ram 1500 Limited 4X4
Engine
Hemi 5.7
To me, the stuff Chrysler made back in the 1980s was just more or the Malaise Era stuff. But there was some good in there too. And their newer transmissions were junk until about 2001 until Daimler finally fixed them. I had liked the old Mopar cars and truck through about 1971. But I was very young then. After that it was mostly downhill. I liked the Córdoba and first Magnums in the late 1970s. But they lack any horsepower. What brought me back was a 1996 Ram SLT with 360 engine. That thing was a beast for its day. And it was what I always thought a 1/2 tone truck should be. I bought it used for about $13,000 in 1998. And I drove it until late 2002 when the transmission went out. Since these trannies failed all the time, there was no finding a used one and the truck wasn't worth enough to justify fixing it. So I bought the 2003 Quadcab I have now. It was and still is the best vehicle I've ever owned. I never even changed the plugs for first 200,000 miles. Before that, I think the only work it needed was a lower ball joint. Since then, I've repaired a lot of things on it. But the truck has grown kind of "geriatric" even though it still looks good.

After the 2003 Ram, I've bought eight other Mopars including the 2021 Laramie we just bought. These things inspire a kind of "love" no other vehicles do. At least that's the way it is where I live. Folks drive all brands where I live. But the ones that love their cars and trucks the most drive Mopar. It's kind of like being in a big club.
I take it your 96 was an automatic? I had a 98 SLT but it was just the 318 5-speed stick. I wish it had the 360 but back then I was under the assumption that only the automatics got the 5.9’s and the 5-speeds got the 318’s. At least everyone I knew of that had those late 90’s 1500s were like that except for one guy I knew that had a 318 automatic. I forget the year but he said his was slug. Even mine was a slug but downgrading to 265/75-16’s from the 285/75’s it came with helped out a lot. I just never could put the little bitty stock 245/75’s on it….lol. It sure looked sharp with them big 33’s but they sure ate up what little power it had.
 

HandyCruiser

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Posts
156
Reaction score
170
Location
Arkansas
Ram Year
2021
Engine
5.7 Hemi (no e-Torque)
Yes, mine was the last year for the particular automatic tranny it had. Looking back at photos, I now realize it was actually a 1995 Ram and not a 1996. The next year got a tranny with more electrics and it was supposed to be an improvement. Mine was short wheel based but had a tow package on it that came with a heavier rear end and overload springs. It rode jarringly hard similar to a Scat Pack but you could load it down all you wanted. I moved almost everything we owned to the home we have now using this truck and working alone. After the tranny failed, I didn't trade it. I just bought the new 2003 Quadcab outright because it was so cheap. I pulled the tranny out of the 1996 Ram and planned to attempt a rebuild myself. But i never got the time. I sold it about 10 years ago to get it out of my backyard. I used that truck for work and put a lot of mile on it. So I ran Michelin highway tires. I think they were one size up from the factory tires. I don't remember the exact size.

All that said, THIS Is the vehicle that got me hooked on Mopar and Ram trucks. Here's a photo I took before I sold it, dead-stick in 2011.

1995 Dodge Truck1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Top