Has anyone else seen these Dodge Ram commercials offerring a Free "Hemi" Upgrade?

Do you think it will help sell thie Ram?

Should Ford offer this type of incentive with the 5.4L F150?

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...rysler_in.html

 

Dodge brought back the Hemi? I thought they stole a 5.7 Chevy motor and added 8 more spark plugs?

Originally I heard they did that for the month of February so they must have least sold 2 trucks if they kept the offer going.

IMO Ford should only offer the 5.4 as the only V8 in their 1/2 tons or until something better comes along. ( Hopefully soon! )

 

I agree with SMIGGS, I think the 5.4 sould be the only V8 offered. I drive a '98 Expedition 5.4 with 230 hp and when I have the privilege of driving an F-150 with the 5.4, it is much more than adequate.

To answer the original post, I don't think much could help sell a Ram It does seem to be a fairly good offer, but I know it wouldn't sway my opinion to buy a Dodge over a Ford.

-rockstate

 

I don't think that would be a good idea. A large number of F-150s are sold for commercial use and are driven by employees. The 4.6 is adequate and the chances of mistreatment and abuse are less with a less powerful engine. Also, many commercial or government trucks are sold based on the lowest bid. If the 5.4 was standard, the price would be higher and other manufacturers would underbid and Ford would lose the sales.

 

Good point. It would interesting to see if we could dig up some #'s on how many F-150's are sold with the different engine options.

I don't think it matters what type of engine is in a vehicle, You can probably get in the same amount of trouble with a 4.2L in a truck than a 5.4L. ( the V6 would be a bit easier on tires )

It's a crapshoot to guess how many more or less trucks Ford would sell if they only offer the 5.4. If they still sold around the same #, wouldn't the volume of trucks sold with the 5.4 allow Ford to have lower bids. In the long run if these commerical or government vehicles were being used for any kind of hauling and rough abuse, the 5.4L would probably take more of a beating in a 1/2 ton than say a V6 or smaller V8? Just my .02

 

You bring up a good idea for commercial use. I wonder what would happen if they only offered the 5.4 to the general public and left either the V6 or the 4.6 V8 for commercial use? My guess, though, is that most commercial use would opt for the V6 over the 4.6 liter because of the gas mileage. I'd imagine that if they needed to use it for more powerful operations, they'd just upgrade to the 5.4. I dunno though. What do you think osbornk?

-rockstate

 

If Ford only offered the 5.4 in the F150, sales would drop like a stone. Fleet buyers buy V6's and the smallest of the V8's. Most of the F150's in rental car fleets like Hertz and Budget are 4.6's. Ford and Chevy are the two largest sellers to fleets. Only offering one engine in the most popular vehicle would be a disaster.


Something else to consider...Ford needs that V6 to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards.

 

Way off topic ALERT!!!!!

 

No. Ford doesn't need to offer the same incentives Dodge is offering, for one very good reason....inventory.

Dodge has had a 6 month supply of new 2006/2007 trucks for months. The normal supply is 30-60 days. They are offering big discounts nationwide to clear out the storage lots. Local ads have been running for weeks. Crew Cabs..MSRP between $28,000.00 to $31,000.00. The average ads have prices between $15,999.00-$21,999.00. (Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune).


While all the manufacturers have an abundance of inventory, Dodge is hurting the most and is doing everything possible to move it.

 

They sell the Ram with a different kind of engine?


I thought the only engine in the world was a Hemi!!!

 

How would you keep the small V8 and V6 only for commercial use? They sorta did that when the 04s were introduced and the 5.4 was only available in the XLT and higher. The typical work truck was only available with the small V8. They now offer the 5.4 in the XL which I suspect is for heavy towing. Many dealers have a row of white trucks sitting on their lots that are equipped as you would expect for commercial use but they would never dream of refusing to sell to anybody with the money.

 

It's a pretty good deal. I priced a Ram as I would have bought one a few weeks ago on the Dodge website...standard cab shortbed 2x4, Hemi, work group special (no useless power crap or carpet), 17x8" wheels (no idea why they have 17" on trucks nowadays), tow package and positraction...came out to only $21 grand! And by the time your dealer got it, you could probably negotiate it well under 20...

 

Can you elaborate a little bit on the last sentence? After I asked the question in my response, I then said that most companies would opt for the 5.4 if they were going to be doing any heavy towing. If I understand this right, many dealers have a lot of XLs with the 5.4 sitting on their lot? (Confused...)

I tried looking up F-150 fleet sales but to no avail.

-rockstate

 

Price leader "stripper" standard cab 2007 Dodge Ram in dealer ads here: $11,995.00

Price is the same for "stripper" Ford F150 XL's.

Source:San Gabriel Valley Tribune

 

The ones in stock will be V6 or the 4.6. Most of the F-150s will be used for lighter hauling and if they are going to do heavy towing, they will go to the Super Duty.