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Chrysler's internal documents question Ram quality as workers protest

Chrysler is reportedly having a hard time ramping up production of its 2013 Ram 1500. According to The Detroit News, only 16 of the 58 trucks built at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant during the model's first hour passed final inspection. While quality eventually improved over the course of the day, just over half of the units built on Thursday were approved for shipment. Even with workers ordered to stay late to fix their mistakes, some 1,078 units remained outside the facility with defects. The problem, according to workers at the plant, is morale.
According to the report, Chrysler recently changed the shift schedule at the plant and workers are unhappy with the new situation. The new plan has workers split into three shifts, each covering four 10-hour days. With the shifts staggered, some workers now have to work nights and on Saturdays. Some employees are so upset that they've taken to protesting, though the move isn't sanctioned by the United Auto Workers.
Meanwhile, Chrysler admits there were internal issues with the launch, but that the company was able to contain them. A spokesperson has said "plant quality indicators are getting progressively better."

2013 Ram 1500

Enough Is Enough. Finally.
Not long ago, the efforts of an automaker to put a six-cylinder engine into a pickup truck went something like this: take the basic bread-and-butter V8, lop two cylinders off one end of the block and call it a day. The resulting engines were generally pretty rough around the edges, and while they were able to churn out reasonable amounts of torque, they generally weren't good at anything else. Instead of being smooth running, they shook and shimmied; in place of a quiet highway jaunt, they operated well outside their low-rpm comfort zones and sent a corresponding racket throughout the cabin. And, instead of returning significantly superior fuel economy over their V8 counterparts, they guzzled gas and spat noxious vapors out their tailpipes.
In other words, the only reason to choose the base V6 engine over an optional V8 was to save money on the initial purchase, and that usually meant you'd be driving home in a stripped-out machine and would be lucky to have power windows, cruise control and air conditioning.

More details on the Hellcat-powered Ram Rebel TRX

We got our last big scoop on the coming Ram Rebel TRX last summer, when Jordan Denhoed caught a pack of prototypes testing in Michigan's Silver Lake Sand Dunes. We'd heard then that as opposed to the TRX concept, the production truck would unlock the full 707 horsepower from its 6.2-liter Hellcat V8, and use a traditional shift lever to work the gears of a 10-speed automatic. Now Mopar Insiders and Allpar have another batch of details that both sides said were gleaned from insiders with knowledge of the product. The looks, which will hew closely to the concept, have apparently already been teased. The Dodge and Ram corners of FCA like to foreshadow future offerings in their press photos and flyers, Ram doing so again on a graphic that advertised the FCA 2020 Drive for Design contest, pictured. We're told to expect the same twin-vented hood and flared arches front and back, as well as a new take on the current Ram Rebel grille that frames headlights from the Laramie Black trim. The side-exit exhaust would be cool, but we doubt it makes production. That extra width necessitates amber marker lights. The Ford F-150 Raptor, which uses the same lights for the same reason, places its markers along the top edge of the grille just below the grille surround. Mopar Insiders says the Rebel TRX's amber markers will lurk inside the large hood scoop. The Hellcat will get plenty of air from additional vents astride the headlights, and vent its heat through extractor vents just ahead of the windshield and ahead of the front doors. In lieu of any Hellcat badging save for on the supercharger, script on the hood in the same font as the Rebel TRX concept will read, "6.2L Supercharged." In back, yet more vents mimic those in the front fascia, this time placed next to the taillights. There will be an LED CHMSL, and larger diameter exhaust tips poking out of the bumper. Inside, Allpar says Ram plans to follow the Dodge SRT template by loading up the interior; the question is whether there will be a base model, or if it's only SRT plus options. The luxury angle means the 12-inch Uconnect infotainment system will be standard, with off-road-specific screens among the Performance Pages. Allpar confirms the conventional shifter, and Mopar Insiders says the lever will be joined by aluminum shift paddles borrowed from the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. The paddles will be longer than those in the Italian crossover, and mounted on the steering wheel.