Even though April 2012 had only 24 selling days compared to
27 days in April 2011, both the Dodge and Ram brands were able to post year
over year gains – even if only by a small margin.For the Ram Truck brand, an impressive 12%
increase compared to April 2011 was reliant almost entirely on the Ram pickup
family while the Dodge brand saw their overall sales figures in the short month
grow by 2% compared to last April.
The Ram Truck brand was led in both growth and sales volume
by the Ram pickup family.Ram moved
21,126 trucks in April 2012 compared to just 17,680 in the same month last year
– an improvement of 19%.Pulling down
the total sales growth of the Ram brand was the Dakota (which is long out of
production) but even as the dealerships continue to sell off new-old stock, the
Dakota moved 39 new units.
The overall growth rate of just 2% for the Dodge brand is
heavily due to discontinued models as the Nitro (-90%) and Caliber (-65%) both
showed massive declines in sales due to them being out of production.The good news is that with a whopping 11,147
units sold, the refreshed Dodge Avenger (shown above in R/T trim) grew by 47% over April 2011 and with
11,183 units sold, the Dodge Grand Caravan improved by 27%.You know it is a good month when two of your
highest volume vehicles show huge growth rates and the success of the entire
model lineup is a big part of why the Chrysler Group has been killing the rest
of the major automakers in terms of year over year growth for the past two
years.
Last and certainly not least, in a month where the Chevrolet
Camaro and Ford Mustang both saw significant declines in year over year sales,
the Dodge Challenger improved by 13% in moving 4,102 new models.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
Even though April 2012 had only 24 selling days compared to