Ram, Ford, and the GM brands are in a constant struggle to achieve new truck superlatives. Every pickup has to be the longest-lasting, the best-selling, the torqueiest. It’s a never-ending battle, and a lot of the bragging ends up being contentious at best and meaningless at worst. Just because one specific trim of one Ford can tow 40,000 pounds and the Sierra HD or Ram HD can only tow 36,000 probably doesn’t mean much to the average truck buyer. What Ram just announced is both a boastful superlative and something that’s great for its buyers, and probably other truck owners.
The news of a dramatically improved warranty for Ram buyers is the happy way I’m going to start The Morning Dump, because the vibes are a bit mixed this week. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain scored one of the biggest union victories in a century for his members, following his surprise takeover that came after a series of controversies and arrests among the outgoing leadership. How is Fain celebrating? By getting into a massive controversy that resulted in a report that makes him look quite bad.
Will America suddenly embrace electrification all at once? Absolutely not, and I think I’ve been quite clear that this belief was dangerous for a lot of automakers. The inverse view is just as dangerous, if not more so. A country that ignores electrification and pulls support for the inevitable transition into electrification does so at its own peril, and that’s what we seem to be doing now.
That’s heavy. Let me lighten it up a little bit. Car And Driver just turned 70 years old. That’s cool.
Ram’s New Powertrain Warranty For Trucks Is 10 Years And 100,000 Miles
The Stellantis brand we all call Ram makes one kind of van and two kinds of trucks: the big kind and the even bigger kind. They’re all good, and choosing between a Ram 1500, a Silverado, or an F-150 probably has a lot more to do with personal preference than any sort of underlying quantitative judgment (unless you’re a fleet buyer).
Up until now, most modern trucks from the Big Three truckmakers came with a five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. That’s what you’ll get with an F-150 or a Silverado HD. Not so from Ram! Every 2026-or-later model will get 10 years and 100,000 miles of powertrain protection that covers the engine, transmission, transfer case, driveshafts, differentials, and axles. While it doesn’t cover fleet purchases, it’s being extended to both individuals and businesses, and includes work trucks like the Ram 5500 Chassis Cab and ProMaster van.
“Everything is more expensive, and trucks are certainly no exception. Truck buyers are financing purchases for longer periods of time, with nearly 80% of new truck loans exceeding five years,” said Tim Kuniskis, CEO of Ram. “Our customers are making a long-term investment in Ram, and with America’s best full-size truck limited powertrain warranty, Ram is making a stronger and longer commitment to our customers.”
It’s true. Loans are going on forever, and everything is getting more expensive.
This is great for people already in the market for a Ram. It’s also great for non-Ram buyers, as it’s possible that this will force GM and Ford to follow. Until they do, it’s a feature that would definitely make me consider a Ram over the alternative. While most vehicles will go 100,000 miles on the original engine and transmission, the replacement cost for a big truck motor is consequential. The peace of mind is maybe worth it.
[Ed Note: Especially for vehicles with the kind of capability these trucks have, this seems like a big deal for Ram. These trucks are rated to tow tens of thousands of pounds at absurdly hot temperatures up a steep grade; for that punishment to warrantee’d for 10 years, 100,000 miles is cool. -DT].
UAW President Reprimanded In Blistering Report By Watchdog
One of my favorite expressions is the sports cliche: They don’t ask how, they ask how many. As an Astros fan, I find this quite appealing.
Judged merely by outcomes, UAW boss Shawn Fain has been an enormous success. The UAW renegotiated historic contracts with all major Detroit automakers, added a VW plant to the roster, and has otherwise set up union workers to greatly benefit from the shift towards American manufacturing. If you don’t ask how, the how many is impressive.
Unfortunately for Fain, recent leadership got tossed in jail for various crimes, and as part of a settlement with the Justice Department, there’s a Federal watchdog whose whole job is to ask how. And he asked how it was possible that Fain stripped the Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock of some of her duties without any obvious wrongdoing.
The results of that inquiry are this long, damning report you can read in full here. Fain looks terrible in the report.
Without getting into the back-and-forth, Mock alleged last year that she was being sidelined because she was trying to enforce longstanding union rules over various things, including reimbursements. Fain does not appear to have seen Mock as a team player and, according to the report, colluded with another member to have Mock’s duties limited as a form of retaliation:
Her removal was not the result of dereliction of duty or dishonesty, but rather a consequence of her refusal to grant exceptions to the strict policy restrictions governing the expenditure of Union resources, including to those within Fain’s inner circle. As the investigation revealed, Fain acted on a premeditated plan to take action against Mock—one that aligned with Fain’s earlier, widely reported warning that he would “slit [the] f*****g throats” of anyone who interfered with his staff. Fain followed through on that threat by orchestrating a coordinated effort to discredit and disempower a fellow elected officer.
There are numerous instances in this report claiming that Fain yelled at subordinates and swore over various issues, including ones having to do with photos of himself and banners. When Fain did get Mock’s role lessened by the Board, he allegedly conspired to have a black member of the board do it because:
[He] “wanted to reach out to Laura [Dickerson] and LaShawn [English] as they’re African American because I know accusations happen all the time if you’re a white male.” He explained that if he overtly took action himself, he feared he would be vulnerable to accusations of racism, and that “I thought it would be better coming from [Dickerson] than me, a white guy.”
It’s a bad look, and the watchdog’s recommendation is that Mock be restored to her full role. There’s no talk of any charges, but it sounds like the watchdog is looking into bringing some charges over a pattern of intimidation.
The UAW, for its part, put out a statement (you can read the full thing here on Automotive News) saying that Secretary-Treasurer Mock “has harmed our membership by obstructing critical bargaining and organizing activities.” So it looks like they’re not backing down.
BloombergNEF Estimates 14 Million Fewer EV Sales In The US Through 2030
The transition to the electrification of cars is never any easy one, with even model countries like Finland needing both time and a great deal of financial support to be successful. The United States, under this current administration, seems to be reversing the prior administration’s plans in this regard by attempting to remove both the incentive (tax credits, loans) and the punishment (fines, carbon offset credits).
To that end, BloombergNEF thinks that it’ll cost the United States a lot of EV sales and, potentially, a place in the competitive EV marketplace of the future:
BloombergNEF reduced both its near- and long-term EV outlook for the first time, cutting 14 million battery-powered cars from its sales projections through 2030 due to the US rollback. The researcher now sees the country trailing not only China and Europe, but also the global average adoption rate until 2040.
“Global EV sales are growing, but the national picture is more varied than ever,” BNEF analysts write in the report released Wednesday. Whereas China is expected to account for nearly two-thirds of the almost 22 million plug-in vehicles sold globally this year, in part thanks to government incentives, “all major EV policies in the US are under fire.”
My neck hurts from all the whiplash.
I think that it makes more sense to shift a larger percentage of the population into hybrids first and, eventually, EREVs and EVs (especially as technology develops). That doesn’t mean there isn’t a huge chunk of consumers (probably more than half) that could, or maybe should, have at least one electric vehicle.
Happy 70th Birthday Car And Driver
Kaiser Danil Car-und-Driver is celebrating 70 years since the first publication of his eponymous magazine, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t wish our friends there a happy birthday. Car And Driver has a remarkable history, though it hasn’t all gone well. I point you to the hilarious aside from EIC Tony Quiroga in his latest Editor’s Note:
I can still remember C/D’s 50th, largely because embarrassment is hard to forget. The issue wasn’t the issue—the July 2005 magazine celebrated our first 50 in an entertaining way. It was the party we threw that haunts me. For those of you who attended our 50th birthday bash at Indianapolis’s lesser-known track, we were happy to see you but must apologize for a sparsely attended and disorganized event whose sole claim to fame is that it was better than the Fyre Festival. At least Grand Funk Railroad showed up and played “We’re an American Band.”
Can anyone who was at this event please tell me more about this?
Happy 70th to Car And Driver, here’s to 70 more!
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
I love Addison Rae’s “Diet Pepsi” and have looked forward to her latest album, which I haven’t listened to. Instead, I’ve been listening to the new Blondshell record too much. The universe has seemed fit to deliver, so here’s Blondshell doing a slower tempo, still excellent cover of the song during her XMU Sessions recording.
The Big Question
Do you consider a warranty when you buy a vehicle? What was the original warranty on your oldest vehicle in your fleet?
Top Image: Ram
The sudden switch to the EREV craze is late. That is, there should have been way more EREVs sold over the last 10 years, but the next 10 years should actually be more of a transition from hybrids and EREVs to mostly BEVs.
The RAM warranty will help me, provided it applies to the EREV. My Titan is bumper to bumper for 5/60, and I am growing less than enthused about my previously great dealer.
The warranty situation is near the bottom of my car buying criteria. That’s a perk for the fancy people making mortgage payments on their new RAMs. I’d rather let the magic of depreciation do it’s thing for 2-3 years (or more) before pouncing on that low mileage creampuff that someone bought with a “warranty”.
I’ve only owned one car in factory warranty. Toyota actually called and replaced the water pump as part of a TSB.
I am occasionally tempted to try a Hyundai/Kia due to neat product combined with the the long warranty. Other times I’ve considered a brand with a less than stellar reputation for quality (VW, Volvo, Ford) and figured I would automatically buy an extended warranty if I bought one.
Problem with extended warranties is they ultimately require a good dealer service department to be a willing partner to have a good experience, and that is far from a guarantee – especially at the local Dodge/Jeep dealer (or the above mentioned Hyundai/Kia dealer for that matter).
From reading random internet car content over the years, I’ve got the impression the powertrain is often not the weak link in a Dodge truck. Everything else – not so much. But that was also when the Hemi was the standard motor. Maybe a EREV/PHEV Ram with a 10-year warranty would be tempting, but then I’d see it is $100k.
But I’ve often said that if Stellantis wants to survive, they need to take the Hyundai approach to appease consumer concerns about their quality. They should roll out the “best” warranty not just on their trucks, but everything else. Personally, I’m probably still driving past the Stellantis dealer for something else.
Hi, I’m glad I’ve finally been able to reach you…I’ve been trying to “stalk” you about your…extended car warranty! Have you checked your blinker and horn fluid recently? I also have some Lucas replacement smoke if you’re interested…
Yes, I specifically wait for unsolicited offers over the phone to buy expensive insurance products. Maybe check my email too – I don’t know why all the good offers end up in Junk!
GM had a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty from 2007 to 2015.
And there’s a reason they got rid of it.
Massive costs.
the engines were at their peak but the transmissions were at their worst.
Worst? Have you heard of the TH-200 Metric?
No one is going to comment on the Fain thing? No one? I realize the degree to which he was feted in the press makes this news awkward but surely some realized that, historically, one does not become the leader of a major union without being at least mildly corrupt. Anyway I’m sure we’ll all quickly forget this lesson on lionizing people that you don’t know.
It’s very lucrative to be a UAW capo at the mid level, so no surprise this carries over when one of them moves up.
I’m old enough to remember when world leaders and newspaper editorials were talking about the new leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, as though he might actually be a nice guy. Give me a break. He clambered to the top of an edifice created by Joseph Stalin, not a place where you’ll find many nice guys.
And you’re seeing this exact effect repeated again with some in the media declaring that we should give the new “leaders” of Syria a chance. Nevermind that the most prominent entry in al-Sharaa’s leadership resume is his time spent at the helm of an al-Qaeda affiliate.
Do you consider a warranty when you buy a vehicle? No, because I buy used.
I have no idea what the original warranty on an ’87 60 Series Land Cruiser would have been when new. If someone here knows that, especially for the Canadian market, that would be awesome to learn!
Based on my own data from three 60 Series and one 80 Series (3/4 being diesels, a different 3/4 being manuals), aside from general maintenance, the powertrains/drivetrains seem fine to well over 400k km. One of them was at 600k km when I parked it for parts due to severe rust.
Not really. I buy Toyotas. The two I own now (one prior to that) never required any warranty-eligible repairs. And a car that never has me going to the dealer (I get maintenance done elsewhere) is the one I want.
Were I in the business of beating the shit out a car or truck (legitimately as a course of doing business), then yes, definitely. I have a friend who takes tools to worksites and tows an RV that requires a truck of a certain size. That’s a Chevy, but I’ll see what he thinks about this new Ram warranty.
He might be brand-loyal, though.
“While it doesn’t cover fleet purchases”
Why shouldn’t a fleet-purchased Ram have the same warranty?
Also for what these trucks cost these days, a 100,000 mile warranty should be the bare minimum.
With that mileage limit, that warranty doesn’t really impress me. Give it a 200,000 mile warranty and I’ll be impressed.
“Do you consider a warranty when you buy a vehicle? What was the original warranty on your oldest vehicle in your fleet?”
Until recently, I didn’t. But with my recent purchase of a plug-in hybrid, it was good to know that the hybrid components and battery still had some warranty left.
The warranty for hybrid/electric components on Fords from 2017 was 8 years or 160,000km.
https://www.ford.ca/cmslibs/content/dam/brand_ford/en_ca/brand/warranty-guides/pdf/Ford_Warranty_Guide_2017_EN.pdf
My current car is actually the first car I’ve owned that had any sort of warranty left on it.
Fleet purchase are sold at a significant discount and extended warranties cost money.
Fleet units are typically strip down units, and sold at a huge discount if not at a loss, so less profit. They also tend to get the ever loving shit beat out of them, and are much less likely to be properly maintained.
It’s also an easy excuse to cut out some of the cost of this warranty.
Since this warranty is non-transferable to anyone but the original purchaser, it actually makes me somewhat less likely to want to purchase a Ram. If I am buying used, there would be no warranty aside from the original bumper-to-bumper warranty (I assume). If I was trying to sell and disclosed that the 10 year powertrain warranty does not apply, it would make the truck less valuable to a prospective buyer. Is it measurably less valuable? I don’t know.
I am pretty sure that the original warranty on my 1967 Volkswagen Bus was 6 months/6,000 miles. Whatever it originally was, it has definitely expired.
How do you know it’s non-transferrable? If that was in the article, I missed it. Previous powertrain warranties were.
Google time:
Coverage of this limited liability applies to original owner only, effective with 2026MY model year and newer model-year vehicles. Second and/or subsequent owners have powertrain components coverage under the 5-Year/60,000-Mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty (5-Year/100,000-Mile for Diesel Engines).
Ouch. Thanks for checking for that. That’s a bit rude on Dodge’s part. On their site, they’re pitching it as an extended warranty and not the base powertrain warranty. I expect there are specific legal reasons for that.
https://www.mopar.com/ramtrucks/en-us/my-vehicle/powertrain-warranty-extension.html
Well, it would have been nice to have on my 2010 Dodge diesel – it’s now at 15 years/100k (it does cross country towing, not much else). Not that I would have needed it, but at least the whole length of the 10 year warranty would have applied. So there are SOME owners that can benefit.
Historically the only companies that only cover such and such to the original owners are BmW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Kia, and Hyundai.
I paid just over $2k for a 9 year/75k Ford ESP warranty for my 2025 Maverick because
Ford quality sucks assI spend too much time on forums where people are loud about issuesRealistically it would only take a few issues in that time to pay for itself; labor alone is $200 an hour now and in a few years that will be even higherI intend to keep the vehicle that longI can afford it and the peace of mind is nice
Wat
10 years of visiting a CDJR service department sounds more like a punishment than a benefit, especially if you’re going to end up there often.
Of course, I didn’t buy it new, but my oldest car, 2005 Pontiac GTO, when new, had a 6 yr/60K powertrain. 3 yr/36K B2B. 6 yr/100K Corrosion. It hasn’t passed the milage on the corrosion, but definitely did pass the years.
Been saying warranties need to increase for years to align with the prices they charge, finally some good news. Now time for everyone else to follow suit
It’s really hard to know what to think about factory warranties, because it’s really hard to know how they factor into the price. If you are looking at two cars, and the CHEAPER one has a superior warranty, that could go a long way to allaying concerns about the car failing you because it’s cheap. That’s how they worked well for the Korean manufacturers. A la carte warranties, though, are a staggering rip-off most of the time, and you have to wonder if factory ones rolled into the price might be, too. My experience with warranty work is that it either comes up in the first year, because its a genuine QC issue with the assembly of that car, or its so egregious that it has provoked a recall that may not even be in the warranty term. Offering an extended warranty costs a dealer or manufacturer next to nothing, and if they’re charging money for it I’d say you have to really want car repair insurance to be willing to pay a middleman for it. Of course, this is a world where all cars have at least a few years and tens-of-thousands of miles warranty that covers the main idiosyncrasies of serial production.
Your observation is apt: there is a concept in production statistics called “The Bathtub curve”. This refers to the shape of the rate of failure when plotted against time. There will be a ‘high’ number of failures in the first short period of the product’s life. These tend to occur because of manufacturing defects. The failure rate then settles into a fairly low rate- statistics says some will fail for materials, others for lack of maintenance or care, etc. Finally, failure rate will climb quickly again at the point where the product is worn out and reaches end of life. Extended warranties don’t tend to reach this area, and just cover the ‘low failure rate’ bottom of the curve.
That’s fascinating. Thanks for giving me some terminology for this.
My number one suggestion for Stellantis was to increase their warranties to Hyundai levels in order to buy back some consumer confidence. Looks like they’ve been following my Autopian comments.
All jokes aside, this is absolutely the right move for RAM, and they should extend it to all of their brands. And yes, I consider warranty periods when I buy (if it’s something new/newish) as I refuse to have a car payment and the potential of major repair at the same time. The people buying RAMs before this with 7-8 year loans (a shocking number of people) and still making payments well after the powertrain warranty ends, are nuts.
From what I’ve seen: 7,8 or even 9-year loans and trading them in, underwater, ahead of that on something new-and-shiny.
And the number of people, still paying off the purchase, well after those cars start to have more serious issues.
A Jeep would become mighty enticing if it had a 100k warranty.
I mostly buy used cars in the 3-5 year range. The only car I’ve ever bought new was a Honda fit sport with a manual. It had a price that I could not turn down as the dealer was trying to offload it. So when buying used a warranty does come into consideration but not as much as the current state and reputation of the vehicle. I also buy what I can afford to lose. If I buy something and it catastrophically lunches its drivetrain and its value goes to 0, that’s fine. I adjust what I buy accordingly. If you’re going to be massively affected by a major repair that you cannot afford out of pocket then you have to temper your desire for a nice car that’s beyond your means. That’s my personal philosophy.
One of my cars had 12 month/12,000 miles when new.
Another came with a lifetime powertrain warranty, provided I have a free inspection done by the automaker every five years.
Last fall I had enough of the DW with the Gladiator, and I was looking for a Ram or Chevy 1/2 ton truck (never Ford). I found a CPO Ram 1500 that met all my needs and has been a great truck. The best part- The CPO warranty is 7 years/100K miles from original in service date. Peace of mind.