Used to love my Ram...now...I dunno..

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huntergreen

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2016
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hemi 5.7
No doubt about it. Probably part test to see how far we can be pushed and what we will and will not accept.

All for a virus that at present has affected (as of this writing) .015% of the us population. Yes .015%.

It's a real thing and I don't want it, however, when you look at the numbers and what's been done...questions arise... at least for me.

Op- sorry for your troubles and the expensive repair.

I agree, FCA is not the best at taking care of their customers. I'm still waiting for them to replace a defective drag link on my 3 yr old truck with 13k miles on it. I thought I was getting somewhere and now @RamCares is not responding to me (or others) right now.

Unfortunately, all of the big 3 pretty much stink at stepping up and taking care of their customers. Honda and Toyota are excellent , but in my personal experience, Ford and Chevy are no better.

However, I still own nothing but American iron, by choice, so I'll deal with it.
Dodge/Ram is no longer an American product.
 

IRSmart

I drink and I know things
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That was the 5.4 2 valve engine. Ford for some reason thought having 4 threads in an aluminum cylinder head was a great idea ????!!!!???? Many plugs were installed improperly. Too loose/too tight and eventually they got spit out/ejected (lol). Not good. When Ford abandoned the pushrod V8 they kind of lost me. I was never a modular V8 fan. Just my preference.

I have a 1987 Ford Mustang GT project car. I still think that roller cam 302 was one of the best engines made. Not a powerhouse by today's standards, but I built and raced foxbody mustang's when I was in my early 20s (long time ago) and that 302 could take a heck of a beating and come back for more. They also didn't have the lifter failures these modern hemis do.
That happened to me in my 03 Mustang. Launched a spark plug that had backed out. Luckily I didn’t damage any threads and could just thread a new one back in. But it was a loud boom and heavy knocking. Luckily I was almost home so I used my jeep to tow it back to my house and fixed it myself.
 

GsRAM

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Dodge/Ram is no longer an American product.
Yes I know obviously fiat purchased Chrysler. However ram and jeep are still American brands and still have a substantial physical footprint in the USA. Both my jeep and ram have mopar branded parts all over them. They are American in my book/my opinion and that's all you'll see in my garage (Chevy, Ram, Jeep and Ford).
 

huntergreen

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Yes I know obviously fiat purchased Chrysler. However ram and jeep are still American brands and still have a substantial physical footprint in the USA. Both my jeep and ram have mopar branded parts all over them. They are American in my book/my opinion and that's all you'll see in my garage (Chevy, Ram, Jeep and Ford).



My age is posted. I come from an era where made in the USA meant the entire product from nuts and bolts to the paint and everything else used in said product was manufactured in the USA. The company/mfg was based and owned in the USA. The point is an Italian company now owns Ram and it is no longer a completely made in the USA product.
 

GsRAM

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Not all of it.

I own FCA stock.

I'm American.

Right on man! That's great! Yeah, fiat owns Chrysler but jeep, ram, dodge, Chrysler are still American brands. They all use overseas parts, some are assembled here, but are foreign brands.

If some folks like driving around and have a Japanese Honda H, Toyota T, or Korean H for Hyundai, Kia staring back at them.....boys have at it. That's your choice.

I prefer having a big Ram head, Jeep circle, Ford oval and Chevy bowtie staring back at me. Again, just my preference.

By the grace of our Lord God almighty, I was born into the greatest country on earth, period...and I'm proud to drive American brands. Regardless of where they were assembled or where the parts came from. They were all born in America, just like me. :patriot: Just my opinions....if you disagree that's perfectly ok and your choice. Be thankful in America we have the freedom to make those choices thanks to our military....some of which gave all so we can live free.

@huntergreen , we can agree to disagree on this subject, but understand you have my utmost respect and gratitude for your service. Thank you. My family has had many members in the military from the civil war to present.

That's something I'll always be grateful and thankful for. Our vets deserve the best.
 

Docwagon1776

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5.7, 6.4
My age is posted. I come from an era where made in the USA meant the entire product from nuts and bolts to the paint and everything else used in said product was manufactured in the USA. The company/mfg was based and owned in the USA. The point is an Italian company now owns Ram and it is no longer a completely made in the USA product.

I've got a lot of buddies that work in the auto manufacturing industry. Italian owned company with a factory in the US making headlight assemblies for Japanese cars is the norm.
 

huntergreen

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Yes I know obviously fiat purchased Chrysler. However ram and jeep are still American brands and still have a substantial physical footprint in the USA. Both my jeep and ram have mopar branded parts all over them. They are American in my book/my opinion and that's all you'll see in my garage (Chevy, Ram, Jeep and Ford).[/QUOTE .



Mopar branded built by the lowest bidder in China.
 

Silby

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2014
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5.7
I also have a’14 Ram, with 75k. Just got back from New Mexico a few days ago without any problems. I live in Eastern Montana and the trip was about 3300 miles.
 

Sherman Bird

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We expect 200K because when you pay 65-90k for a truck you damn well expect to get AT LEAST 200k miles out of it with normal maintenance. We relate cost with build quality, unfortunately the manufacturers don't. Profits over pride in their products.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
I remember working at the dealer way back when. Upscale GMC Suburbans cost about $40K back then. Many's the time when I witnessed some angry customer throwing a fit out on the drive that went something like this: "How on earth could my 2 year old Suburban need a $XXXX.xx" repair at only (e.g) 40,000 miles! I paid over 40 grand for that car!!!" Followed up with threats of an attorney, etc.
The unspoken truth? He/She was psychologically conditioned to believe that a new vehicle was somehow impervious to major problems costing a lot of money just because they spent a fortune for their car. My thoughts tend to be about how a manufacturer gives a finite warranty on a product. This means that they know these mechanically complex vehicles WILL break. Otherwise, a warranty would be unnecessary.

There once was a time when Rolls-Royce warranted the customer, not the car. They would send a mobile mechanic anywhere in the world to repair the car for life. This was related to me WAY back over 40 years ago by my late mentor in the car repair business. He was a factory trained Rolls-Royce Master. Of course, those Coach built cars cost a lot of money, when adjusted for inflation germane to today, boggle the mind. Rolls actually possessed the hubris to claim that their cars didn't break down, according to my mentor.

There seems to be a certain misguided expectation in consumers' minds about the relation of how much they spend on any product in correlation with said product's reliability.

When the true forensic math is applied to buying a 60 thousand dollar depreciating liability pursuant to finance costs over time, combined with depreciation and wear and tear and cost of ownership (fuel, tires, batteries, overall upkeep and maintenance, insurance.... et. al.) THAT's when the light shines on why all the frustration. But Madison Avenue ad agencies want to appeal to one's aesthetic desires to boost Dopamine and keep one's eye diverted FROM pragmatism. Finance managers want you to believe you are "investing" when they upsell tire and wheel protection, Key loss insurance, glass breakage coverage, leather/upholstery protection, extended warranty, and a laundry list of other things designed to lighten one's savings.

There are many wake up calls to reality down the road beyond the pomp and circumstance of the excitement that fill the atmosphere when one is buying a brand new vehicle. As a former dealer tech, I witnessed "coupon book" psychological warranty issues at about 6 weeks post delivery date. The reality of having to service such huge indebtedness really hits home once that coupon book arrived in the mail. By this time, every itch in the interior, ding on the car, scratch, hiccup, etc. combined with the sobering reality of a long term debt sank in, so, naturally, people tended to nit-picked the car.

Every time I hear how a car is the second largest debt load other that a mortgage which a person will have to fathom in life, all of these dynamics go through my mind.
 

Phillyrube

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New cars anymore? "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain. " CDR Scott said that.
 

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