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Ram ramping up MI truck production, does deal with Texas Rangers

Thanks to a host of upgrades at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michgan, Ram Trucks is boosting production of the already strong-selling Ram 1500 to build 28,585 more of them a year. That works out roughly to five more per hour, or an additional 100 per day. The major key to the improvements was redesigning 353 assembly workstations to allow employees complete their tasks more efficiently. According to Ram, the expansion was done to meet growing demand for the pickup.
These kinds of comprehensive changes can't happen over night, obviously. From the end of 2013 through the summer shutdown in August, the Warren Truck plant received automation tweaks in the body shop and upgrades to the color booths in the paint shop.
However, the biggest shift was working with "UAW-represented team leaders and operators" to examine every workstation for efficiency improvements. In that analysis, the company identified and altered over 100 problems that could have caused an injury. What really helped to boost the production rate so significantly was moving about 300 parts, or grouping them into kits for better ergonomics, and eliminating walks to grab tools. Once everything was done, about 63 percent of workers at the factory got updated training.

2014 Promaster looks like a Fiat, hauls like a Ram

A new day is dawning, folks. The old-guard vans of our youth are being replaced with a new flock of European-inspired commercial vehicles from the likes of Ford, Nissan (Renault) and Mercedes-Benz. Here in Chicago, Ram pulled the covers off its entry into the reborn commercial van market with the 2014 Promaster, based on the well-known European Fiat Ducato.
Ram makes no bones about the Promaster's Fiat underpinnings, though the company claims it has beefed up the machine for US roads and uses with a re-engineered chassis, a more robust suspension setup, improved brakes (from Brembo), additional corrosion protection, improved climate control and additional safety systems.
Power comes from one of two powerplants options, one gas and one diesel. First up is Chrysler's well-known 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 rated at 280 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. For a bit more pulling power and durability, Ram is offering a new 3.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine pumping out 174 hp and, more importantly, 295 lb-ft of torque at just 1,400 rpm. That engine sends its torquey goodness through a six-speed electronically controlled automated manual gearbox.

Chrysler banks $507 million in Q2, trims 2013 earnings forecast

Chrysler has some good news and some bad news. First, profits were up 16 percent over the second quarter of 2012, bringing the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based manufacturer $507 million on the back of strong demand for trucks and SUVs (a recurring theme this quarter, particularly in the US). Q2 revenue was up as well, from $16.8 billion in 2012 to $18 billion in 2013. The bad news is that the Pentastar's overall earnings forecast for net income in 2013 has been trimmed from $2.2 billion to between $1.7 and $2.2 billion, according to Automotive News.
In addition to the adjusted net income forecast, Chrysler tweaked its operating profit from $3.8 billion to between $3.3 and $3.8 billion. This has gone largely unexplained by Chrysler, perhaps hoping the news of a three-percent increase in its transaction prices for Q2 will allow it to sweep this adjustment under the rug.
The star of the show for Chrysler has been its US sales, which saw a 10-percent jump, both bettering the industry average of eight percent and improving over the same stretch of 2012. As with the increase in transaction prices, Chrysler has the new Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee to thank. Perhaps most worrying from this report, though, is that every brand in the automaker's stable saw an increase in sales... except for the Chrysler brand itself.