Randy, I'm guessing yer loyal buy American crowd is grating their teeth reading yer post on the Titan....
I am sure you are right with that comment. Some might be crafting an email right now. I think the exchange below will give some interesting perspective to all who read this.
I've received many emails from guys who work at auto plants hammering me for driving a Nissan. One of the union guys who held some sway at UAW and worked for GM even went so far as to call me personally in 2009.
I explained to him what the Big Three tell the hunting TV shows, or I should say, what their ad agencies tell the hunting shows. He was very surprised and his demeanor changed instantly. I sent him a copy of the proposals my sales group had sent to all of the Big Three, on behalf of my show and a couple others they sold for, where we would drive a Big Three truck with a ton of after-market improvements to make it more applicable to the hunting we do. This union guy said he would try to get some attention in the marketing group of GM via his power with UAW, though I knew the odds were about zero.
I think he gave it a good effort via the channels he had. He called me about a month later. His comment was, "No wonder those f(*&ing idiots ran us into bankruptcy." His words, not mine.
If the loyal buy American crowd knew how the Big Three ad agencies looked at hunting when I first started this show, and how their ad agencies laughed at what was the deal of the century when it came to offers to be in our show and in a partnership with some other shows, they would understand why not too many in the outdoor world have a lot of appreciation for the Big Three ad agencies.
Dodge now gets it and is marketing heavily in the hunting world. Dodge and Nissan had entered into a truck partnership in 2008, but thanks to a Big Three bankruptcy, that partnership was dissolved. The guy who started the Dodge Ram campaign in the outdoor world is now the CEO of Nissan.
Ford seems to be getting it and marketing more to the hunter directly. Their Raptor is the only truck that could handle some of what we do and it is not at all set up to be a good hunting truck.
We are seeing Ford and Dodge Ram making a run at the outdoor segment with their own sponsored shows. I have watched some of that. To me, those have turned out to be 30-minute informercials; maybe driving the truck through the occassional mud puddle and talking about the new computerized cockpits so some guy can always call home to Momma. Toyota is a complete bailout on the audience. Chevy runs some ads at the network level as part of big ad buys, but they don't have a truck that would hold up under our conditions without some serious after-market modifications.
All of that is a reflection of their ad agencies knowing nothing about hunting, so they get sweet talked into doing some show that is nothing but a truck informercial and almost makes you want to put your finger down the back of your throat. I feel sorry for the hosts of those shows who have to do what the ad agency tells them.
Look at the Ford Outfitters show. That is some candy ass product integration. Fred Eichler is a serious hunter. His hunting could take that truck to some terrible places where he lives in Colorado. Instead they have him driving down the interstate in Kansas talking about the smooth ride and the navigation system. Not because Fred wants to do it that way, rather I suspect because that is what some non-hunter at the ad agency wants them to do. Makes one wonder why they don't have Fred beat the hell out of it. Are they afraid it would not provide the image they want? I put my Titan through the same amount of abuse by driving to work in the morning as they do with the trucks on that show.
Everyone in the hunting TV world bends over backwards to work with the Big Three, because of the made in America idea. Just the Red White Blue feeling that exists in us hunters. The ad agencies of the Big Three know of that underlying sentiment and in my opinion, take it for granted.
I am always looking for the made in America idea. I just got called out for our Alaska black bear episode when the boat motor broke down and when I started working on it I pointed to a sticker that showed where it was assembled and I said, "Here's part of the problem, Made in Mexico." Some people complained to me and the network. I feel strongly about made in America and when possible. Sometimes, quality or ineptness of the product to our application makes that nearly impossible.
When we go to the dealership I suspect we all look at the sticker that shows the percentage of products, etc. that come from the US. When we look at Nissan, Toyota, etc., they have about the same percentage as the Big Three. The Nissan Titan is made in Mississippi, which last time I checked, is still America, regardless of what they say in Detroit.
The Titam is still the best hunting truck I can find for the applications I need. Others have changed body styling to look more like a car, in search of improved mileage. I would ruin those mileage-improving features. If I can find a truck with better hunting qualities, I will be driving it. I buy these trucks out of my own pocket. The truck that comes closest to the Titan in having the mix of features needed for what we do is the new Dodge Ram.
The Fords, Chevys, and "fancy pants" styling of the Toyotas would be missing parts and pieces after about three hunts. Just the way they have decided to build, and given the success they have had, they were on target to reach the guy who does mostly highway driving and occassionally will head off the pavement. These are mostly highway trucks to be taken off road once in a while, which is what the majority of hunters do. Makes sense from a marketing standpoint, even if it does not fit well for what I do with my trucks.
I have 83,000 miles on my current Titan. I suspect over 75% of those miles are on the worst roads in America. It runs and rides extremely well for a truck with that kind of abuse. If the Big Three could produce a truck anywhere near that durable, useful, and applicable for our purpose, I would seriously consider spending $40,000+ with those companies when I replace this truck next year. But, given what they currently have as selection, I don't think I will spend too much time investigating.
Ford obviously has a great proven tradition in the F-150. I understand that most people do not need a truck that has the features I need. Ford would be fools to change what has proven to be such a great idea. It sells better than any vehicle in America.
If I end up driving another Titan, it will be because I cannot find another truck that fills my needs as well as the Titan. And given what they are doing in the next model design, there is a good chance it will fill my needs even better than the one I currently drive, Titan #4.
