2015 Ram 1500 Crew Cab on 2040-cars

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Watch the video that inspired Ram's Farmer Super Bowl commercial

Chrysler may have the Super Bowl's most popular commercial for a third year in a row. Eminem and Eastwood helped it earn that distinction the last two years, and while Oprah did the voiceover for this year's Jeep ad, it's Chrysler's other spot that's in the running for Most Valuable Ad after the big game this year.
So where did the Ram brand's commercial about farmers come from? As it turns out, the ad appears to be inspired, shall we say, by a video produced by Farms.com that was uploaded to YouTube in June, 2011. Greg Mitchell of The Nation pointed out the similarities between the two in an article published this morning. The video uses the same speech given by famed radio broadcaster Paul Harvey played over a slideshow of farming images. It's the same concept as Ram's ad, though the truck brand did go out and commission its own images shot by very well-known photographers for its version.
Did Ram steal the idea? That does not appear to be the case. A message left on the Farms.com YouTube video says "Farms.com is pleased to be working with Ram Trucks and support the 'Farmer' Super Bowl commercial." When you play the video, a link even pops up to watch Ram's version.

2019 Ram 1500 pickup production problems costing FCA $300M to fix

Fiat Chrysler is spending more than $300 million to fix production issues with the new 2019 Ram 1500 pickup as the plant where it's built is running below capacity and suppliers reportedly struggle to keep up with building it and the 2018 version simultaneously. The truck's ramp-up is well behind schedule, Automotive News reports. FCA's Sterling Heights Assembly plant in Michigan began building the pickup in mid-January but is running at only 60 percent capacity, CEO Sergio Marchionne said on an earnings call last week. Sources told the publication the plant is still undergoing construction and was building about 1,000 trucks per day toward a run rate of 1,400 per day. It's operating two 10-hour shifts per day, seven days a week, with plans to keep the factory running every weekend and holiday through Labor Day to meet production targets. More than 2,500 of the new pickups were reportedly awaiting unspecified electrical repairs before they could be shipped. FCA could use the boost from the heralded new 2019 Ram 1500, which figures prominently in its aggressive annual financial goals. The company is relying on the previous-generation 2018 Ram 1500, demand for which has been sagging. First-quarter sales of the pickup are down almost 13 percent year over year to 103,964, according to carsalesbase.com figures. Meanwhile, sales of Ford's F-Series pickups over the same period rose 4 percent to 214,191, while Chevrolet Silverado sales have climbed 5 percent to 135,545. Dealers have started receiving deliveries of the 2019 Ram 1500, but only the version fitted with the 5.7-liter V8. The EPA has yet to issue fuel economy ratings for the standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 paired with the eTorque 48-volt mild hybrid system, nor the same system mated with the V8. As we noted in our recent First Drive review, upgrading to the (non-hybrid) V8 costs $1,195, which is actually $255 cheaper than before. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: FCA Plants/Manufacturing RAM Truck sales

2022 GMC Hummer EV No. 001 at Barrett-Jackson brings $2.5 million

This year's Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., played host to a bunch of the first examples of hot new cars: VIN No. 001 of the 2022 GMC Hummer EV, 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing and CT4-V Blackwing, 2021 Ford Bronco, 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 and 2021 Ram 1500 TRX. Every single one of them sold for more than six figures, with all the proceeds of nearly $5 million going to charities, but the big winner was absolutely the Hummer with a hammer price of $2.5 million. The Bronco did nicely, too, with a selling price of $1,075,000. You can see the list of the sale prices from highest to lowest of these first examples below. GMC Hummer EV: $2,500,000 Ford Bronco: $1,075,000 Ford Mustang Mach 1: $500,000 Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition: $410,000 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing: $265,000 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing: $165,000 Despite the Hummer going for $2.5 million, it wasn't the most expensive car to cross the block. That honor goes to a 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake that was once owned by Carroll Shelby himself. It sold for $5.5 million, the same price it sold for back in 2007. Nearly as pricey as the Hummer was a restored, numbers-matching 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 that went for $2,475,000. Related video: