In Wheel Time

Ram 2018 Harvest Edition Trucks debut this fall

Mike Marrs
Sep 2, 2017, 5:00 am
There will be no shortage of new Ram trucks this fall. In Wheel Time

A new line of specialized Ram Harvest Edition trucks for 2018 were unveiled this week at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois. The new model is designed specifically for America’s farm families. As the industry’s first agricultural market-specific truck — the Ram Harvest Edition is visually distinguished by two new colors: Case IH Red and New Holland Blue.

Trucks of all sizes and types are the lifeblood of America’s farms and ranches. Ram Truck has longstanding relationships with, and supporting, the activities of farmers across the country, including the likes of Case IH and New Holland farm equipment manufacturers, National FFA Organization members, Farmers in America farm owners, and Dairy Farmers of America members.

 “The Ram Harvest Edition marks the first time that Ram dealers will be able to stock trucks that exactly match the colors of two of the most popular lines of farm equipment in the nation,” said Mike Manley, head of Jeep & Ram Brands — FCA Global. “Farmers have been asking for these colors, and Ram is proud to be the first in the industry to be able to offer them. The Ram Harvest Edition truck will allow farm families to get their work done while proudly showing their agricultural brand loyalty.”
  
The 2018 Ram Harvest Edition will be available across the Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 lineup; in all four-door Quad, Crew and Mega Cab configurations; all box lengths and all powertrains, including 5.7-liter HEMI V-8, 6.4-liter HEMI V-8 and 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel.
 
According to Ram, Harvest Edition trucks are loaded with features that are designed to work on the farm. Among them, a ride-height increase of one inch and aggressive on/off-road tires on Ram 1500 Harvest Edition trucks are designed to help owners comfortably and confidently navigate rough farm roads and pastures.
 
Also included in the farm-life essentials are black tubular side steps, a durable spray-in bedliner, fold-out bumper step and mud flaps, rubber floor mats, skid plates and tow hooks (4x4) and heated seats. The Ram Heavy Duty models also come with on/off-road tires and add a cargo-view camera.
 
Today’s farmers are extremely tech savvy so the Harvest Edition comes standard with an 8.4-inch Uconnect 4C touchscreen radio with navigation, 4G Wi-Fi, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, which gives farmers seamless connectivity, fingertip access to smartphone map mirroring, and up-to-the minute weather maps and forecasts customizable to any location in the nation.
 
The Harvest Edition features a premium exterior appearance packed with bright highlights, including a chrome “Wave Mesh” luxury cross-hair grille; bright front and rear bumpers; 17-inch chrome wheels (1500 models, 18-inch polished aluminum on Heavy Duty models); chrome mirrors; chrome door handles and chrome-tipped dual exhausts (V-8 1500 models).
 
The Harvest package also includes body-color (or Bright Silver) wheel flares and upper facia (1500). 

In addition to Case Red and New Holland Blue, Harvest Edition Ram trucks are also available in Bright White and Brilliant Black. Monotone and two-tone with Bright Silver color schemes are available.
 
Ram 1500 Harvest Edition MSRP starts at $39,910, plus $1,395 destination charge. Ram Heavy Duty models start at $46,235. They go on sale in the third quarter of 2017.

Ram Certified Agricultural Dealership Program

Farming continues to be a part of the foundation on which Ram’s success is built. Ram stands by its commitment to the farm community, supporting the future of farming and the development of the next generation of farmers and future leaders in agriculture.
  
A key element in their commitment to agriculture is the Ram Certified Agriculture Dealership program where Ram provides various affiliate reward programs that support American agricultural customers. RCAD enables Ram to extend its commitment to the local agricultural community by equipping Ram Truck dealers to properly serve local farmers and ranchers.  

RCAD educates dealership staff and requires that they complete a grassroots training curriculum which is dedicated to helping dealers gain a greater awareness and address the needs of the farming and ranching communities.
 
For example, with the purchase of every new Ram truck, RCAD dealers offer a farm-specific package worth more than $5,300 that includes a discount on Crop Copter Ag Drone products, a voucher toward AgroLiquid Crop Nutrition, and a subscription to Agrible’s Grower Bundle.

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THE LEFT TURN

NASCAR heads for the Valley of the sun in Phoenix

Joey Logano. Getty Images.


This week, the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series heads for ISM Raceway for the ISM 400 in Phoenix, Arizona. This is NASCAR's semi-final race before the championship race at Homestead. Many would consider this one of the most important races of the season considering it decides who will get to race for a championship. This track is a mile and a half oval that races like a short track. Last season, this track was reconfigured and completely changed the landscape. The Finish line was moved all the way to the front stretch and both the corners were inverted. This should be interesting should we see someone try to make a last second pass now that they have more time to pull it off.

Last week, Kevin Harvick went on to win his fourth race of the season after passing his teammate Aric Almirola. This race was a wreckfest, there were plenty of big names to crash including championship favorites Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott. During the weekend, Texas Motor Speedway track officials added a tire compound to try and add more grip to the race track. This did not sit well with the cars as we saw many just spin out by themselves. The trouble area seemed to be turns three and four as that was where the majority of the wrecks were. Many fans were not happy with the product on the track but if it did do one thing - it allowed for some newer drivers to run up front such as Daniel Suarez and Willam Byron. All together though, the cream rose to the top and Kevin Harvick still had a fairly dominant race as he led 119 laps before winning and advancing to the championship race at Homestead.

As we draw closer to Homestead, many wonder what has been going on with Kyle Busch. As many know, it has been June since the 2015 NASCAR Champion has won a race and since then he has just kind of been around. He has had many moments to forget during this time such as when his engine blew at the Charlotte oval or when he ran into the back of Garrett Smithley at Las Vegas but because of the massive amount of points he has gained all throughout the season, he has been able to stay in the top four. Regardless of where he is in points, it is clear that he is in a slump and this team is doing everything they can to get him out of it as we get closer and closer to Homestead next week. We will see how he responds this week at the track he has won the last two times they have come here.

The championship picture definitely looks pretty much the same as it has been over the past two seasons as Martin Truex, Harvick, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano make up the top four spots. While Truex and Harvick are locked in with victories at Martinsville and Texas, the focus shifts to third and fourth as both Busch and Logano hold firm. After a disastrous weekend at Texas, Denny Hamlin finds himself 20 points out of the top four. While 20 points may seem like a lot to make up, it is actually fairly manageable. Should he go on to win both stages and Logano not finish top 10, he would make up the difference and move into a tie with Logano for the fourth spot. He could also finish in the top 10 in those stages as well and make a big dent in the points should Logano run into trouble but that will be tough considering how good he runs on a weekly basis. The drivers behind Hamlin are Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. While Elliott crashed in the early stages and was never really a factor, Kyle Larson on the other hand looked like he had a car that was capable of contending for the victory. On lap 241, Larson entered pit-lane for his pit-stop and everything went off without a hitch until Bubba Wallace spun out in turn two catching Larson on the tail end of the lead lap eliminating any opportunity for a win. This caution led many to speculate that Wallace spun himself out on purpose to get a caution and not go a lap down but this has not been proven as Wallace had a flat tire before the spin. Out of the three, the driver that came out looking the best was Blaney. By no means was it the day Blaney and his Penske team would have liked to have had but overall the No. 12 had a pretty respectable race. Throughout the day, Blaney's car was not handling well at all but this team battled back and went on to a top 10 finish. It will be interesting to see how he will respond at Phoenix this week.

The driver that I predict will win this week is Denny Hamlin. As I mentioned earlier in this article, Denny has a steep path to climb to get back into the final four and a win is the only guarantee he can race for a championship. Overall, this has not been a track that he has been able to put up the best numbers but I think with the added pressure looming, this should be the car to beat. It will be interesting to see what car owner Joe Gibbs does to try and get Hamlin back into the top four considering his teammate Kyle Busch is one of the two standing in his way. Still I look for the #11 Fedex Toyota Camry to go to Victory lane and get back in the championship hunt.

(All stats and information used in this article is brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Reference.com the best website for all NASCAR stats).





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