2012 Ram Laramie on 2040-cars

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Ford, Chrysler and Mazda expand scope of Takata airbag recalls

The scope of the Takata airbag inflator recall is ballooning once again across the United States. Where Honda has elected to take its driver-side airbag campaign nationwide, Chrysler Group and Ford have now announced expanded regional actions to cover some passenger-side airbag inflators. Mazda is adding more regions, as well. For Chrysler Group, the campaign covers the inflators on 149,150 examples of the 2003-model-year Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups. The recall is limited to vehicles sold or ever registered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. The company will begin notifying affected customers on January 19. According to Chrysler's announcement of the action, the passenger side inflators in these trucks "are of a type that is not used in any of the other vehicles affected by Chrysler Group's regional field action." The automaker says that it's not aware of any actual failures or accidents in these pickups and even claims there are no "observed failures in laboratory testing of its airbag modules." The company is continuing to study the problem, though. Ford is taking a similar step by issuing a recall of inflators for 38,500 examples of the 2004-2005 Ranger and 2005-2006 Ford GT. The campaign only affects vehicles originally sold or ever registered in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Certain zip codes of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa are also covered. There's already precedent for passenger-side airbags to be covered under the Takata inflator recall. When many automakers announced campaigns in June, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota all included that side in some of their repairs. Subaru subsequently did, as well. In addition, Mazda is expanding the scope of its recall to add Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Saipan, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to the affected areas. The company estimates that it has a total of 86,773 vehicles in need of repair. Mazda is also teaming with Toyota to begin independent testing of the Takata inflators. Scroll down to read all of the automakers' announcements of these newly expanded recalls. Statement: Air-Bag Inflators December 3, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich.

Ram Trucks celebrates 10 years as a standalone brand

In late September 2009, when Fiat still owned just 20 percent of Chrysler, Automotive News reported that Chrysler would turn Dodge Ram pickup trucks into the standalone Ram Trucks brand. On Oct. 5, 2009, the deed became official, so now it's time to celebrate the 10th anniversary — the tin or aluminum anniversary — of when the tagline "Grab Life" became "Guts. Glory. Ram." The truckmaker will let the world know about the milestone with a multimedia marketing campaign under the banner "Power of Innovation" that will run on broadcast and digital channels. The first 60-second spot is called "Power of Innovation" and debuted at the recent Texas State Fair; the Ram Trucks YouTube channel already counts a playlist showing off some of its goodies, with the hashtag #RamDoesThat. Two more 30-second marquee spots called "Bed" and "Hemi" will follow, as well as a series talking to Ram owners about their rigs. Ram Truck Celebrates 10-year Anniversary of Becoming Stand-alone Brand ‘Power of InnovationÂ’ Marketing Campaign multimedia campaign campaign includes three new broadcast videos all-new digital content viewed on RamÂ’s digital and social media channels new content featured on Ram brandÂ’s social series #RamDoesThat Launching with one-minute video called “Power of Innovation,” made debut September at State Fair of Texas spot speaks to how Ram Truck reinvent itself as stand-alone brand “Power of Innovation” 60-second spot will air broadcast this Saturday along with two new 30-second spots, “Bed” and “HEMI” digital content highlights real life Ram truck owners showcasing how features on their Ram truck enable capabilities and experiences in their everyday lives. “Power of Innovation” was created in partnership with the Ram Truck brand the Dallas-based agency The Richards Group. “Bed” and “HEMI” were created in partnership with the Ram Truck brand and the Doner Agency. trucks, ProMaster and ProMaster City vans Tradesman, Express, Big Horn/Lone Star, Rebel, Laramie Longhorn and Limited emerging as standalone brand October 2009 reclining rear seats, multi-link coil spring rear suspension, active-level four-corner air suspension, active air dam, mild-hybrid eTorque engine options, thermal axle technology, RamBox cargo management system and multifunction tailgate 2009 RamBox cargo management system.

There's an impending shortage of new trucks in America's heartland

URBANDALE, Iowa — Jerry Bill is worried the novel coronavirus could hurt business at the Des Moines auto dealership he runs, but not because of a shortage of buyers for the big Ram pickups on his lot. "Our biggest issue will be if we don't get more inventory," said Bill, general sales manager of Stew Hansen Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, which sells around 2,700 new vehicles a year in Urbandale, a suburb of Iowa's capital Des Moines. After a drop in sales in April when consumers stayed home, Bill expects pickup truck sales to end May similar to where they were a year earlier. And if demand remains strong, Bill said he will run out of popular models in June. Fiat Chrysler began slowly restarting Ram truck assembly lines on Monday after a two-month shutdown. The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter at its sharpest pace since the Great Recession of 2007-2009 because of lockdown measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Economists warn the second quarter will be much worse. Still, far from the lockdowns of states like New York, Michigan or Ohio, dealerships like Stew Hansen have provided FCA and Detroit rivals General Motors and Ford a rare bright spot: strong sales of pickup trucks in America's heartland. Overall U.S. sales of cars and light trucks crashed to the weakest pace in 50 years last month. But sales of big Detroit brand pickups, particularly in southern and western states less affected by the outbreak, significantly outperformed the market, industry executives and analysts said. Pickup trucks are one of the most profitable automotive segments in the world. They account for a huge portion of the Detroit automakers' profits and formed a huge lure for Peugeot, which expects to merge with FCA by early 2021. The pressure is now on to boost pickup truck production and send vehicles to dealers in parts of the country with dwindling supplies. That is particularly true for GM, which is running short of certain truck models after losing 40 days of production to a strike last fall. "If you don't have what someone wants, they can choose to go to another brand," said Cox Automotive analyst Michelle Krebs. 'Easiest swap ever' Detroit automakers in March rolled out large discounts — such as interest-free loans for seven years — to keep vehicles rolling off dealer lots.