Even under normal circumstances, press vehicles go through a lot. When I lived in Texas, I remember one of the people that worked for a press fleet management service telling me that the two most commonly replaced items were windshields and tires. The potential for major damage goes up significantly when a purpose-built vehicle is driven as it was intended to be driven or taken beyond its usual testing radius. Luckily, there are automakers who know the risks and are willing to take them to show what their products can do. Below, I’ve put a few specific instances in which car companies were cool with their models being put to the test.
On a Track: 2018 Ford Mustang GT, 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, and 2019 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack
In 2017, I covered the ChumpCar World Series at the Circuit of the Americas. One of the racers I interviewed for my story happened to own a small track south of Austin, Texas. I soon had the bright idea to ask him if I could test the acceleration, handling, and braking of some of my various review vehicles there. He was fine with it, but would automakers be?
To my surprise, they were. I started by reaching out to Ford because I was scheduled to be in a 2018 Mustang GT with the GT Performance Package, which added specific chassis, electric power steering, and ABS and stability control tuning; suspension upgrades; enhanced front brakes; staggered-width high-performance tires; and a Torsen differential with 3.73:1 gearing. Ford consented to me tracking it as long as I didn’t time my laps or compete against anyone on the course. Their cooperation allowed me to discover how tough the front Brembos were and how controllable the Mustang was in a slide.
When the 2018 Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was dropped off in my driveway, I pitched Jeep the idea of taking it to the track with the same limitations Ford had put forward for the Mustang. They gave me the green light. I proceeded to be surprised by how at ease I felt in the 707-horsepower super-SUV and how quickly I became comfortable with adding more throttle to each successive lap.
I had a slightly different idea when I got the keys to the 2019 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack. I reached out to one of the company’s representatives and asked if I could take it to the track so I could test out its Line Lock and launch control features and get some cool photos for my review. He consented to that as long as I agreed to “use the features as intended and not do anything that would cause undo damage to the car – like tying the car to guard rail to keep the tires spinning/smoking.” If you’re thinking that’s an oddly specific condition and wondering if it was imposed because somebody did that with one of Dodge’s press cars, it is and it was. In fact, the rep implied more than one person had tied up a Charger and burned its rear tires down.
Road Trip: 2020 Ram 1500 Rebel EcoDiesel
Back when I was getting press cars in Austin, Texas, the majority of manufacturers seemed to have either an explicit or implied limit of 500 miles for each week-long media loan. That’s plenty of time to discover a vehicle’s strengths, weaknesses, and quirks. But certain companies were willing to raise that limit if someone proposed an interesting idea for a story. Ram was one of them. My fiance (now wife) and I were planning to visit her family members in El Paso, Texas and Peoria, Arizona. Sure, we could’ve flown, but I thought I’d take a long shot and ask around to see if there was a manufacturer willing to supply a vehicle for the long interstate journey back and forth, which ended up being 2,646 miles. I contacted a friendly face at Ram and told him the 1500 Rebel would be a great test vehicle because the trip would thoroughly test the fuel economy of its available 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6.
My contact saw it the same way and sent one of the spacious and comfortable trucks my way. Based on my calculations for the five times I completely filled the tank, I averaged 20.17 miles per gallon across 1,812 miles, many of which were racked up at 80+ mph.
Off-road: 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Press events can be especially rough on media cars. Over the years, I’ve seen or heard about clutches blowing out, half shafts snapping, and deep scratches being clawed into expensive optional paint colors. That’s why I was surprised when Rolls-Royce brought one of its Cullinan SUVs to an off-road gathering in 2019. I took the $406,225 rig through mud and water and used its four-wheel steering to avoid making a three-point turn on the testing trail. I departed my leather, chrome, and wood veneer surroundings pleased with the Cullinan’s traction and unflappable Magic Carpet Ride. Years later, I heard the Cullinan left the event with (undoubtedly costly) damage to its bodywork after it got a little too close to Mother Nature. The fact that Rolls-Royce let their SUV do SUV things despite the potential hazards around it made me respect their ambition, boldness, and conviction.
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