6.7L Cummins Forum

According to Automotive news the merger between the 2 would result in the closing of as many as half of Chrysler's factories and elimination of all but about seven core models, according to a report by consulting firm Grant Thornton LLP.

A deal also could result in a loss of 100,000 to 200,000 jobs at the two automakers, suppliers and other industry stakeholders, said Kimberly Rodriguez, principal of Grant Thornton's automotive practice.
Rodriguez said an agreement in principal could be reached by as soon as Tuesday, Nov. 4, election day.

Chrysler now has 14 factories, two of them already scheduled to close: Newark, Del.; St. Louis South.
Chrysler has also offered its Viper business for sale, along with the Conner Avenue plant in Detroit where the sports car is made. Grant Thornton believes an additional four plants could close. Among the plants on the cusp would include Sterling Heights, Toledo North , St. Louis North (Dodge Ram) and Saltillo, Mexico (Dodge Ram heavy duty trucks).
The blended companies would command about one third of U.S. auto sales.

Chrysler now has 26 models, but only seven are core. Surviving Chrysler vehicles would likely be the Dodge Ram pickup; Chrysler and Dodge minivans; and several Jeep models, including the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee.
The merger would provide several benefits:
• GM's leadership in plug-in hybrid technology
• A stronger position in full-size pickups, displacing Ford as industry leader
• More liquidity, thanks to the cash on Chrysler's balance sheet
• Cost reduction by elimination of overlapping staffs, especially in sales, marketing and administration.

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2007.5 Dodge Ram 3500 HD,QC, 6.7L Cummins, 6speed Auto, 4X4, Bighorn Edition.
Click for installs: Carr Steps PML Diff Cover Edge Juice with Attitude Volant Intake Hankook ATM RF10

Here is a question: Since GM and Chrysler, (Dodge), use different brands of diesel engines, would the Cummins be dropped in favor of the in house unit? I'd hate to see that. IMHO, the Cummins is the finest diesel out there.

Great question but my assumption is that since the Dodge Ram won't be scrapped that the Hemi and Cummins Diesel would stay the same since they are synonymous with the Ram. Now on the other hand if Ram sales should lag I'm sure that GM would like nothing better then a good excuse to kill the truck. If i was Ford I'd give Nissan a call because this can not be good for them.

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2007.5 Dodge Ram 3500 HD,QC, 6.7L Cummins, 6speed Auto, 4X4, Bighorn Edition.
Click for installs: Carr Steps PML Diff Cover Edge Juice with Attitude Volant Intake Hankook ATM RF10

The real test here is whether they view the Cummins Diesel as a strategic advantage in terms of product, cost and engineering. There seems to be no question that the Duramax is a strong diesel engine, going neck to neck with our 6.7 in performance.
I was part of the Cummins organization manufacturing piston rings for 7 years at the Cummins Piston Ring Division, purchased from Koppers Piston Ring around 1985.
Kopper's process for developing ring shape (correct pressure distribution when closed) was thought to make piston rings strategic components. Later determined a commodity, the plant was sold... So, you can bet, they will be testing the waters from day one.

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7.5 3500QC 6.7CTD 68RFE Build date June 2007
Superchips tuner 3808, Boost/EGT Laser Gauge, Airaid cold intake

I have been an auto lover all my life. Cars and trucks have always been my hobby. I have owned and wrenched on more than my share.
I have never been a GM fan. In fact of the "Big Three" a GM car or truck would be my last choice. I do not believe that GM puts as good a product on the market as do Chrysler and Ford, with a few possible exceptions. But I would certainly buy one before I bought a Japanese, Korean, Chinese or Indian vehicle.
I think that we all need to understand that all GM wants is two things, market share and the Jeep name. If they were smart, they would keep a number of Chrysler's vehicles, the Ram, Charger, Chrysler 300, Challenger, Grand Cherokee and the Wrangler to name a few. These would instantly fix several problems in their fleet. But GM's record of marketing says that they will do otherwise. Remember that this is a company that brought us the Corvair, the Vega, the X cars of the 80s and those wonderful 70s and 80s pickups with the fuel tanks mounted outside the frame and powered by those lovely 305s, just to name a few. They solved the problem with each not by fixing them but by "buying" owners into another GM product. I believe that they have done the same thing with past Duramax Trucks. I have seen many of these things apart with less than 200,000 KMs on the clock proudly showing cracked main webs, spun bearings, cam shaft failures and cracked heads. Yes they produce nice power, but they are generally not known for their longevity. The new "Maxi Pads" are supposedly better but time will tell.
Anyway, I believe what should happen is a full amalgamation of the "Big Three". All three with reps on the new board and an equal say. There would be some blood letting but we just might end up with the best products in years and the survival of the North American Auto Industry.
The above of course is MHO.

I'd just like to add a few things to the fine products GM has offered. Remember their first attempts at a diesel engine? They put a 5.7 liter converted gas engine in half ton pickups and told people not to tow anything with them. They were dropping like flies so badly there were retrofit kits offered to convert back to gas. These engines didn't even last in cars until they made some mods toward the end of the engines production increasing the journal size by 1/8" to keep them from breaking crankshafts. I had one the last year they produced them. You could look at the earlier and later engines and see quite a difference in them. I did manage to get 350k miles before it let go but had to put a seal and governor kit in the injector pump every 60-75k. Then there were the 6.2 and the 6.5 Liter with turbo that didn't make 100k before they blew. My father gave one back at 85k with a blown engine under the lemon law. When they brought out the Maxi-Pad I looked at one and told the dealer they had been screwing the public with poor excuses for a diesel engine for better than 2 decades, why should I believe this engine is any better than their previous attempts??? They put out overdrive transmissions that dropped like flies also. The aftermarket started offering kits to retro-fit a turbo 350 to replace them. The last transmission failure I had was due to a cheap (new and improved) 3-4 apply piston made of stamped steel with a bonded seal that wouldn't have made a good oil seal but was supposed to be a pressure seal to engage 3rd and 4th. I also found a plastic thrust bearing right behind the front pump. I wonder if the kids they employ are aware of what happens to plastic when you put it in hot oil long enough???? Apparently not!!! I rebuilt the tranny with the old design apply piston and a few other refinements and it has been working longer than the original did. This is why I went to Dodge from GM. They are perfect examples of a company that can build anything cheaper and inferior resulting in superior profits for the corporation. There is currently a class action suit over intake manifold gaskets and Dex-Cool on certain cars with the 4.3L V6 and a few other engines. See Dex Cool Litigation Website. There was also a class action suit against them for the 5.7 liter diesels. If they take over any division of Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep, beware. The whole damn thing will be made of plastic and will go into self destruct mode eventually. They are supposed to be the technology leaders but I guess that means plastics technology. For those not wanting to buy foreign be aware that GM has a long standing relationship with Isuzu going back to at least the 1970's Chevy LUV/Isuzu Pup and now the Maxi-Pad, the Chrysler K-car was at least in part Mitsubishi I believe. Geo was an arrangement with Toyota. You aren't necessarily getting an American car just because you bought it from the
Big3.
Sorry to ramble but thought I'd share some of my GM nightmares.

Damn, GLogan, you made me remember my Vega. Second new car I ever owned. Had it six months and it was gone.
Time will tell on the merger but I don't think that GM will have any bad influence on Cummins, they won't allow it. They may decide to eliminate Cummins from the Ram line but I doubt it.
So, what do we have then? A poorly made truck with a high quality engine??
We can only hope that the US automakers will get the point and start making some sound business decisions with manufacturing costs and stop cheating product design and quality.

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7.5 3500QC 6.7CTD 68RFE Build date June 2007
Superchips tuner 3808, Boost/EGT Laser Gauge, Airaid cold intake

Yes Vis a Vis, I remember the Vega well. All aluminum block with iron coated pistons running in aluminum bores with no liner. They weren't bad for an economy engine at the time if you yanked them apart, sleeved the block and replaced the pistons. I did the best thing, drop a 300 hp V-8 into them with a 9" Mustang rear end. I got 22 mpg at 70 and 20 in town with the V-8 and ran like crazy. The stock Vega engine didn't get near the same mileage I did, nevermind the performance.

There ain't going to be a GM/Mopar so called merger, thanks to Fiat purchasing 35% of Chrysler, as announced on Monday. This is a good move! It will put Chrysler/Dodge in the small car business, hopefully in short order. The fact that the Fiat small cars are well accepted and known to be good products should help too. This may also help save the Viper and several other good vehicles in the Chrysler fleet, including our Cummins trucks.
GM would have raped Chrysler for cash and technology and flung it aside.

The great news regardless of whether the big 3 make it through all this is that Cummins isn't owned by any of them so the engines would live on and I wouldn't have a problem buying a Nissan, Toyota or even a Fiat Cummins powered truck.

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2007.5 Dodge Ram 3500 HD,QC, 6.7L Cummins, 6speed Auto, 4X4, Bighorn Edition.
Click for installs: Carr Steps PML Diff Cover Edge Juice with Attitude Volant Intake Hankook ATM RF10