Saltillo vs. St. Louis

[JRihani]

I'm wondering which 2500/3500 Rams are built in Saltillo (sp?) Mexico. I have heard that all 4-door HD Rams are built in Saltillo and all 2-door HD Rams are built in St. Louis. Can someone clear this up for me? If all configs are built in both places, can you specify your preferred assembly point when ordering?



Absolutely fantastic site!

 

[Dean Upson]

I don't know which trucks are built where, but my '03, built south of the border has the best fit and finish of any of my 3 CTD's. My 94 was built in Michigan and the 98. 5 was built in St. Louis and had the worst paint job I have ever had on any new vehicle. I have found no fault with the workmanship in my Mexican truck.



Dean

 

[roadking]

my 03 2500 2dr larmie was built south of the border

 

[KCJackson]

all new 3500s are Mexican - 2500s can be from either plant.

 

[JRihani]

Thanks for the info guys. I have heard as much, that the Mexico trucks are as good or better than the St. Louis trucks. It is hard for a guy to keep things straight when my Olds is assembled in Canada and my buddy's Tundra is built right here in Indiana. It is difficult to even play the "who gets the profit" game because of the D. C. merger and global organizations.



I'm just proud that the engine is still assembled 65 miles south of my backyard. In the modern manufacturing world, that has to be enough!



Thanks again.

 

[bish777]

Its my understanding that the engines are built by Cummins of Mexico, near the Dodge plant.

 

[Dean Upson]

The engines are made in Columbus, IN at the Walesboro Plant.



Dean

 

[Jdimig]

I thought all Doges were built in Mexico near the Cummins plant.

 

[robobx]

Originally posted by JDimig

I thought all Doges were built in Mexico near the Cummins plant.

Mine came from St. Louis, 2500 QC

 

[StephenThomas]

I remember a post not long ago which identified the build location off the first number in the VIN -- I can't seem to find that post though. Anyone remember it???

 

[RobertBolinger]

Here is a link for VIN decode:



http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/VIN_decode.htm



(a little outdated, but probably still correct)

 

[JRihani]

When I worked in inventory control at CMEP (Cummins Walesboro plant) in 2000-2001 all the engines for the Dodge application were coming out of that plant. I have no connection to Cummins anymore and a lot can change in 3 years. My assumption was that all of the Dodge engines are still coming out of Walesboro, IN.



When I was looking at Rams in 2001 I remember seeing two 2500 quad-cab long-bed 4x4s next to each other in the lot - one from Saltillo and one from St. Louis.



I figured in the interest of productivity they would have streamlined the plants to handle specific configurations.



If you look at p. 12 of Cummins' 2002 annual report (available at www.cummins.com) it lists the manufacturing locations and the products that are produced there. I don't think they have a Mexico plant that handles any ISB production. Again, things could have changed.



Thanks for all of the information shared on this string.

 

[rbattelle]

Slightly off-topic, does anyone think there's any difference in build quality between a truck that was special ordered for a customer and one that was just ordered by a dealer? I mean, do you think when the guys on the line see that the vehicle is being "built specially for Joe Schmoe", they are more careful in building it?

 

[JRihani]

I can't be sure, but I highly doubt that the guys on the line ever see who the truck is being built for. Most modern manufacturing facilities I've been in would assign a build number (production order, if you will) to each vehicle and that number would contain all of the information (config, etc). It is usually has a barcode and as the truck travels through the plant the barcode will tell the operator/machine what parts to pull, what engine to use, what color to paint it, etc. Some of the most modern plants skip the barcode altogether and simply have carriers that "load" the information electronically when it pulls up to the next assembly station. I don't think the guys building the truck would ever have a link back to the person who ordered it. The attitude most manufacturing managers would try to instill in their operators is that it doesn't matter where the product will end up, it has to be within spec every time.



That is kind of why I started this topic, deep down I just get the feeling that the UAW in St. Louis might feel a little more red-blooded American connection to their product. I mean no offense to the fine people who work in Saltillo, I know that the trucks I've seen manufactured there are of the highest quality.



I personally always dream of spending the weeks my truck is being assembled in the back of the bed, yelling "this is my truck, do a good job OR ELSE!" LOL! I might get some of that patriot blue on me, but it would be worth it

 

[krs]

"I personally always dream of spending the weeks my truck is being assembled in the back of the bed"



That may not be entirely impossible. A friend of mine "attended" the assembly of his Toyota truck at the Fremont, CA plant (or was it Milpitas?) He arranged through the dealer to be able to go there and introduce himself. He said that it was a great time and the employees were very enthusiastic in having him there. I've heard that a buyer can do that at Saturn plants also, and from the description that I've seen of the Subaru plant in Indiana it sounds like the whole town would adopt you if you went there. The town (don't remember it's name) has been put back on it's feet by the Subaru plant and everyone who lives there has something to do with it it some way.

 

[Dean Upson]

Originally posted by JRihani



That is kind of why I started this topic, deep down I just get the feeling that the UAW in St. Louis might feel a little more red-blooded American connection to their product. I mean no offense to the fine people who work in Saltillo, I know that the trucks I've seen manufactured there are of the highest quality.

I wonder if some of that red-blooded American connection to the product is felt by the folks (non-UAW?) that are putting the Toyotas and Hondas together in the good old US of A ? If you look at the parts to any of our vehicles it looks like the United Nations.



Dean

 

[JRihani]

You are absolutely correct. That is what I alluded to in an earlier post saying that it is almost impossible to "get it straight" with regards to where anything is made/assembled. Even our venerable Cummins is a fine example of your "United Nations" comment.



Each person, when investing this kind of money in a product, decides for themselves what priorities are most important to them. I myself find that walking the balance between being a savvy comsumer and trying to keep as many of my $$$'s here in the U. S. a difficult task. The task will only become more difficult as more and more primary component manufacturing moves overseas.



I don't fault the guy driving the Tundra or Titan one bit, I think they are fine trucks. Both of them are built right here in the U. S. A. , and while the profit goes back to Japan, is that so different than Stuttgart?



Sorry, I've gotten way off topic here. I think my question regarding which models were built where was answered a while back.



Thanks for all of the input!

 

[fencebuilders]

My Saltillo Ram has been flawless so far.

 

[hdfxrsconv]

Character 11 of the VIN: S = Dodge City, G = Saltillo, & J = St. Louis.



Character 1 is the country of origin. 1 = MFG by Daimler Chrysler Corp, 3 = MFG by Daimler Chrysler De Mexico.



My 2003, which I custom ordered, came from St. Louis. Love the truck!

 

[Hunter1]

Mine speaks Mexican, is perfect!



The only thing disturbs me is this, Levis' just closed their last two US of A plants!



Is ANYTHING going to me made in th USA



Hunter1