2013 Drw Laramie Longhorn Mega 4x4 Navigation Sunroof Leather Heated Diesel on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jeep and Ram do the pre-Super Bowl ad thing again

Fiat Chrysler is experimenting this year with pre-Super Bowl advertising that isn't — yet — Super Bowl advertising. The automaker's released five ads so far this week for Jeep and Ram. including two more today for the new Ram heavy duty trucks. But at the moment there are no plans to run them during the game. With a new focus on efficiency, the marketing team at Auburn Hills wants to see how the spots play online. The latest long-form Ram ads are called "Roll Rams Roll" and "Fourth Quarter," to go along with the long-form spot, "Make Sure of It," featuring the new voice of Ram commercials, actor Jeremy Renner. The latter spot represents the beginning of a collaboration with Ram and Renner. The wide-ranging actor will provide vocals for Ram's new campaign called "Led or Be Led" that begins later this month. "Roll Rams Roll" presents the classic scenario of two folks arriving at a four-way intersection at the same time. This time, however, one party is a seriously gung-ho tailgating crew in a Ram 3500 HD pulling a giant travel trailer, the other is a ginormous herd of Rams that have come from across the country to see their namesakes play. "Fourth Quarter" celebrates the unheralded workers who, like the best players, give their all until the final whistle, no matter how long it takes for that whistle to blow. Over in the Jeep-verse, fresh off of crushing a 1963 Gladiator, the off-road brand continues the association with the band OneRepublic that began last summer. The group mostly lets the images do the singing in the spot "More Than Just Words," which pairs the lyrics of the U.S. national anthem with representative visuals. FCA marketing honcho Olivier Francois called the week's commercials "a taste of what's to come." Whether that taste comes during the game, we don't know. Spots are rumored to cost $5.5 million for 30 seconds this year, up from $5.2 million last year, which comes on top of production costs that run into the millions. If an ad does well online, there's a chance it could appear during the show in Atlanta. Otherwise, you can check them out above and below, and watch out for rumored multi-brand Twitter shenanigans during the game. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences.

Toy, hauler | 2017 Ram Power Wagon Video Review

When you're bouncing along in a 2017 Ram 2500 Power wagon over the washboard silt roads of the Valley of Fire, just outside of Las Vegas, it's a bit of a shock to realize how comfortable you are. We'd driven a convoy of brand new Ram Power Wagons out from a city improbably emerging from the scrub into a land of red rocks and sand. Inhospitable territory full of thrill-seekers in Jeeps and four-seat ATVs, flinging sand and bouncing their tall signal flags about. The varied terrain, transitioning from hard-packed silt to rocky paths to deep sand at any point, provided the perfect environment to see if the Power Wagon can live up to its billing – check out the video above to see how it handled the gnarly stuff. Back in 1945, the Power Wagon and comfort were not really thought of together. Like the Jeep, these thoroughly mil-spec trucks were heading home from overseas, where they'd served as weapon carriers and utility rigs. The all-business truck was a bit like a heavy-duty Willys Jeep with a bed, and instead of the convertible military cab, Dodge bolted on a pre-war civilian cab. They had more amenities than a tractor (windows! A roof!), but no one would call 'em coddling. The advertising of the day shows them digging ditches, plowing fields, erecting utility poles. You could use the rear power take-off to run a portable sawmill – pure denim and dust work. The brief has clearly evolved a bit – the PTOs disappeared as the truck evolved from a dedicated platform for serious work to more of a heavy-duty trim on Ram's conventional pickups, and then disappeared for a quarter-century until reemerging in 2005. To put it succinctly, the latest 2500 Power Wagon has off-road chops that pass the laugh test, and real working payload and towing capabilities, all in one package. We didn't tow or haul with the Power Wagon on this trip, but we really didn't have to. The Power Wagon is mostly standard 2500 fare: solid axles front and rear, taking power from the familiar truck-spec 6.4-liter Hemi V8. It'll haul up to 1,510 pounds in the bed, and tow up to 10,030 pounds. We know these trucks; they do this kind of work easily and without complaint. What's surprising is how well it does the work without much compromise. As you can see in the video above, the ride's as stiff as on a normal 2500 pickup, maybe a hair stiffer, but plenty tolerable for a long haul on the interstate.

Ram midsize pickup will be body-on-frame, built alongside Jeep Scrambler

Ram's still far-off midsize pickup is shaping up to be a rugged body-on-frame pickup if this report from Automotive News is correct. We would assume that because its supplier sources claim the smaller Ram will be built at the same Toledo plant as the current JL Wrangler and upcoming Wrangler pickup, aka Scrambler. It's already been a long road of back and forth about whether or not Ram would build the small pickup. Mike Manley, now the CEO of FCA following Sergio Marchionne's passing, confirmed the brand's intentions of bringing a midsize truck to market when explaining the company's five-year plan a few months back. At the time, rumors pointed to a unibody construction with production taking place in Mexico. The possibility of Ram bringing a version of the 1200 pickup here has been tossed around, but we doubt Ram would come to market with a rebadged Mitsubishi against the developing stiff competition. That segment is quickly becoming crowded with the impending arrival of the Ford Ranger and the already successful Colorado/ Canyon twins and venerable Toyota Tacoma. Ram could try using the Dakota name to jumpstart sales, but it looks like it'll be last to the party in this midsize truck renaissance. Its Jeep cousin is expected to be revealed later this year and on the market in 2019, and we've already seen a lot of it in spy shots, and even on the Rubicon Trail. The report predicts we'll see a midsize Ram as a 2021 model, going on sale sometime in 2020. However, back in June this year, FCA's presentation pegged the smaller Ram's arrival for 2022. It's a long ways out either way, so we'll keep you up to date as the small Ram saga continues. Related Video: