Originally Posted by seigell (Post 1653317)

Coming from a "plain-jane" '03 Dakota SL to a '09 Ram CC 4x4 with the Big Horn Package (almost Laramie), the differences in Interior Design and Build are really impressive - and mostly appreciated.
That being said - there are a number of things that I've sound that have me shaking my head thinking "What Were They Thinking ??"
Everyone probably has their own Pet Peeves list. Here's mine.
(airing these in public might elicit solutions that I haven't yet learned)
(unfortunately - Chrysler's Bankruptcy Woes mean we are on our own for a while)
Pet Peeves:
1. EVIC Menu Sequence - Why are the two most useful info items (DTE and Avg MPG) set to NOT be visible at same time ?? It's even different than shown in the Owner's Manual - only 1 illustration / no text. With the number of analog gauges, is the "System Info" that important or simply eye-candy ?? And does anybody know what the "MESSAGES: 0" shows when not "zero" ?? Won't they be text versions of the EVIC Lights (Oil Pressure, Engine Temp, Trans Temp warnings, etc) ?? And "Units: English/Metric" ?? Shouldn't these "minor displays" be best grouped at the bottom end of the menu out of the way, so the user sees (and is impressed by) the improved Avg MPG and extended Distance-to-Empty ??
2) EVIC Display Visibility - While intended for the driver, it also contains useful / interesting info for the passengers too (Heading, Outside Temp). The angle is poor, but the EVIC is visible to the front passenger as well as any rear passenger who can see around the driver. BUT, due to the design of the LCD Backlight, the passenger usually sees only a reddish glow. Too bad that backlight wasn't designed differently, or these displays not echoed somewhere visible to your cabin mates.
3) EVIC Display Clock - There ISN'T One. Instead, in my Big Horn Package, the only clock display is on the "Screen Saver" page of the MyGig screen, or with the stereo OFF. (Of course, that allows you to relish in the music being made under the hood and played out the exhausts.)
4) Dash lights Dimmer - Doesn't go dim enough !! When driving through the city and the 'burbs, the street lights wash away any benefit of a dim dashboard - so 70-80% of all Ram owners will never know this. And the PRINDL display doesn't dim at all. Heck, but if you can read the driver's ballcap logo or his girl can touch-up her face without additional lighting, the dash is too damn bright. But, when you are driving down country highways by starlight, you need your vision to be night-adjusted so that you can see to the extents of your headlights whether Bowser or Bambi or Bessie or Bullwinkle or Broke-down Bob is standing in your lane !!
5) MyGig Display Dimmer / Night Colors - Won't even dim as far as the EVIC (see above). I've found the "Night Colors" and "Auto-Day/Night" and "Screen Saver", and dialed the former down as far as possible and enabled the second. But I find I have to resort to the last - which results in a Clock display that, while on a dark background, doesn't dim with either the dashboard dimmer nor the Night Colors "slider". And for me, the MyGig display backlight "leaks" enough to make the "dark background" glow.
6) Center Console "Bling" and Sharp-edged Trim - Why is it that modern North American vehicle designers are convinced that shiny "Bling" - metallicized or chrome-coated plastic trim - will equate with "Luxury" and "Quality" ?? OK, it's often an improvement over a square-yard of smooth or orange-peel textured plastic. Yet on the Center Console of the '09 Ram, it seems Too Much! The Shift Gate could be trimmed in chromed-plastic. But why the majority of the Console ?? Living in Arizona, life lessons (and 1st-2nd degree burns) have taught that anything the Sun shines onto for any length of time will produce tons of glare and absorb painful heat. So, I have to be additionally careful to Don't Touch every time I climb in. And use my right forearm to shield my eyes from random stabs of sunlight glare. (It does wonders to tan the underside of my right arm - balances out the "Truckers Tan" that I get on my left.) The whole Center Console is like a box with the "top" having sharp edges not at all comfortable when you have your leg leaning against it while under Cruise Control. The front passenger side has the same Center Console Edge issue - and if you scratch up the girl's leg you know who's going to PAY for that...
7) Limited-Use (useless) Spare on 4x4 Rams - Have you peeked under the rear bumper at that diminutive rounded thread-bare patch of rubber that Chrysler Accountants decided was "good enough" (Goodyear should be embarrassed for the logo) ?? My Ram was factory-ordered, which shows that the "4x4 SLT" comes even before the Hemi and Crew Cab options. Yet, I'm saddled with this thing... It may be that many (most?) Ram Owners select "4x4" as a Status Symbol, never intending to venture further off-road than jumping the inside curb at the Micky-D's Drive-Thru lane. Not me... I spend about 1000mi/year on back-roads and trails where, while not rock-crawling by any means, high-clearance and 4x4 are recommended/required. If I were to flatten one of my "P"-rated Goodyear HP "road tires", all I can see is that the "Limited-Use Spare" would likely get me only 100-500 yards further down the trail before "Popping" too.
8) Gas Cap "Holder Prong" in Filler Door - The Owner's Manual instructs that you are expected to "hook" the flexible plastic "cord" of the Gas Cap Tether over the minuscule "prong" in the lower corner of the Gas Filler Door. My old '03 Dakota had the exact same Gas Cap (with a slightly tougher less stretchy plastic tether), but it had a painted metal "holder" for the threaded part of the Gas Cap. My new '09 Ram has the little "Holder Prong" thing, which is stamped from a single piece without even removing the burrs from the edges. I can just see the Accountants - first saving $0.25 in steel and robotic labor over the "reduced" holder; then earning $15.00 every time the tether is worn-thru and the Gas Cap is forgotten at the pump; or $50.00 for the Service Call to handle the Check Engine Light that is triggered by driving with a loose/missing Gas Cap.
9) Changed HEMI Badge - I knew that I was going to get a lot larger badging on the new '09 Ram Big Horn package than ever - probably 10lb worth of various Rams-head emblems. But on the walk-around, the first thing I noticed was the "HEMI Badge". It wasn't the "HEMI 5.7L" badge that has graced the front fenders of many Rams and Challengers and Chargers and even 300Cs. What I got was a "HEMI" done in "Bright Metal Raised Outline with Dimpled Metal Filling" and no reference to 5.7L. Do I have a "Limited Edition" badge ?? (I haven't seen the like on anyone's posted pictures.) But then, as Chrysler goes through Bankruptcy and Factory Closures and Merger with Fiat, we may ALL have Limited Editions - the ONLY '09 RAM 1500s (or the only not Fiat-Dodge).
DON'T GET ME WRONG... I'm happy with my Ram, overall. And it is a Sweet Ride that compares favorably against friends with F-150 H-D Editions or F-250 Laredos.
Please feel free to add your own Pet Peeves. Or (my hope) to correct me with work-arounds for my list...