We’ll be at the beautiful Longhorn River Ranch in Dripping Springs, Texas early next week for the Texas Auto Writers Association’s 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo. That’s the event a variety of crossover, SUV, and truck manufacturers attend every year to compete for numerous titles, including the two most coveted: “SUV of Texas” and “Truck of Texas.”
Ram will be there with a legion of company representatives eager to get journalist votes for the metal they’re bringing down to the Lone Star State. One big hunk of it will be the 2017 Power Wagon. We’ll climb up into its cabin, fire up its 410-hp/429-lb-ft 6.4-liter Hemi, then spend a little time finding out how civilized it is on the road and how capable it is off of it. We’ll have to wait to see how soft it is on paved surfaces, but we’re guessing the Power Wagon’s 14.3 inches of ground clearance, 33.6-degree approach angle, 26.2-degree departure angle, and 23.5-degree breakover angle will make it an absolute monster in the rough. Its 12,000-pound winch will make it the go-to vehicle if another truck gets stuck on one of the trails.
If you have any questions about what it’s like to drive the 2017 Ram 2500 Power Wagon, feel free to ask them at the bottom of this post via Facebook, in the dedicated forum thread (link below), or on my Twitter page.
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.
