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Ram shows its trucks are for work and play

There are no shortage of pickup trucks at this year's SEMA Show. The popular platform has been ripe for customization for years, so it should come as no shock that Ford, General Motors and Ram are all showing a fair few trucks in Las Vegas. From the Ram camp, we have two offerings - the Ram Sun Chaser and the Ram Dually Case Work Truck.
The Sun Chaser opts for a beach theme, similar to the Fiat 500 Thalassa. Based on the Ram 1500, the Sun Chaser wears Vibrance Orange Blast and Brilliant Black paint, and sports a Mopar roof rack, while the Ram Box system features a water tank and a shower head allowing beach-goers to rinse off before getting back in the truck. A flip-up, seat-back tailgate makes sitting on the back of the truck a bit more comfortable, and it's the kind of cool feature we can see becoming an optional item in the future.
The Sun Chaser mods are rounded out by 17-inch deadlocked wheels, a two-inch lift kit and a Mopar exhaust for the 5.7-liter Hemi V8. The cabin, meanwhile, sports Katzkin leather seats and even more Vibrance Orange Paint.

Chrysler's internal documents question Ram quality as workers protest

Chrysler is reportedly having a hard time ramping up production of its 2013 Ram 1500. According to The Detroit News, only 16 of the 58 trucks built at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant during the model's first hour passed final inspection. While quality eventually improved over the course of the day, just over half of the units built on Thursday were approved for shipment. Even with workers ordered to stay late to fix their mistakes, some 1,078 units remained outside the facility with defects. The problem, according to workers at the plant, is morale.
According to the report, Chrysler recently changed the shift schedule at the plant and workers are unhappy with the new situation. The new plan has workers split into three shifts, each covering four 10-hour days. With the shifts staggered, some workers now have to work nights and on Saturdays. Some employees are so upset that they've taken to protesting, though the move isn't sanctioned by the United Auto Workers.
Meanwhile, Chrysler admits there were internal issues with the launch, but that the company was able to contain them. A spokesperson has said "plant quality indicators are getting progressively better."

Ram 1500 Mossy Oak Edition ready to hit the woods

Among all the debuts at the Detroit Auto Show next week, Ram will remove the ghillie-suit veil from its 2014 Ram 1500 Mossy Oak Edition, but the truck's bigger - and more fitting - debut will take place later in the week at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas. The new Mossy Oak Edition is aimed at hunting, camping and fishing enthusiasts, and it will go on sale within the next couple of months with a base price of $39,985, not including $1,195 for destination.
With plenty of accolades already in the bag for 2013 (including Motor Trend Truck of the Year and Truck of Texas), the 2014 Ram 1500 is definitely getting plenty of attention, and the new camouflage job from Mossy Oak should help get a few more eyeballs on this truck. Starting with the Ram 1500 4x4 Crew Cab Outdoorsman, this special edition is only offered in three exterior colors - Black, Black Gold or Prairie Pearl (shown above) - to go with the Mossy Oak camouflage along the lower edges of the body as well as the upper edge of the cargo bed. Unlike the previous Mossy Oak Edition (2011-2012), buyers can now opt for the innovative RamBox system in which to store plenty of hunting, camping and fishing gear.
Inside, there's more camo on the center stack and door panels, and the headrests are embroidered with the Mossy Oak logo. Like the Outdoorsman, the Mossy Oak Edition comes standard with cloth seats in two available colors, but it adds in a new option: Katzkin leather in Espresso Tuscany with the Mossy Oak logo embroidered into the seatbacks. Scroll down for more information on the 2014 Ram 1500 Mossy Oak Edition.