2012 Dodge Ram 2500 4wd 4x4 5.7l Hemi Pickup Truck on 2040-cars

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How to turn a Dodge airport tug into a trail slayer

Sometimes, having a ton of fun requires takes a ton of work. Just nine days before the so-called Ultimate Adventure 2014, the folks behind 4-Wheel & Off-Road had 40 tasks to complete in order to turn the ratty truck pictured above into a machine that could excel on treacherous off-road trails while still being able to handle highway jaunts. Much of process behind the build was chronicled on the latest episode of Dirt Every Day.
The team's vehicle started life as a 1990 Dodge tug truck that spent part of its life hauling around airplanes. The builders hung on to the Cummins six-cylinder diesel, but they tossed out practically everything else for the project, with some seriously heavy-duty replacement parts for the transmission, transfer case, axles and a whole lot more. The process was certainly a ton of work, but the end result looks like a fantastic crawler.
Sure, it might have been easier to bring a truck that was already prepared, but where would the fun in that have been? Stay tuned until the end of the video for a few glimpses of the completed Dodge and peek at some of the punishment it goes through.

Dodge pulls New Girl and The Office stars for new Dart spots

Dodge is hoping that a heavy dash of humor helps it move some more units of the Dart with a hilarious ad campaign called Don't Touch My Dart. The spots star actors Craig Robinson, best known for his role as Darryl on The Office, and Jake Johnson from New Girl as neighbors and friends playing a game of one-upmanship over Robinson's new car. Johnson is envious of the ride and just wants to touch it.
The ads are pretty funny if you're a fan of somewhat absurdist humor, and Robinson has just the right amount of over-the-top seriousness to really make the commercials work. They have kind of a Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote vibe with Johnson constantly in inept pursuit of what he wants, but he clearly isn't getting it.
The first four spots in the campaign are already online, but according to Dodge this is just the beginning. The company says that it's planning about 24 different versions of these ads in various lengths to play on TV and online. You can check out the ads titled First Scratch, Birdhouse Police Garage Door and Voice Touching below, along with the brand's release about the new ads. There's also a pretty good gag on its YouTube page with Robinson protecting his Dart.

Dodge and Jeep recalling 895k SUVs for possibility of headliner fires

Dodge and Jeep are announcing recalls of a total of 895,000 Durango and Grand Cherokee models worldwide from the 2011 through 2014 model years. There's a possibility that the wiring in the sun visor can short circuit and cause a fire. It specifically affects vehicles built between January 5, 2010, and December 11, 2013, and there are approximately 651,000 of them in the US, 45,700 in Canada, 23,000 in Mexico and 175,000 outside of North America.
Screws that fasten the sunvisor to the headliner may pierce wires in the visor, if the part has been removed or serviced, potentially causing a fire risk. If the wires short circuit, they could overheat and potentially combust. The automakers report three injuries caused by this defect, and according to the investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "there may be a total of 52 unique fire incidents."
To fix the problem, Dodge and Jeep will inspect the vehicles for suspect wiring, and all of the models, whether damaged or not, will get a new sun visor spacer with a wire guide to stop the possibility of short circuits. According to the automakers' announcement, "this condition is not present in vehicles which have not had the headliner or vanity mirror serviced." They will notify affected owners, and repairs will begin in August.