Ram truck interiors have become proper competitors to the most expensive luxury sedans in America.
If you owned or spent much time in a Dodge Ram truck from the 1980s or early 1990s, you likely recall how bare-bones those cabins were 30 years ago. Bare metal door frames with vinyl-wrapped cardboard was the norm, perhaps with a minimal vinyl-wrapped pad on the dash that matched the vinyl bench seats. If you were lucky, it had air conditioning and a cassette player, but the odds are good that it did not.
Fast-forward to 2019 and over the past 30 years, the Ram 1500 has grown to offer interiors that are comfortably compared to the cabins of the priciest European luxury sedans. The Detroit Free Press recently spoke with Ryan Nagode, head of Ram truck interior design for FCA and he offered some insight into the plush cabin of these still-tough trucks.
Nagode on the Laramie Longhorn
The Laramie Longhorn package for the 2019 Ram 1500 offers premium appointments like no other truck on the market, with every premium feature that you could ask for and leather from head-to-toe. This includes real wood trim with the Laramie Longhorn hand-branded into the portion over the upper glove box, saddle-bag-style seat-back compartments and other western-themed trim throughout the cabin. The seats are heated and cooled, the infotainment system features and class-exclusive 12-inch touchscreen and the 19-speaker Harman Kardon system is second-to-none.
If the Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn isn’t the most luxurious truck on the market, it is most certainly one of them.
“We want the truck to have soul, so you feel like you’re buying something that was crafted uniquely for you,” Nagode said to Detroit Free Press. “Authentic” materials, such as zinc badges on the Laramie’s floor mats and center console, are important, Nagode said. “We love it when there’s a little variation in the leather and wood. We tell owners there will be some marks, and the materials will age naturally, like a baseball glove.”
No longer does having a luxurious ride require someone who needs a truck for their daily tasks to have a second vehicle, as the 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn offers the functionality of a proper half-ton truck and an interior layout that would be right at home in a premium European luxury sedan.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
