Chevrolet Still Not Done Smack-Talking Ram

The fact that Ram outsold its crosstown rival Chevrolet in the ongoing full-size pickup truck sales war was a very big deal. For the first half of 2019, both Ford and Ram outsold Chevy. For years, Chevy earned the number two sales slot, just behind the Blue Oval. Not anymore. Chevy didn't take too kindly to this, despite the fact that numbers don't lie. However, Ram's sales figures against Chevy did not take one important factor into account: GMC. Pitted together, GM still outsold Ram through June. The Detroit News reached out to Chevy for comment and a spokesperson did not mince words.

"The thing everybody needs to remember about this sensationalized Ram versus Chevrolet sales battle is that Rome won the Pyrrhic War," said GM spokesman Jim Cain. A "Pyrrhic victory" is a reference to winning a battle but losing the war. "They've indicated they're gonna stay on offense. That's fine. We are about to make a massive move in full-size pickups."

Pickup truck sales continue to be essential for Detroit's automakers because of high net profits. Ford, GM, and FCA need this money for future investment purposes, mainly regarding electric vehicles and self-driving cars. Developing technology for both is anything but cheap. Bragging rights are another key reason to dominate this market, but chances are unlikely neither GM nor FCA will strip Ford of its sales crown, at least not anytime soon.

But one of the reasons why Ram truck sales surged was because of the Ram 1500 Classic discounts, and GM claims that will come back to haunt FCA at some point. FCA, however, doesn't seem to care because its truck sales strategy is paying off big time.