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Building the 2009 Dodge Ram and Dakota: Inside the Factory

Photos by J.P. Joans

These photos provide an unusual look into the Warren, Michigan factory where the 2009 Dodge Ram and Dakota were made.

Within the factory, there’s bumper to bumper traffic. Get it? Ha, ha.

Parts of the Dakota look quite dashing.

Here, the bodies travel by rail.

We talked about “problem boards” in the empowered work teams article; similar systems helped Volvo in years past, and are used by Toyota and Honda today. The employees work in groups to solve problems and raise quality.

It was 2009, but the logo was already Chrysler. Not “DaimlerChrysler” or “CerberusChrysler.”

Here’s the chassis-assembly monorail.

Using these plastic totes eliminated tons of unnecessary waste — Chrysler employees came up with the idea back in the pre-Daimler days.

Warren: the plant with two stories to tell.

Rams get a grilling...

In case you were wondering, executives sometimes need to park, too.

Outside the plant

These photos were taken by Christopher J. Carpenter in summer 2011 as part of the Allpar Factory Road Tour.

Want to see more factory photos?

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