Chrysler, Ford paint red, white and blue picture

DETROIT - With sales of pickup trucks slipping, Ford and Chrysler are tugging on American heartstrings at this year’s Detroit auto show, painting themselves in red, white and blue to capture customers in an increasingly competitive market.

Ford, for example, unveiled its redesigned F-150 pickup Sunday flanked by all-American cultural icons including country singer Toby Keith, professional bull rider Justin McBride and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Rick Crawford.

Chrysler went one better, handing out Dodge-brand beef jerky and introducing its revamped Ram pickup with a posse of bull-whipping cowboys and driving a herd of 120 cattle past a corral of shivering journalists outside Detroit’s Cobo Center.

In both cases, the aim was unambiguous — automakers want to stimulate sales, which sagged last year as the housing market sank and construction activity declined. U.S. sales of...

Last Update on : February 4, 2008    By : Roland Jones

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