Blog

During the ninth-annual 2024 Rebelle Rally from October 10-19, automotive journalists Jill Ciminillo and Kristin Shaw will take control of a 2025 Ram 1500 RHO in the Bone Stock and 4x4 divisions. The Rebelle Rally is a purely all-women event that tests driving and navigational skills through 1,500 miles of California and Nevada’s off-road desert terrain. A Special Team of Journalists As a team, this is the third entry for both Ciminillo and Shaw, who are called Team Brute Squad. This is the first year the journalists will use a Ram truck. The Rally takes place over eight intense days that will see the ladies working hard to find headings and hidden checkpoints—while time and distance play major roles. Their only guidance is a map, a compass, and a roadbook that are provided by the event organizers. There are no GPS systems or cell phones allowed. A Word from Ram “The Ram 1500 RHO is right at home in the Rebelle Rally, and we’re proud to support Team Brute Squad in this year’s event,” said Chris Feuell, Ram brand CEO – Stellantis. “Our trucks are tested in the toughest environments, and this event is a unique way to showcase how RHO reinforces North America’s leading off-road truck lineup.” Ram SHO Engine and Performance The 2024 Ram 1500 RHO offers the all-new 3.0-liter Hurricane High Output (H/O) Straight-Six Turbo (SST), which puts out 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque. With a claimed 0 to 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds and 0 to 100 mph time of only 11.7 seconds, the RHO is one fast truck. The Ram RHO can also get through the ¼-mile in 13.1 seconds at 105 mph. Special Features That Will Help Jill and Kristin Win With its BorgWarner 48-13 full-time active transfer case and 2.64:1 low range, the Ram RHO is genuinely the perfect truck for the Rebelle Rally. The Bilstein Black Hawk e2 adaptive performance shocks, along with the truck’s independent front suspension, will adjust the damping forces for ultimate body control and terrain isolation. The special Bilsteins can seamlessly adapt to on- and off-road driving to maintain utmost comfort and performance handling. The unique design of the rear suspension allows the RHO to have 14 inches of rear axle travel, which is 40% greater than all other Ram 1500 models. Why The Rebelle Rally is So Meaningful The Rebelle Rally is a unique event for women who love motorsports and off-roading. Combining their passion and abilities, teams work hard to overcome obstacles, get through the challenging terrain, and complete the overall event. While this may be the third Rally for the two journalists, there is never an easy day when you have to spend 1,500 miles navigating through the desert. Literally anything can and will go wrong. Good luck, ladies. All of Benna Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram are cheering for you! At Benna Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, we offer some of the best prices and services to all of our customers. With dozens of new and used vehicles to choose from, our great sales team and finance department will work hard to make sure you drive away happy. And our amazing service department will take care of your new-to-you vehicle as if it were their own.

Benna Chrysler Dodge Jeep and Ram is proud to tell you that Ram and Jeep’s toughest off-road pickup trucks will be well represented in the 2024 Rebelle Rally, with participant vehicles including both the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO and 2025 Jeep Gladiator Mojave. The Rally will run from October 10-19 and cover over 1,500 miles of California and Nevada desert. The 2024 Rebelle Rally will be the ninth annual running of this first and only all-women navigation off-road rally. The Ram Team A team of two journalists will run the Ram 1500 RHO. The team's driver is Kristin Shaw, an accomplished freelance journalist who writes for the automotive and aviation fields. Her articles can be found in notable publications such as Popular Science, Car and Driver, I nsideEVs, Edmunds, Forbes, Road & Track, A Girls Guide to Cars, Motor1, Airport Improvement magazine, and many more. Team navigator Jill Ciminillo is also an experienced automotive writer, managing editor of Pickup Truck+SUV Talk, and contributing editor to Consumer Guide Automotive. She is also a popular podcaster and YouTube personality. The two call their team the Brute Squad, and this is the team’s third Rebelle Rally (but their first time in a Ram 1500 RHO). The truck is powered by the all-new 3.0-liter Hurricane High Output (H/O) twin-turbocharged inline-6 engine, the most powerful from the Stellantis Hurricane engine lineup. The Hurricane High Output engine is rated at 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque, which makes it the strongest Ram 1500 ever. Its horsepower and torque are greater than any other naturally aspirated V-8 or boosted six-cylinder engine in the light-duty segment, and it offers more horsepower per dollar than any other premium off-road full-size pickup. “The Ram 1500 RHO is right at home in the Rebelle Rally, and we’re proud to support Team Brute Squad in this year’s event,” said Chris Feuell, Ram brand CEO – Stellantis. “Our trucks are tested in the toughest environments, and this event is a unique way to showcase how RHO reinforces North America’s leading off-road truck lineup.” The Jeep Team The veteran team of Nena Barlow and Teralin Petereit will drive the Jeep Gladiator. Barlow operates Barlow Adventures, which offers four-wheel-drive training, Jeep SUV rentals, and guided trips throughout the southwestern United States. Petereit is a nurse from Utah who has embraced off-roading as a hobby, navigating numerous trails and competitions over the years. Barlow and Petereit are among the most accomplished Rebelle Rally veterans. They have competed in a combined 14 rallies with 12 podium finishes. They have been teammates for three of those rallies. Their Jeep Gladiator Mojave is the only model in the Jeep lineup to wear the Desert Rated badge. It features a reinforced frame and axles, strengthened iron steering knuckles, and an enhanced suspension with segment-exclusive FOX hydraulic jounce bumpers. “We’re honored to represent the Jeep brand once again,” said Barlow. “The rally is tougher than ever, but we don’t have to worry about capability in our Jeep Gladiator Mojave. We never hesitate to chase the toughest checkpoints and that’s a huge advantage. And this is seen repeatedly by how many Jeep SUVs are in the rally and on the podium.” Unique Rebelle Rally Challenges The event poses a challenging role for the navigator as she must navigate this eight-day rally without GPS, cell phones, or any other navigation devices. Instead, she must find their way by combining elements of headings, hidden checkpoints, time, and distance using only a map, compass, and roadbook. There are also no personal support crews, so whatever they need on the route, they must take with them. It is particularly challenging even by Rally standards. Benna CDJR wishes both teams the best and invites you to visit our location to sample the vehicles that have the confidence of these two teams to complete in this challenging event.

As this is being written in late August, the political campaigns are ramping up, and there is much discussion of crowd sizes, where attendance of 14 - 15K people is considered a successful event. Keep that in mind as Benna Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram (CDJR) tells you about the ninth annual RoadKill Nights in Pontiac, Michigan. Sponsored by Dodge, the event attracted over 40,000 people on the first night and 50,000 across both nights. The event included the debut of the all-new Dodge Charger Daytona, which wowed the crowds with its Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust system. Fans could avail themselves of Dodge Drift Rides and Dodge Hornet Rally Rides, as well as a chance to catch all the action in the $25,000 World Burnout Championship. However, the main event was undoubtedly drag racing, which attracted over 100 competitors. The Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Race was a particularly special part of that event. This involved seven drivers dropping the recently available Direct Connection Hurricrate engines in their build projects in a quest for ultimate Dodge bragging rights. The Hurricrates are stand-alone versions of the Hurricane turbocharged Inline-6 engines making 420 horsepower and 468 lb-ft of torque, literally out of the box. The winner of the event was Morgan Evans, who dropped his Hurricrate into a 1987 Dodge D-150, which defeated the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon driven by Garrett Reed in the final round. “We worked so hard over the last two months, and I can’t believe we got here and we ended up winning. The truck worked incredibly, and I couldn’t have asked it to do better,” said Evans. The rest of the drag racing was split into Big Tire (over 275mm width) and the Small Tire (275mm width and under) categories, each of which saw competitors battle for bragging rights and cash prizes on the first-ever drag strip at M1 Concourse in Pontiac. “For nearly a decade, we've brought the ultimate car culture celebration to life at MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge, and this year we introduced some thrilling firsts,” says Eric Schwab, MotorTrend Group's Group SVP, Head of Revenue, Operations, and Partnerships. “For the first time, drag racing took place inside the M1 Concourse, offering walkable pits and enhanced viewing areas that brought fans closer to the action than ever before. With these new experiences, along with the worldwide debut of the all-new Dodge Charger Daytona, we welcomed over 40,000 fans for an adrenaline-fueled weekend, proving once again that Roadkill Nights continues to set the bar for action-packed automotive excitement.” All in all, it was a fantastic celebration of horsepower, and it made clear that Dodge's phasing out of Its Hemi engines in no way ends its muscle. You can see that for yourself by visiting Benna CDJ R to see all the new Hurricane-powered models, plus the Hornet, which boasts the most power in its class.