Shannon Gordinier
August 29-September 3, 2018
Ram Truck was the title sponsor of the 2018 Michigan State Fair. With Ram Headquarters only 30 miles away, what better opportunity to roll out the red carpet and bring a great experience to the local venue to show off the all-new 2019 Ram 1500.
Ram went big at the MSF, bringing the Ram Truck Territory properties, including the 18′ mountain, Power Tower Towing Demo, Giant Berm, Ram Torque Wall, and a demo area to show off Ram 1500 load leveling, adjustable ride height, full surround cameras, and parallel park assist features.
With all of the amazing safety, comfort and performance features on the new half-ton truck, it was difficult for Gordinier Group Pro Drivers to present all of that info to guests in a short period of time. This truck really is packed with exciting new technology and the overall ride is amazing! Our job of showing off these new trucks has become easy – so many great things to talk about!
While the weather at the state fair was hot, the Ram Truck Territory was never short of guests interested in learning about and riding in the new trucks. A great home game for Ram Trucks!
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.
