Tag Archives: Ram

What Vehicles Are People Considering and Why?

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By Gary S. Vasilash

Kelley Blue Book puts together an interesting study on what people are interested in by examining what they are searching for automotive-wise both on desktops and mobile.

For Q1 22 in the non-luxury space the number-one brand is Toyota, with 34% brand consideration. In Q4 21 it was Ford on top. They’ve switched places. Ford is at 32%. Chevy is on the rise because in Q4 it was at 25% but has risen by five percentage points.

What is somewhat sad is Fiat, which was at 0% in Q4 and is at 0% in Q1.

And just above it are Mitsubishi and MINI, both at 1%, which is where they were last quarter, too.

Perhaps people just know all they need to about those brands.

Ram Laramie 1500: Imposing and comfortable. (Image: Ram)

KBB slices, dices and rices data in various ways. Like looking at four categories: SUVs, Cars, Pickups, and Minivans.

The top SUV is the Honda CR-V (besting the Tahoe, Durango, RAV4 and Highlander).

The #1 car is the Honda Accord, edging out the Civic (sibling rivalry). The Camry, Charger and Challenger follow.

In Pickups it is the Silverado 1500, followed by the F-150, F-250/F-350/F-450, the Silverado 2500/3500 HD, and the Tacoma.

In Minivans it is the Sienna followed by the Odyssey, Pacifica, Pacifica Hybrid and Voyager.

Of those categories, 66% looked at SUVs, 37% Cars, 35% Pickups, and 5% Minivans.

Perhaps there is some life in Cars, although the considerations were down 31% in the last quarter and 33% in the last year, so clearly things aren’t moving in the right direction.

Another potentially encouraging sign for Cars is that in the top 10 models considered, there are three Cars on the list (Accord, Civic and Camry), which is the number of SUVs on the list (CR-V, Tahoe, Durango).

What are the top three factors driving consideration?

Durability/reliability is in the top spot, which is not a surprise, nor is the fact that Toyota is the one that takes it.

Second is safety, and while you might imagine that would be Volvo, Subaru is actually in that position.

And third is driving comfort. This is taken by Ram. Who would have thought that a pickup truck would win the comfort honors?

Dashing Through. . .Manhattan

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Santa rolls in style with Ram

By Gary S. Vasilash

When Santa arrives at his destination at Macy’s on West 34th at Herald Square, his sleigh will have traveled the 2.5-mile route down Central Park West to Columbus Circle to Central Park South then 6th Avenue to West 34th to the end, he will have been pulled not by reindeer (after all, the sleigh is earth-bound, not in the air) by a Ram 1500 Limited (RAM)RED Edition.

Propelling Santa through NYC. (Image: Ram)

That’s right: Not Rudolph, but Ram.

Ram is the Official Truck of the 95th Macy’s’ Thanksgiving Day Parade and Ram trucks will tow all of the floats, as it has done for the previous six years.

It is worth knowing that Ram Trucks, along with partner brands Jeep and FIAT, have committed a minimum of $4-million between 2021 and 2023 to the Global Fund to help fight health emergencies with (RED).

(RED), established in 2006, has funded HIV/AIDS programs. It is now expanding to help deal with the COVID 19 pandemic.

Credit to (RED). And in this case, Ram.

The “Apex Predator” Goes to Europe

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That’s what the Ram folks call the TRX. A bit of a dig at the Ford Raptor, of course. The TRX is being judged in Croatia.

By Gary S. Vasilash

The Ram 1500 TRX is a half-ton pickup with a 702-hp, 6.2-liter HEMI V8 under its hood.

It has a top speed of 118 mph and goes from 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds

This is a truck.

The Ram 1500 TRX. Yes, it is a daily driver, too. (Image: Ram)

A big truck.

As in being 232.9 inches long, 88 inches wide and 80.9 inches high.

You’re not going to see that HEMI without a step ladder.

It has a 5-foot, 7-inch box on the back. You’re going to want to make sure that things in the TRX are tied down because there are those inertial forces.

Although the interior of the vehicle—both in terms of materials and tech—are nothing short of first class. Yet one of the development goals of the Ram team was to develop the “quickest, fastest and most powerful mass-produced truck in the world,” one that can handle off-road and on-road demands with solid performance.

While the truck has been available in the U.S. for about a year now, it made its way to Europe in July.

And today (October 5) it is in Croatia, where it will be judged as part of the 2022 IPUA—International Pick Up Award.

Somehow it is hard to imagine anything less European than the TRX.

Still, it is so over-the-top (and capable, too) that its odds are probably very good.