Shannon Gordinier
July 9-13, 2018
Guests of the 2018 Wisconsin Farm Tech Days were some of the first to get a chance to drive Ram’s all-new 2019MY 1500 trucks. With an interior that most (if not all) luxury brands will be jealous of, the new Ram was a huge hit. All show vehicles were equipped with premium trim levels (Laramie Longhorn, Limited, Limited Tungsten).
The whole lineup, including HD 2500 and 3500, were available at this show. Guests were given a choice of riding on an extreme off-road course (piloted by Gordinier Group pro drivers) or driving a truck and trailer rig around a perimeter towing track. Attendees are encouraged to participate in both experiences and many do.
Both the off-road and towing courses enjoyed great foot traffic and we ere visited by many farmers who were very enthusiastic about the new product as well as the new refresh on the horizon for the Ram HD trucks. Even a few die-hard Chevy and Ford owners were taking a hard look at the new half-ton offering. You know that if those folks are giving it a second look, Ram is really on to something with this truck!
It was another great start to the farm show season and always fun to show off new product. On to the next one…
March 30- April 8, 2018
The unofficial auto show season finale kicked off in NYC a bit earlier this year than the norm. With the earlier show start this year came our most challenging NYIAS weather to date. Throughout the 10 outdoor activation days in Manhattan, the team experienced rain, sleet, ice, wind and even a couple of substantial snow storms.
Despite the often poor weather conditions this year, you can never count out the swarms of diehard New Yorkers who once again came out in record numbers to ride on the show-favorite Jeep Off-Road Course!
This year’s course showcased the all-new 2018 Wrangler Rubicon, along with off-road family members: Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, Cherokee Trailhawk, Compass Trailhawk, ad Renegade Trailhawk. All of these uber capable off-roaders handled the rigors of this course with ease, despite the challenging conditions.
The greater Denver area was also treated to the Camp Jeep experience while the NYIAS event was running. The Mile-High City experienced more favorable weather, although it’s Camp Jeep track was housed indoors at the Denver Convention Center.
As the excitement of the 2018 auto show season is now in the rearview mirror, Gordinier Group is already looking forward to summer programs on the horizon!
The brand new Mahindra Roxor was introduced to the media and dealers over a 3-day event at the San Antonio AlamoDome, and the Gordinier Group was there to build and operate the off-road course.
If you aren’t familiar with Mahindra, they are an enormous ($19B), Indian company, who produces a large line of vehicles overseas as well as owning a large segment of big agriculture equipment abroad and in the US. The new Roxor will create a segment all its own – something between a side-by-side and a Jeep Wrangler. At first glance, the vehicle obviously has Wrangler visual cues (Mahindra has maintained license from Willy’s since the 1940’s to build this vehicle), but with its 2.5L turbo diesel motor, manual transmission and leaf-sprung suspension (and the fact that it’s not street legal in the US), the similarities end there. What it is, is a super fun and very capable off-road only vehicle that feels very durable, well-made, and appears to be able to chug through the ugliest of trails with ease (as well as being able to tow 3,490 lbs). It seems perfect for ranch or farm use and it would be great fun on difficult off-road trails such as Rubicon and Moab. You can read more about the Roxor below.
Dealers and media outlets converged in San Antonio, eager to learn about the Roxor and excited to get behind the wheel. GG operators built a course in the AlamoDome parking lot that both challenged the vehicle and driver, but was still able to throughput the several hundred amped dealers. As an added challenge for the course design, all Roxor test drive units had manual transmissions (as well as 2-speed transfer cases). This can sometimes be tricky when the public is driving. Luckily, the Roxor had so much low-end torque, it was easy for novice manual drivers to crawl over the boulder pile, log tilt, side hill, and other steep obstacles created for this unique test drive.
February 6-20, 2018
The bar has been raised as the Camp Jeep daily participation record has been toppled once again, as we opened to a huge crowd of guests at the 2018 Chicago Auto Show – Camp Jeep’s Superbowl event. In fact, the previous record was topped 3 times over the 2-week span of the show. This along with the display winning the “Best in Show” award (and the Wrangler winning the most desired new production vehicle), proves that Chicago loves the Jeep brand and Camp Jeep.
To add the icing on the cake, the Camp Jeep auto show model has recently reached a huge milestone as we drove our 2 millionth guest since the program began in 2004. What an amazing statistic!
The Gordinier Group driving team brought their A-game to the windy city this year, knowing that the huge Chicago crowds were going to be eager to experience the newly redesigned 2018 Wrangler Rubicon. The Chicago enthusiasts didn’t disappoint, running to the track each morning and patiently waiting for their trip around arguably the best indoor off-road track in existence.
Thank you Chicago for another great show!
