Press Fleet Ram Catches Fire – Worker Sabotage To Blame?

Dallas Morning News contributor Terry Box had a pretty exciting vehicle review recently. He was driving a brand new Longhorn Edition Ram 1500, when other motorists started to waive and gesture at him frantically. The problem? His brand new press fleet Ram was burning.

By the time he got pulled over and out of the truck, the vehicle was quickly engulfed. See the story here.

Brand new Ram burns to the ground – sabotage at play? Image from Dallas Morning News

The question is, was this “a one-in-a-billion situation” as described by Ram CEO Fred Diaz, or is this problem a result of reported worker sabotage at Ram’s Warren Truck Assembly Plant?

The Trouble With Sabotage

Sabotage is inherently risky. You never know who it’s going to effect, nor can you be certain about how it will play out. If a Ram worker decided to wipe a little grease on this particular truck’s exhaust manifold, it’s likely that grease would smolder and stink to high heaven. A harmless bit of sabotage that might annoy a new truck buyer, waste a dealership’s time, etc., but nothing serious.

However, wipe too much grease on the manifold, and you get a giant fire.

To be clear: I have no Earthly idea what caused this truck to burn down. It could have been one-in-a-billion bad luck, it could have been something the reviewing journalist did (maybe he was cooking burgers on the manifold or something), or it could have been the same mysterious gremlins that caused so many Toyota owners to step on the gas instead of the brakes a couple of years ago.

Whatever the cause, I know this:

1. Ram’s record for quality and durability has never been great. JD Power frequently rates Ram below average in their annual initial quality and long-term durability surveys (you can read more details about Ram’s performance on these surveys here).
2. We have documentation that Ram workers were sabotaging trucks (here’s that sabotage story link again)
3. As a general rule, trucks don’t spontaneously combust…well, except for F150s with defective cruise control modules or GM trucks with windshield wiper fluid heaters

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: There’s no good reason to buy a Ram. Between sabotage concerns, a track record of poor quality, and a list of quality alternatives (namely the Tundra and F-150), buying a Ram makes little sense.

Hat tip to PickupTrucks.com

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