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Chrysler and Hyundai join Pepsi and Coke as top Super Bowl spenders [w/ video]

Super Bowl XLVIII is barely a week away, and some of the early ads are already leaking out. It's timely then that The Street has released rankings of the top five Super Bowl advertisers since 2009, showing Chrysler and Hyundai/Kia taking two of the spots with $131.7 million in cumulative spending.
Since 2010, the cost to air a 30-second Super Bowl ad has risen from $3 million in 2009 to about $4 million in 2014, and about a fifth of advertisers opt for a one-minute ad, which doubles costs. Last year, the ads brought in $292 million, and they have brought in roughly $2 billion since 2010.
Chrysler has spent $64.3 million since 2009 to make it the fourth highest spending company in the last five years. In that time, the company has rebranded itself as it emerged from bankruptcy with the Imported from Detroit ad campaign that premiered in 2011 and last year's God Made a Farmer Ram Trucks ad. Its 2012 Halftime in America sparked national debate about whether it was also a reference to the upcoming presidential election.

Ram says its customers are more excited about V8-powered trucks than EVs

As its rivals invest billions of dollars into electric pickups, Ram made headlines by dropping a supercharged, 702-horsepower V8 engine between the 1500's fenders. While critics will inevitably argue there's nothing forward-thinking about the Hellcat engine, the company explained its customers are more interested in V8s than in EVs. Speaking with Muscle Car & Trucks, 1500 brand manager Carl Lally explained the company is open to the idea of exploring electric powertrains. His comments echo the ones made recently by Mike Manley, the head of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Ram will begin developing a battery-powered pickup if customers demand one, but it sounds like its market research finds there's not a tremendous amount of interest in a gasoline-free model.  The market research must say otherwise over at Jeep, which is bringing the plug-in electric hybrid Wrangler 4xe to market. "It's fundamental to us that it's not about chasing the [EV] trend, but about chasing what the customer really wants and providing it to them. That changes over time, but today it's a supercharged, 6.2-liter V8 that has them most excited," said Lally, referring to the 1500 TRX introduced as an alternative to the Ford F-150 Raptor. Adding credibility to Lally's statement is the fact that the 702 available units of the TRX Launch Edition model sold out in a couple of hours in spite of a base price of approximately $90,000. Ram is not limiting production of the regular-production TRX, which starts at $71,690, so time will tell if its bet on V8s pays off in the long run. Market leader Ford wants to plant its stake in both segments. We know it's developing an electric variant of the 14th-generation F-150, and an earlier report claims the next Raptor will receive the Mustang GT500's 700-plus-horsepower V8. As for General Motors, it's planning on launching a battery-powered Chevrolet Silverado sooner or later, but it has chosen to watch the horsepower war from the sidelines — for the time being, at least. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

Ram 1500 TRX spied hiding production body work under camouflage

We've seen the upcoming Ram 1500 TRX pickup truck a few times with its Raptor-rivaling suspension and Hellcat-derived powertrain. Those past mules have all worn plain Ram bodies, sometimes with cheap bolt-on fender flares. This time, one of our spy photographers has caught a TRX that seems to be wearing production body work under its heavy camouflage. What stands out on this prototype are the bulging fenders front and rear. Instead of simple wheel housing extensions, these are full-on box flares like the ones worn by the Raptor. The hood appears to be equally bulging, good for highlighting the supercharged V8 underneath. The front bumper is similar to that of the Ram 1500 Rebel's with more raised sections in front of the tires to provide more clearance. We get a solid look under the body, too. Still present are the extra beefy suspension control arms front and rear. Skid plates seem to line the whole underside down the middle. The tires are big Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires, though we can't make out what size they are. Previous spy photos have revealed remote-reservoir shocks. The wheels at each end are six-lug units, so it seems Ram isn't playing with a heavy-duty axle like a previous prototype suggested. We're expecting the Ram TRX to go on sale before 2022, so it could be revealed sometime next year as a 2022 model. Based on the TRX concept, the production truck should make at least 575 horsepower and have dune-busting off-road performance. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Driving a Jeep Cherokee to Rocky Mountain National Park | Behind the Wheel S01 // E06 Disclaimer: Autoblog accepts vehicle loans from auto manufacturers with a tank of gas and sometimes insurance for the purpose of evaluation and editorial content. Like most of the auto news industry, we also sometimes accept travel, lodging and event access for vehicle drive and news coverage opportunities. Our opinions and criticism remain our own — we do not accept sponsored editorial.