In March 2014, the Chrysler Group sold more Ram trucks than General Motors sold Chevrolet Silverado pickups. This was also more units than Toyota sold of the popular Camry, allowing the Ram truck to jump to the second spot in US auto sales for the month, trailing only the Ford F Series pickup. According to the folks at Allpar, this is the first time that the Ram has outsold the Chevy Silverado since 1999 and it is the first time that the Ram has been the #2 bestselling vehicle in America since 1978, when the Ford F Series took the lead that it has maintained every year since then.
Chrysler shipped out 42,532 examples of the Ram pickup in 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500 and 5500 form last month while Chevrolet sold just 42,247 copies of the Silverado. It should be noted that Chevrolet does not offer a 4500 or 5500 package for the Silverado but that certainly shouldn’t count against the Ram brand. In any case, the Ram truck lineup also outsold all of the bestselling cars in America including the Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, the Nissan Altima and the Ford Fusion so claim the #2 spot as pickups claimed the top three spots in US sales for the first time in decades.
While sales of the new Chevrolet Silverado have been slower than expected due partially to a high MSRP, Ram outsold the Silverado due to a massive jump in sales coupled with the decline in Chevy truck sales. The Ram pickup family posted a 26% increase in March 2014 compared to the same month last year, led by the popular new V6 EcoDiesel powered Ram 1500. The high early demand for the EcoDiesel pickup may not continue at a high enough rate in the next few months to keep the Ram in the #2 spot or ahead of the Silverado, but this could be the start of a true sales battle between the Ram and the Silverado.
"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.
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