Even after surviving 366,257 miles and a hurricane, one man’s Dodge truck continues to keep his Florida business going strong.
For all of their capabilities, it’s a shame that automobiles are not able to express emotions. They do a great job of inspiring emotions in their owners, though.
If someone has owned a particular vehicle long enough, they develop an attachment to it that’s deeper than just the connection between their right foot and the gas pedal. That machine becomes a mechanical part of a flesh-and-blood family, just as the 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 in the video above did.
A new promo clip from Dodge Ram features a Florida business owner named Randy, who has put 366,257 miles on his four-wheel-drive, Cummins-powered 2006 Dodge Ram 2500. Since 1965, his family’s business has been installing retail equipment, particularly in pharmacies. Along with his father, brother, and sister, Randy works to make various establishments get ready to open for business.
That means his truck always needs to be ready for business, too. Randy drives it seven days a week. Many of his business trips take him out of state. Good thing he has a durable Cummins diesel to rely upon. The tachometer may not work any more, but the I6 it’s connected to is still going strong.
After Hurricane Irma devastated Florida, Randy drove his trusty Ram truck through some of the state’s damaged areas to get to a pharmacy that had been ravaged by the storm. He and his crew got the place cleaned up and put back together in 10 days, allowing the pharmacy to continue supplying its customers with the medications they needed.
Randy’s Ram is strong, hard-working, dependable, accommodating, and always willing to help out. It’s accompanied him and his father and siblings on more than 350,000 miles of adventures. It’s contributed to his success. Those are all characteristics of a great truck, and a beloved family member.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
