Sub-prime finance has attracted a bit of interest (no pun intended) over at TTAC lately, and the segment itself has experienced phenomenal growth in the post-bailout era.

Auto lending site www.carfinance.com released a list of the top 10 most popular new and used vehicles as purchased by sub-prime buyers over the last six months. While it’s not the most complete list by any means, it does give us a glimpse into the choices of sub-prime buyers. As far as we know, no such list has ever been compiled prior to this.

Top 10 New Cars for sub-prime buyers according to carfinance.com (from October to March 2013)

1. Dodge Avenger

2. Kia Forte

3. Kia Optima

4. Chrysler 200

5. Dodge Journey

6. Ford Focus

7. Ram 1500

8. Nissan Sentra

9. Nissan Versa

10. Kia Sorento

A few things jump out here. First off, this list has almost no crossover with the usual top 10 selling new vehicles in America. Only the Ram 1500 appears on both lists. Second, Chrysler products make four appearances on this list, with the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler 200 well know among the B&B for being very aggressively priced, to the point where it makes buying a Dodge Dart seem nonsensical. Chrysler has also been ramping up their own sub-prime lending program, through Santander and was the leader in sub-prime lending last year.

Also interesting are the relative dominance of Nissan and Kia. The latest Sentra and Versa have also been priced with a view to undercutting the competition, and the Versa has had success in the sub-compact market with its extremely cheap offerings (nonwithstanding the loss leader $9,995 Versa S, which is meant to get people in the showrooms and little else). Kia comes as a bit of a surprise, as very little is ever heard about them in connection with sub-prime purchasing. Any commenters with information or data that can help provide a better picture, please feel free to contribute.

The Chrysler 300 is already equipped with a diesel for world markets, and there’s a possibility we may see an oil-burning 300 on our shores as well.

Speaking to Ward’s Auto, Chrysler brand CEO Saad Chebab noted that it all came down to cost.

“I think that we are in talks about the diesels because the Thema has a diesel in Europe anyway…it’s a matter of how much the customer is willing to pay for that premium. That’s the only issue with it.”

Chrysler is rolling out diesel engines on the Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee, with a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 made by VM Motori. But the diesel and the 8-speed automatic carry a premium of a few thousand dollars on the Grand Cherokee, a hefty sum, especially in the already declining full-size market.

Chebab also hinted that the Chrysler 200 may get a diesel option during its next generation, stating that “we have that opportunity to do it at any time.”

Even though Ford Ranger is dearly missed, Ford is claiming that Ranger customers are content with upgrading to an F-150 with one of Ford’s V6 powerplants – and they’re hardly alone in opting for the smaller powerplant.

Automotive News reports that the V6 powered F-150 has achieved a majority

F-150s equipped with V-6 engines, rather than V-8s, accounted for 53 percent of the 2012 sales total, a rate that exceeded Ford’s expectations.

The revival of the Ford Ranger has gotten plenty of attention this week, after an article by TTAC alum Justin Berkowitz shed light on the possibility of a compact, unibody pickup slotting below the F-Series. Whether or not this truck even comes to the USA is another matter.

What’s most compelling is the shift to a V6 engine in a segment where anything less than a V8 was seen as an emasculating choice. Even Ford was apparently caught out by the strong demand for the V6 engines. One source tells us that Ford initially expected a take rate of 15 percent for the Ecoboost, and hustled to meet demand when the real take rate ended up at around 40 percent or more.

Even though GM has downplayed the V6 option on their upcoming Silverado and Sierra trucks, Ram has been relentless in touting the new Pentastar V6 on the new Ram 1500. It will be interesting to get the data on Pentastar take rates once the redesigned Ram has had a full year of sales. The Ecoboost has the “urination contest” advantage of having two turbochargers and a lot more torque than competitive V6 and V8 engines, which may take some of the sting out of not having the two extra cylinders. Lest we forget that the emotional factor is frequently in play when choosing any car, and full-size trucks are no exception. The base 3.7L may be the prudent choice if fuel efficiency and saving money are the priorities – but as its minimal take rate demonstrates, the macho factor is still what’s important.

The 12-person protest that took place at Chrysler’s Warren, Michgan truck plant got little notice in the automotive news cycle, save for a couple of mentions on the usual aggregators. In truth, it’s not the juiciest story to sell in this click-driven wasteland, though these stories tend to raise the most interesting questions. This example highlights an issue that is going to dog the UAW for some time – how will the UAW control their workers when they are also the owners?

For the sake of context, let’s recap the story. 12 workers decided to protest a recently implemented schedule at the Warren plant, which is building the 2013 Ram 1500. As the Detroit News explains it

The new system — which has already sparked controversy at other Chrysler factories in Michigan — would split the workforce into three shifts, each working four 10-hour days a week. Those shifts would be staggered over six days, meaning that many workers would have to work Saturdays. 

Saturdays, of course, means time-and-a-half pay. If you believe the Detroit News, then the rank-and-file are unhappy about the move and are determined to fight it. But the UAW is distancing itself from the protest, noting that the move to the current schedule was first approved a decade ago.

The protest coincided with a report by the Detroit News, citing leaked internal documents that show rampant quality problems with the new Ram 1500, a crucial product for Chrysler that is enjoying a lot of momentum in a very competitive segment.

During the first hour of production Thursday, workers at the Warren truck plant built 58 pickups. But only 16 of those vehicles passed final inspection, according to company documents. Quality improved as the day went on, but just over half of the trucks assembled by the first shift were approved for shipment. A company source told The News that number should be at least 78 percent and higher than that to meet the plant’s quality goals.

Wednesday’s numbers were similar, and many employees were ordered to stay late to repair the defective vehicles, according to the source. But the number of problem pickups in the plant’s lots continued to grow. Though nearly 200 vehicles were repaired overnight, there were still 1,078 trucks parked outside the plant Thursday morning that could not be shipped because of defects, according to a company document.

The same report made sure to preface that “…morale problems sparked by the new shift schedule are only making these problems worse…”, adding another barb to a series that is uncharacteristically critical considering that the Detroit News is the hometown paper for Chrysler.

It would be tempting to ascribe more sinister motives to nefarious factions within Chrysler, the UAW or both, but the reality is that the issues plaguing Warren are really just a perfect storm of bad circumstances. On a base level, human are notoriously bad with change. Having chatted with former union members in domestic auto plants, it’s evident that these sorts of shift changes are often presented in a manner that glosses over the ugly details so that the union bigwigs can get the measure approved. When it comes time for the changes to be implemented, the rank-and-file are inevitably unhappy (though our source notes that the blame cuts both ways; caveat emptor and all that).

So, take a bunch of disgruntled workers adapting to a new shift schedule and throw in a new model launch. What did you expect? Workers and management singing kumbaya around the camp fire? It’s hard to think of a bigger recipie for disaster, save for having Bob King ride into Chattanooga on an organizing drive while piloting a Chinese-built Wrangler with a Romney/Ryan bumper sticker. Combining the shift change with a new model launch and production ramp-up may have been a poorly judged move, but in all likelihood, the defect rate will settle down in a month or two.

Meanwhile, the UAW, through the VEBA health benefits organization, currently owns roughly 41 percent of Chrysler. While Fiat is currently attempting to buy the remaining stake from the VEBA, the retiree health benefits of the union members are largely dependent on auto maker stock as well as the overall financial health of the companies. The two parties are currently locked in tough negotiations over the remaining stake, but this is likely too far removed from quality defects at one plant to have any effect on potential stock prices or the respective bargaining position of either side. What is in the mutual self-interest of both parties is the continued success of Chrysler’s auto sales – and with Ram and Jeep being the two pillars holding Chrysler up right now, the UAW knows which side their bread is butter on.

Chrysler will be the first truck maker to offer a diesel engine on a half-ton pickup, when the Ram 1500 gets an oil-burner in Q3 of this year.

The diesel will be the same 3.0L VM Motori engine as used in the Grand Cherokee, good for 240 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque in that application. USA Today, which broke the story, reported that Ram boss Fred Diaz would not disclose power figures or pricing information, the two big question marks for the new model.

Diesel options in heavy duty pickups typically cost thousands more as optional equipment. TrueCar’s Jesse Toprak suggested that offering a small premium, akin to Ford’s EcoBoost V6 in the F-150, would shake things up in the segment, but Diaz seemed to shrug off that notion. Regardless, Toprak felt that the diesel option could be good for as many as 10,000 units.

With this announcement, it will be interesting to see if any truck makers follow suit and offer a quarter-ton diesel option. Aside from wanting to combat Ram’s lock on this model, there will likely be positive implications as far as CAFE goes. VM Motori is half owned by GM, though the company will offer a new mid-size Colorado for fuel-economy conscious buyers (though in many markets, the Colorado can be had with a Duramax diesel).

No surprises here…the Cadillac ATS and Ram 1500 are North American Car and Truck of the Year. Thank god it wasn’t the FR-S. Sergio Marchionne quipped that “we deserved to win” the truck award. And I don’t disagree with him. GM’s new full-sizers are going to have a tough battle ahead of them.

Two doors. 390 horsepower. 8 cylinders. Two seats. Just a hair under $25k. Sound too good to be true? It might be one of the best muscle car deals going, as long as you’re willing to drive a pickup.

While perusing the Ram website for someone looking to buy a pickup, I came across the Ram Express; with a regular 6’4″ bed and rear-drive, it can be had with a 5.7L Hemi engine and a 6-speed automatic transmission for just $24,825. Next year, the 8-speed automatic will be the sole option. For those of us in the snowbelt, four-wheel drive will bump the cost up closer to $28,000, which makes it less of a value proposition. Note that in Canada, the Express starts at a mere $22,395 for a 4×2 single cab – the sole option is four-wheel drive, and a bigger cab is not available.

The V6 Mustang is rightly touted as the muscle car bargain of the century, but the Ram Express offers its own proposition. No, it won’t handle like a V6 ‘Stang, nor will it return the same fuel economy. But it can haul more, carry people in greater comfort (if you opt for the Quad or Crew Cab versions) and can be had with four-wheel drive. Like the Mustang V6, the base price merely serves to get buyers in the door – the real desirable versions need more options and dollars thrown at them – but the intent remains the same. And while a truck may not put up the same on paper acceleration numbers as a conventional car, they can still haul ass just fine. The Express is also extremely basic. If nothing else, it’s an intriguing, all-American alternative to the traditional muscle car – one that can tow 9200 lbs, should the need ever arise.

Charles Murray’s Coming Apart, an examination on the class divides in present-day America, features a handy quiz for “cultural elites” to answer, as a means of getting a sense of how much of a “bubble” one lives that isolates them from rural America. Among the questions asked are whether one owns or has owned a pickup truck (also: whether one knows an evangelical Christian, whether one has eaten at T.G.I Friday’s in the past year, and have you ever participated in a parade that did not involve global warming, gay rights, or a war protest).

I’ve never owned a pickup. I am a born and raised city boy, with palms softer than a baby’s thighs.When I told my friends I was going to Nashville to drive the revised Dodge Ram, they were most enthused about Nashville’s emerging status as a culinary mecca. Even worse, I am part of Generation Why, which couldn’t be more opposed to everything that pickup trucks stand for; we are city-dwellers that worship chefs, not Jesus and we don’t listen to country – or anything with instruments, really. Electronic Dance Music, our genre of choice, sounds like robots having a domestic dispute. On paper, I might be the least qualified person, demographically speaking, to review a brand new quarter half-ton truck.

On the other hand, I’m not burdened with the quasi-religious brand allegiances that many pickup fans possess. I like the Ecoboost-equipped Ford F-150 the best because I’ve spent the most time in it. Ram trucks have traditionally been third in the sales race – but the upcoming model year leaves them in a strong position. GM’s new trucks won’t even bow until the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, and presumably won’t go on sale for some time after that.

It would be naive to suggest that the Ram 1500 trucks that I sampled are enough to knock GM off the second place pedestal – it will take a number of years and some fairly big screwups at GM (or Ford, for that matter) to do that – but there’s enough here to keep the competition up at night. The big news this year is the addition of an 8-speed transmission, dubbed the TorqueFlite 8, which can be mated with the all-new Pentastar V6 and the 5.7L Hemi V8. Using a rotary knob mounted on the dashboard, rather than the 6-speed automatic’s traditional shifter, the TorqueFlite 8 shifts transparently, and can offer as much as 18/25 mpg city/highway when mated with the new V6 engine.

Having started out with a mid-grade SLT with the Hemi V8 and 6-speed automatic, the TorqueFlite 8 may seem like a frivolous contest of urinary supremacy. The less sophisticated V8 powertrain already feels nicer than the Coyote 5.0L in the Blue Oval’s truck. It’s smooth, never wanting for power and makes a nice growl under load. The SLT trim features the 2013′s upgraded interior, full of soft touch plastics and vastly improved switchgear, but without leather trim. The coil-sprung suspension with optional air bags borrowed from the Grand Cherokee, helps cushion pavement imperfections. Apparently, the real hardcore truck guys laugh at this setup, but I could stay in this thing all day.

I almost did, until I spotted an enticing number at the driver change point; a red, two-door standard cab with a short bed and big chrome wheels. There’s a rotary knob on the dash, signifying the new 8-speed ‘box. Let’s do it. The ride is rougher (a hallmark of the standard cab, which I was previously unaware of), but mere moments after I’ve twisted the knob to “D”, I’m reminded of something Sajeev told me while we debated the future of the police car.

“Cars like the Taurus based Police Interceptor don’t stand a chance against the pickup trucks in flyover country. They usually have quick gearing, especially with these new 6-speed gearboxes.  And if they have 4WD?  Forget it.  Those models have so much traction combined with the gearing that they usually don’t even have torque management in the software.  Gears, traction, no torque management on a torquey motor…triple threat.”

First gear in the TorqueFlite 8 is 4.7:1 – in layman’s terms, this means that there isn’t much that’s going to get away from you at a stoplight. Though no empirical data could be produced, our experiment verified Sajeev’s assertions. Driving this way wasn’t going to help test out the Ram’s much touted class leading fuel economy, so the Lil’ Red Express was returned for the new Pentastar V6.

Engine note aside, the Pentastar was so damn quick off the line that I had genuinely thought I was driving a V8 truck (in the interest of full disclosure, I neglected to check what powertrain the truck had at the outset, merely hopping into the cool looking Ram with the TorqueFlite setup). Not surprisingly, the Hemi/TorqueFlite equipped trucks had all been signed out, but the 305 horsepower V6 in the Ram left me seriously impressed. I already adore the Ecoboost in the F-150, and the Pentastar is an equally valid choice in this segment – think of it as the V6 Mustang of the truck segment.

Driving the competitive vehicles helped give greater context to the 2013 Ram; the new truck clearly has the best interior of the class. I had previously held the F-150 Platinum to be the zenith in this segment, but the delta between the priciest Ford and the more plebeian versions is far greater than say, the Laramie and the SLT Rams. The lesser Fords seem to be a grade behind the Ram, while the Chevy Silverado is unequivocally dated in its design and materials, though it’s also the easiest to use, devoid of screens or an explosion of buttons.

On the other hand, the Silverado is still very nice to drive. It feels light, even with four properly hinged doors, and while the cabin may feel dated, the powertrain doesn’t. The Silverado’s hydraulic steering does a great job of making the Ram’s electric system feel lifeless – the EPAS in the Ram isn’t that terrible, but one spin in the Chevy and you’ll miss the traditional setup. The Ford trucks feel more substantial than the Chevrolets, but don’t feel as well-engineered, despite the Ecoboost engines and fancy touchscreens. I like the way they look, but my prior biases have been eliminated, and the Ecoboost-powered Blue Oval is no longer at the top of my mind’s pickup wishlist.

Unfortunately, I’m not in the market for a pickup.