2014 Ram 1500 Tradesman/express on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ram partners with Lucchese on a range of luxury boots

A few months ago, Ram announced a partnership with Michigan-based Wolverine boots on a range of work boots based on the Ram 1500 Tradesman, Rebel, and Limited trims. The number two full-size truckmaker so far this year in sales isn't finished with footwear, Ram announcing a range of dress boots in collaboration with Texas-based boot company Lucchese. There are five styles in total, three for men, two for women. Since these Western-themed cowboy specials are based on the $58,565 10th Anniversary Limited Longhorn Edition, which lives at the opposite end of the trim range to Tradesman, the Lucchese models can cost more than 10 times the Wolverines. Whereas the entry-level Wolverine Tradesman cost $229, the top-dog Lucchese men's Tooled Western Boot runs $2,495. That money gets luxury features and Lucchese's hand-worked processes that pass each boot through as many as 120 pairs of hands on the way to being finished. That $2,495 boot is made with a hand-tooled quarter, which is the shaft of the boot that runs up the leg above the ankle, and a giant gator vamp, the vamp being the lower portion of the boot that covers the foot. The men’s Caiman Horseman Boot includes a hand-cut inlay quarter and giant belly caiman vamp for $995. The menÂ’s Ostrich Horseman model wears a fancy stitch quarter and hand stained ostrich vamp for $745. The women's Giant Gator Western Boot is made with an inlayed quarter and a giant gator vamp for $1,395. The final model, the women's Horseman Boot, gets a side seam quarter and inlay with a goatskin vamp for $695. Each boot is also emblazoned with some kind of automaker logo which can include the word "Ram" or "Longhorn," or the Ram bighorn sheep logo. And if a Ram owner needs to get even more on-brand where the leather meets the ground, Ram sells a three-pack of branded socks for $25. Ryan Nagode, chief designer for Ram interiors, said this partnership can be traced back to a visit to Texas with his design team more than a decade ago. The group noted the creativity and attention to detail on the wares at boot and saddle shops, aspects that would increasingly make their way into Ram interiors as trucks got more luxurious from top to bottom. Closing the circle, Lucchese boot designer Trey Gilmore strove to re-create certain aspects of the 10th Anniversary Longhorn truck, like the Mountain Brown leather interior. The boots are available for pre-order now at the Lucchese site.

These are the 'Greenest' and 'Meanest' cars in 2015

As has become tradition, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has come up with a ranking of what it refers to as the "greenest" cars of 2015, and, by way of contrast, a list of the so-called "meanest" cars, so those who value eco-friendliness over all else can choose which vehicles they should or should not consider buying. As you may expect, electric cars make up the majority of the greenest cars on the list, but, perhaps surprisingly to many, the Tesla Model S didn't make the cut. It's worth noting, too, that where the electricity an owner uses to charge their electric vehicle has a big impact on its overall environmental impact. "A car that is charged using electricity generated from natural gas or renewables is going to have significantly less impact on the environment than one charged on a coal-heavy grid," says ACEEE lead vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan. The ACEEE's list for 2015 looks very different than it did in 2014. It's an interesting collection, though – and we're sure this goes without saying, really – we'd recommend doing a bit more research into each vehicle and how it might fit into your daily life before making any purchase decisions. Click here to see the ACEEE's list of the Greenest and Meanest vehicles sold in the United States in 2015. Green Bugatti Chevrolet Fiat GM GMC Mercedes-Benz Nissan RAM smart Toyota greenest greenest cars

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.