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Chrysler and Hyundai join Pepsi and Coke as top Super Bowl spenders [w/ video]

Super Bowl XLVIII is barely a week away, and some of the early ads are already leaking out. It's timely then that The Street has released rankings of the top five Super Bowl advertisers since 2009, showing Chrysler and Hyundai/Kia taking two of the spots with $131.7 million in cumulative spending.
Since 2010, the cost to air a 30-second Super Bowl ad has risen from $3 million in 2009 to about $4 million in 2014, and about a fifth of advertisers opt for a one-minute ad, which doubles costs. Last year, the ads brought in $292 million, and they have brought in roughly $2 billion since 2010.
Chrysler has spent $64.3 million since 2009 to make it the fourth highest spending company in the last five years. In that time, the company has rebranded itself as it emerged from bankruptcy with the Imported from Detroit ad campaign that premiered in 2011 and last year's God Made a Farmer Ram Trucks ad. Its 2012 Halftime in America sparked national debate about whether it was also a reference to the upcoming presidential election.

Ram to debut electric truck concept this fall

Another day, another tease. Ram is clearly enjoying the super-slow reveal of its upcoming electric pickup truck, but at least this time they've included a date. Sort of; it's actually a season, not a specific date. We assume the exacting timing will be clarified in the coming months, but in a tweet today, Ram says we should expect the teasing to end and will debut an electric concept in the fall of 2022. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. We also get a new and predictably dark view of the truck, this time a straight-on shot of the EV hauler's face. As before, the highlights are all lit up, which we are currently assuming means they are the actual lighting elements. The R-A-M lettering in the middle of the grille is similarly radiant, which again makes us think it will be that way for the production version. We don't yet know its official name. We've been told the truck will go into production in 2024, that it will use the STLA Frame EV platform with a battery capacity up to 101-118 kWh and a range of up to 500 miles. That means prospective buyers will have quite a wait ahead of them even after it makes its official debut. By that time, the Ford Lightning should be a fairly common sight on America's roadways, the Hummer EV will have been on sale for a couple of years and the Chevy Silverado EV will similarly be ready to make its appearance. Ram is also promising to have a range-extended electric truck to show off, but we don't yet know if that will make its online debut this fall alongside the full EV. Lastly, we're not entirely sure what "thunder" Ram is stealing with its teaser and date announcement today. It could be a little shade thrown in the direction of the electrified Corvette, which was also announced today, or it could just be a play on words since Ford's truck is called the F-150 Lightning. We suppose it doesn't much matter, though. Thunder, shade, rain or snow, we're just happy to see the electrified truck game continue to intensify. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Ram thinks EcoDiesel will lure small-pickup buyers into fullsize 1500

One of the more curious developments at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week was the return of the Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck. General Motors ended production of the Colorado and its cousin, the GMC Canyon, early last year. At the time, the decision seemed to be the final curtain for small and midsize domestic pickups, as it followed Ford's decision to kill the Ranger and Chrysler's decision to end production of the Dodge Dakota.
Bigland argues the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is essentially competing for the same buyers as the Colorado.
Does Chevy's revival of the Colorado mean a new dawn for the segment overall? Yes and no. The Colorado's reinvention essentially provides a peek at how automakers tackle the same problem in two different ways. GM's approach is to create a new midsize pickup. Chrysler's approach, on the other hand, would seem to focus more on the prospective buyer than the product itself.