The Ram Longhorn Is More Authentic Than You Thinkmanufacturer - MotorTrendIf you've heard of the Longhorn trim on the Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500, you probably have an opinion on it. Some see a tribute to southwestern culture and design, others see schlock and pandering to wannabe cowboys. Wherever you stand on the filigree, branding, stitching, and hammering, the trim has been a huge success for the Ram brand.Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn dashboardmanufacturer - MotorTrendWhat's the Longhorn?Officially named the Limited Longhorn, it's the second-most expensive trim level on a Ram pickup. It was introduced on the fourth-generation Ram in 2010 for the 2011 model year and is still offered today. Initially, the Longhorn treatment was applied to the mid-price Laramie trim, but it moved up to the Limited and the price went up with it.From the start, the Longhorn has leaned heavily into design motifs from the American southwest and cowboy culture. Filigreed metal trim was borrowed from belt buckles and high-end firearms, likewise hammered metal trim. Embroidery on every leather surface borrows from boots, wood branding from cattle brands. The seatback pockets are designed to look like saddle bags, complete with metal buckles (nonfunctional, magnets on the back make them easier to open and close) and the floor mats have barbed wire patterns molded into them.Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn interior door panel.manufacturer - MotorTrendIt's almost all stuff you could do fairly easily with injection-molded plastic and some paint, but Ram interior designers take it way more seriously than that. Every piece is made with authentic materials, from metal to leather to wood, all the way down to floor mats that have actual metal rivets and badges. Get those designers talking, and they'll admit it's a very fine line between pandering and paying homage, and man, do they walk it. Doing each piece the hard way helps them stay just on the right side of the line and keeps customers buying 15 years later.How Do They Do That?Making the Longhorn trim pieces out of authentic materials while also making them easy to mass-produce required creative thinking. Ram designers were so obsessed with authenticity they initially tried to source actual reclaimed barnwood for the interior trim, but they couldn't find a supply big enough or consistent enough for thousands of trucks per year.Ram Limited Longhorn wood trim brandingPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam Limited Longhorn wood trim branding processRam Limited Longhorn wood trim brandingPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementRam Limited Longhorn wood trim branding machineRam Limited Longhorn wood trim brandingPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam Limited Longhorn wood trim branding in progressRam Limited Longhorn wood trim brandingPhoto credit: Manufacturer - MotorTrendRam Limited Longhorn branded wood trimRam Limited Longhorn wood trim brandingPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam Limited Longhorn wood trim branding ironTo get the same effect, they worked with a supplier to develop a special sawblade that would give the rough-cut texture they wanted from new lumber. Years later, they'd work with the supplier to create an electric branding iron that can continually stamp out consistent logo brands on the pieces of wood destined for Longhorn dashboards.Adding western patterns to the leather seats wasn't any easier. The filigree embroidery patterns could be studied, reproduced, and fed into a computer-controlled sewing machine easily enough, but that wasn't enough. To get the depth and texture the designers wanted, they needed lasers. A high-powered laser burns the patterns into the leather at varying depths to get the different shades and textures in the final product, all framed by the embroidery.Ram Limited Longhorn laser-etched leatherPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementRam Limited Longhorn laser-etched leather processRam Limited Longhorn laser-etched leatherPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam Limited Longhorn laser-etched leather quality controlRam Limited Longhorn laser-etched leatherPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam Limited Longhorn laser-etched leather finished piecesWhile the laser etching is perfectly consistent on every seat, the leather itself isn't. Designers chose to use all-natural leather, and not the super expensive stuff you get a Bentley. They're cool with the natural imperfections and variances in the material because they prove it isn't fake. As a result, the color and grain of different pieces of leather on the same seat, for example, won't match perfectly.Ram Limited Longhorn hammered-metal trim piecePhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam Limited Longhorn hammered-metal trim stamping moldPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementRam Limited Longhorn hammered-metal trim stamping moldRam Limited Longhorn hammered-metal trim stamping moldPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam Limited Longhorn hammered-metal trim stamping moldRam Limited Longhorn hammered-metal trim stamping moldPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam Limited Longhorn hammered-metal trim stamping mold close-upThe metal trim is the same in every truck, but even that wasn't easy. Special stamping molds had to be designed to incorporate the filigree pattern. Later, hand-hammered prototypes had to be 3-D scanned, then negative CAD files created so molds could be milled. A thin piece of metal, thin enough to accept such intricate patterns, is stamped and then laid over a plastic support so what you see and touch in the truck is real.Ram Limited Longhorn floor matmanufacturer - MotorTrendThe floor mats are comparatively easy. Injection molded plastic can take on patterns like barbed wire easily, so to make things a little harder, designers had the supplier rivet a piece of carpeting in the middle and add a metal badge off to the side.Ram Limited Longhorn seatback saddle bag pocket.manufacturer - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd the seatback saddlebag buckles? The prototypes were real, but it quickly became clear they were cumbersome to open and close repeatedly when you need to use the pockets. While they can be buckled and unbuckled, the covers are actually held closed by magnets on the back of the buckle and on the pocket.Whether you vibe with the style is a matter of personal taste, but like the look or not, there's no question these trucks are the real deal.Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn steering wheelPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam 1500 Limited Longhorn interior and steering wheelRam 1500 Limited Longhorn front seatsPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam 1500 Limited Longhorn interior and front seatsRam 1500 Limited Longhorn rear seatsPhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendRam 1500 Limited Longhorn interior and rear seatsRam 1500 Limited Longhorn armrest badgePhoto credit: manufacturer - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementRam 1500 Limited Longhorn armrest badge
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