In this episode of the award-winning America on the Road podcast we look behind the scenes at how auto dealers are targeting potential customers with marketing messages tied to the consumers' individual situations. Is it helpful or creepy? Host Jack Nerad interviews Ian Grace of dealer service provider automotiveMastermind to get the answers.

In the vehicle review portion of the program, co-host Jack Nerad and Chris Teague take an incisive look at the Mazda CX-30 small crossover and the Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 pickup truck. The road test of the Ram 1500 is a special one because it involved Jack and his wife Sandi using the truck on a 400-mile round trip to move their youngest daughter into her dormitory for her freshman year of college. It is a personal use case on steroids. Meanwhile, Chris road-tested the CX-30 in family drives around his New England home.

In the news segment of the program, Chris and Jack discuss Ford's effort to bring an all-electric version of the F-150 pickup truck to market. Ford has very ambitious plans for its 2021 F-150 and for subsequent models, and the economic impact of that truck is quite stunning.
Ram 1500 Laramie

Hear Ram 1500 Chief Engineer Tell Philosophy Behind Truck