Ram Trucks

Last updated
Ram Trucks
Company type Division
Industry Automobile
PredecessorHistorical: Graham Brothers Trucks, Fargo Trucks, Plymouth Trucks, [1] and Dodge Truck division
Founded2010;14 years ago (2010)
Headquarters
Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S. Administration, Research, Engineering & Design
Area served
North America, Middle East, Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Angola
Key people
  • Timothy Kuniskis (Ram Brand CEO)
Products Trucks and vans
Parent Stellantis
Website ramtrucks.com

Ram Trucks, stylized as RAM and formerly known as the Ram Truck Division (of Chrysler), is an American brand of light to mid-weight trucks and other commercial vehicles, and a division of Stellantis (previously Fiat Chrysler Automobiles). It was established in a spin-off from Dodge in 2010 using the name of the Ram pickup line of trucks. [2] Ram Trucks' logo was originally used as Dodge's logo. Ram 1500 "Classic" trucks are made at the Warren Truck Plant in Warren, Michigan, United States, and at the Saltillo plant in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. New series Ram 1500 pickups are made at Sterling Heights Assembly in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Since its inception, the brand has used the slogan "Guts. Glory. Ram."

Contents

Background

Prior to the 1970s, Dodge had maintained a separate marque for trucks, Fargo Trucks, primarily for use outside the United States. After that point, all trucks made by Chrysler were distributed under the Dodge marque.

In June 2009, when Chrysler emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Fiat Group received a 20% stake in Chrysler Group LLC and Sergio Marchionne was appointed CEO, replacing CEO Robert Nardelli. [3] On June 10 that year, substantially all of Chrysler's assets were sold to "New Chrysler," organized as Chrysler Group LLC. The federal government provided support for the deal with US$8 billion in financing at near 21%. Under CEO Marchionne, "World Class Manufacturing" or WCM, a system of thorough manufacturing quality, was introduced and several products re-launched with quality and luxury. The Ram, Jeep, Dodge, SRT and Chrysler divisions were separated to focus on their own identity and brands.

Ram Trucks at Paris Motor Show 2018 Ram, Paris Motor Show 2018, IMG 0271.jpg
Ram Trucks at Paris Motor Show 2018

Ram Trucks was established as a division of Chrysler in 2010, as a spin-off from Dodge, and using the name of the Dodge Ram line of pickups that is now sold under the Ram banner. [4] According to Chrysler, the Ram Trucks brand will concentrate on "real truck customers," rather than casual truck buyers who buy trucks for image or style. [5]

The Fiat Ducato cargo van design has been adopted and is sold as the Ram ProMaster in North American markets, filling the gap created when Daimler ended production of the Dodge Sprinter in 2008. The goal was to increase truck sales "from today's 280,000 to 415,000 by 2014." [6]

Executives at Chrysler have stated their intention to compete in the semi-trailer truck category with Ram, a possibility that is aided by Fiat's ownership of Iveco and an already available network of Dodge dealers. Ram trucks are marketed separately from Dodge cars; former Ram Division President Fred Diaz stated, "Ram trucks are not a Dodge model. Ram will always be 'vinned' (Vehicle Identification Number) as a Ram. We need to continue to market as Ram so Dodge can have a different brand identity: hip, cool, young, energetic. That will not fit the campaign for truck buyers. The two should have distinct themes." [7]

On July 21, 2011, Fiat bought the Chrysler shares held by the U.S. Treasury, increasing its stake in the company. [8]

In April 2013, Diaz left Ram Trucks to serve as vice president of Nissan's divisional sales and marketing. He was replaced by Reid Bigland. [9]

Fiat Chrysler formed as a new corporate entity in January 2014.

In August 2014, Ram Trucks CEO Reid Bigland was tapped to lead the Alfa Romeo brand in North America. It was announced that the new head of the Ram Trucks brand would be longtime Chrysler employee Robert Hegbloom, who joined Chrysler in 1986 and had been a director for Dodge. [10] In October 2018, Bigland was promoted to CEO of Ram Trucks. Shortly thereafter, he discovered that the division had been misreporting sales figures and turned over that information to the U.S. government for investigation. Allegedly, FCA cut his bonuses in retaliation, which resulted in Bigland filing a whistleblower lawsuit against FCA. In March 2020, Bigland announced his resignation. [11]

Stellantis formed in 2021 when Fiat Chrysler merged with the French PSA Group.

The Ram brand logo features the head of a ram, formerly the logo used by Dodge.

Trucks

For specifically foreign-market models (designed by Chrysler Europe, etc.), see below.

From 1927 to 1928, all trucks built by Dodge were actually sold under the Graham name, as that company held the marketing rights at that time.

Current

Former

Production

Ram vehicles are manufactured at five facilities; two in North America, one in Western Asia, and two in South America.

Ram Trucks entered popular culture in an unintentional way on February 4, 2018, during Super Bowl LII. [18] Their commercial's use of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermon "The Drum Major Instinct" was quickly and widely panned by audiences, academics, news outlets and social media alike. [19] [20] [21] [22] Of particular concern was its usage of a speech in which King condemned advertising ("we are so often taken by advertisers... those gentlemen of massive verbal persuasion") to sell more Ram Trucks. [23] [24] Within hours, content creators on YouTube had made spin-offs ("What Martin Luther King Actually Thought About Car Commercials," "The MLK Super Bowl Ad Dodge Didn't Show You," "What Dodge LEFT OUT Of Their MLK Commercial In Super Bowl," etc.) that showed a more accurate perspective of King's sermon and opinions about advertising. [25]

Ram trucks feature prominently in Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone television series as the chosen work vehicles of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, featuring the ranch's logo and branding on the sides of the vehicles. The trucks feature a variety of configurations, mostly 2500-series trucks with the 6.7L Cummins diesel.

European versions of Ram vans

Fiat Professional: This was FCA's global light commercial vehicle brand marketed outside North America, marketing the same vans marketed as Ram in the Americas. In the other part of Stellantis, PSA, all brands except DS Automobiles sell vans in three sizes under their respective brands.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler</span> North American subsidiary of automaker Stellantis

FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler Corporation , is one of the "Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotive company Stellantis. Stellantis North America sells vehicles worldwide under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram nameplates. It also includes Mopar, its automotive parts and accessories division, and SRT, its performance automobile division. The division also distributes Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Maserati vehicles in North America.

Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis North America, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Plymouth.

Stellantis Canada is the wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis through its North American division operating in Canada. Incorporated in 1925, the Chrysler Corporation of Canada acquired a Maxwell-Chalmers plant in Windsor, Ontario that had been used to manufacture some Chrysler models in the previous year. Initially called Chrysler Canada, Ltd, the name of the company changed to DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc. following the merger of the two parent automotive conglomerates. In August 2007, the company was renamed Chrysler Canada Incorporated when Cerberus Capital Management purchased 80.1% of its parent company Chrysler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mopar</span> Parts, service and customer care organization within Stellantis

Mopar is the parts, service, and customer care division of the former Chrysler Corporation, now owned by Netherlands-based automobile manufacturer Stellantis. It serves as a primary OEM accessory seller for Stellantis brands under the Mopar brand. The name is a portmanteau of the words "MOtor" and "PARts". "Mopar" is also used as a nickname by enthusiasts of Chrysler-built products to refer to any product built by the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ram pickup</span> American full-size pickup built by Stellantis

The Ram pickup is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by Stellantis North America and marketed from 2010 onwards under the Ram Trucks brand. The current fifth-generation Ram debuted at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, in January of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat Ducato</span> Light commercial vehicle developed by Fiat and PSA

The Fiat Ducato is a light commercial vehicle jointly developed by FCA Italy and PSA Group, and mainly manufactured by Sevel, a joint venture between the two companies since 1981. It has also been sold as the Citroën C25, Peugeot J5, Alfa Romeo AR6 and Talbot Express and later as the Fiat Ducato, Citroën Jumper, and Peugeot Boxer, from 1994 onwards. It entered the North American market as the Ram ProMaster in May 2014 for the 2015 model year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat Fiorino</span> Motor vehicle

The Fiat Fiorino is a small commercial vehicle produced by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat since 1977. Its first two generations have been the panel van derivatives of other small models, such as the Fiat 127 and Fiat Uno, while the current third generation was developed jointly with PSA Peugeot Citroën, and is based on the Fiat Small platform.

The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, is a 5,000,000 sq ft (460,000 m2) automotive manufacturing factory in Sterling Heights, Michigan currently operated by Stellantis North America.

Warren Truck Assembly is a Stellantis automobile factory in Warren, Michigan.

SRT is an American badge of high-performance vehicles manufactured by Chrysler, mainly ones of the Dodge brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler Pentastar engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The Chrysler Pentastar engine family is a series of aluminium dual overhead cam 24-valve gasoline V6 engines introduced for the 2011 model year in Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles. The engine was initially named "Phoenix," but the name was changed before the official launch due to a trademark conflict; the Pentastar name is derived from the trademark of the former Chrysler Corporation, which dates back to 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat Professional</span> Brand name and subsidiary of Stellantis

Fiat Professional is the brand name and subsidiary of Stellantis which manufactures light commercial vehicles and their passenger variants. It was launched on 17 April 2007 and replaced the Fiat Veicoli Commerciali division. Fiat Professional is present in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions; the Fiat Automobiles brand is used in the Latin America region. The Fiat Ducato and the Fiat Doblò are rebadged as the Ram ProMaster and Ram ProMaster City respectively for sale in Canada and the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat</span> Italian automobile manufacturer

Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division Stellantis Europe. Fiat Automobiles was formed in January 2007 when Fiat S.p.A. reorganized its automobile business, and traces its history back to 1899, when the first Fiat automobile, the Fiat 4 HP, was produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SCCS platform</span> Automobile platform

The SCCS platform, also called Small Platform or 199 platform is an automobile platform originally developed by Fiat for subcompact, front-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive vehicles. It was first used on the Fiat Grande Punto, which was unveiled in 2005. Developed during the GM-Fiat alliance, the platform was also used for some Opel models including the Opel Corsa D and E. A derivative called the Small Wide platform was introduced in 2012 for applications on larger cars in the compact segment. Usage of the platform continued through the merger of Fiat and Chrysler which created Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), and the merger of FCA and PSA which formed Stellantis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat Chrysler Automobiles</span> Multinational automotive manufacturing conglomerate

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA), now part of Stellantis, was an Italian-American multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, commercial vehicles, auto parts and production systems. At the time it was the world's eighth largest automobile maker. The group was established in 2014 through the merger of Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. Its corporate headquarters were domiciled in Amsterdam and its financial headquarters were in London. The holding company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Milan's Borsa Italiana. Exor, an Italian investment group controlled by the Agnelli family, owned 29% of FCA and controlled 44% through a loyalty voting mechanism, the largest block of shares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FCA Global Medium Engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The Global Medium Engine is a family of engines created by the powertrain division of Alfa Romeo and in production since 2016.

The EcoDiesel is a diesel engine used in Ram Trucks and Jeep vehicles from 2014 to 2023. Introduced by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the EcoDiesel name was used for two different engines. The first was the VM Motori L630, the North American variant of the A 630 DOHC 3.0L engine, which was used in the Ram 1500 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The other was a 3.0L inline-4 Iveco diesel engine used in the Ram ProMaster, the North American version of the Fiat Ducato. The ProMaster with the Iveco/EcoDiesel was available from 2014 to 2017.

Stellantis Argentina S.A. is the Argentine subsidiary of international conglomerate Stellantis which produces and markets Citroën, Fiat, and Peugeot vehicles in the country. Established in 2021, the company is successor of several firms that had operated in Argentina as subsidiaries or licensors for these brands, such as Fiat Argentina, and Groupe PSA Argentina.

References

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