2012 Ram 1500 St on 2040-cars

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New Winnebago Solis Pocket is the brand's smallest camper van

Winnebago, the brand whose iconic boxy motorhomes with the big "W" logo were a fixture at campgrounds back in the '70s, has since branched out into other RVs including camper vans. The company has just introduced its latest, the Solis Pocket, which is both its smallest and most affordable offering, but one that still packs a lot of features. As surfaced by Motor1, the Winnebago Solis Pocket is based on the Ram ProMaster van with a 136-inch wheelbase and is 17 feet 10 inches long. That makes it almost two feet shorter than the next-larger Solis 59P, which is based on the 159-inch-wheelbase ProMaster. The camper van is powered by a 3.6-liter V6 hooked to a six-speed automatic. That gives it a 3,500-pound towing capacity, and the van comes standard with a trailer hitch. At 113 inches tall and with a 6-foot 3-inch interior height, the Solis Pocket packs a lot into its small space. The camper van sleeps three, two in the drop-down Murphy bed at the rear of the rig and one in a two-seat dinette/sofa that converts to a small single bed. A kitchenette with a two-burner cooktop, a sink with a 20-gallon freshwater tank, and a mini-fridge are arranged on the passenger side of the van. A 3.2-gallon cassette toilet tucks under one of the dinette seats. The two front seats also swivel to face the interior. The price for the Solis Pocket is $95,736. Clearly, "least expensive" does not mean cheap. For reference, the Solis 59P starts at $107,821. If the whole #vanlife is starting to sound unattainable, maybe consider #trailerlife instead. Winnebago's camping trailers start at $22,172, and that roughly $73k cost differential would buy a pretty sweet tow rig. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

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.

The UAW's 'record contract' hinges on pensions, battery plants

DETROIT - After nearly four weeks of disruptive strikes and hard bargaining, the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three automakers have edged closer to a deal that could offer record-setting wage gains for nearly 150,000 U.S. workers. General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis have all agreed to raise base wages by between 20% and 23% over a four-year deal, according to union and company statements. Ford and Stellantis have agreed to reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, or COLA. The companies have offered to boost pay for temporary workers and give them a faster path to full-time, full-wage status. All three have proposed slashing the time it takes a new hire to get to the top UAW pay rate. The progress in contract talks follows the first-ever simultaneous strike by the UAW against Detroit's Big Three automakers. The union began the strike on Sept. 15 in hopes of forcing a better deal from each major automaker. But coming close to a deal is not the same thing as reaching a deal. Big obstacles remain on at least two major UAW demands: restoring the retirement security provided by pre-2007 defined benefit pension plans, and covering present and future joint- venture electric vehicle battery plants under the union's master contracts with the automakers. On retirement, none of the automakers has agreed to restore pre-2007 defined-benefit pension plans for workers hired after 2007. Doing so could force the automakers to again burden their balance sheets with multibillion-dollar liabilities. GM and the former Chrysler unloaded most of those liabilities in their 2009 bankruptcies. The union and automakers have explored an approach to providing more income security by offering annuities as an investment option in their company-sponsored 401(k) savings plans, people familiar with the discussions said. Stellantis referred to an annuity option as part of a more generous 401(k) proposal on Sept. 22. Annuities or similar instruments could give UAW retirees assurance of fixed, predictable payouts less dependent on stock market ups and downs, experts said. Recent changes in federal law have removed obstacles to including annuities as a feature of corporate 401(k) plans, said Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and an expert on pensions and retirement. "Retirees want a way to be assured they won't run out of money," Mitchell said.