And the winner is...

Big dreams do come true and for one hometown girl that dream became a reality. Detroit’s own Justine Blazer won the first “Ram Truck Battle of the Bands” contest and took home a cool $5,000! She was among numerous competitors in a nationwide search of young talented singers, songwriters and musicians looking to make it big.

It was during last weekend’s Ram Rodeo Series in Austin, Texas that admiring country music fans had a chance to see her and runner-up The Natalie Turgeon Band (who walked away with $2,500) perform live on stage. The two finalists were rated on the originality and creativity of the song’s lyrics, music and appeal.

After a coin toss to see who would perform first, The Natalie Turgeon Band who came from the Northeast took the stage and began jamming with their original number “Country-ish.” Lead singer Natalie Turgeon belted out the lyrics with such force and conviction that you’d swear she was born in the Grand Ole Opry rather than New Hampshire.

Then it was Justine’s chance to turn up the heat. This veteran performer had the presence of a winning artist with her tune “New Country Beat.” Leaping off the stage, she strummed her way through the audience and made them feel as if they were part of her band. (For those of you who haven’t seen her perform, check out her music video http://www.youtube.com/ramtrucks#p/search/0/usctXRX5UcM) The choice was not an easy task for the Ram Trucks judges, as both performers “rocked it” and had fans clapping their hands and stomping their feet.

In the end, Justine Blazer took home the big prize and closed out the competition with two more songs.

“Thank you Ram so much! It’s an honor to be a part of your family and team now. I had such an amazing time in Austin. I’ll never forget this! “I look forward to working with you wonderful folks again and congrats to The Natalie Turgeon Band as well!”

Dodge Grand Caravan is Now The Best Selling Minivan in The World

As a Dodge dealer, we’re pretty proud of the minivan. After all, that vehicle was among the first to breathe life into a segment that’s been safely transporting families all over the world for years. In 2010, Dodge once again can lay claim to the title of the best-selling minivan in the world. Last year, there were 160,005 Grand Caravan models sold, beating out the Honda Odyssey’s 119,062 sales and the Toyota Sienna’s 113,179 deliveries worldwide. Here in the U.S., the 2010 Grand Caravan took a very respectable bronze medal for national sales last year, falling just behind the Honda Odyssey.

Dodge, however, has its sights set on moving up in the U.S. market this year with the all-new 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan. With more functionality, a powerful and efficient 3.6-liter V6 and a beautiful new interior, we’re confident minivan shoppers will like what they see. Of course, the 40 standard safety and technology features will likely do their part to win over hearts and minds, too.

Come see us at Cecil Atkission in Burnet and test drive one today!

Bo and Luke Duke...DENIED

Bo and Luke may have no problem outrunning Sheriff Roscoe Coltrane’s Monaco police cruiser but they finally met their match. The gang over at Edmunds.com pitted the big-block powered General Lee against the new 2011 Charger R/T. Even though the General Lee packs 440 cubic inches, which allows it to fly higher and jump further, it was no match for its younger offspring on the asphalt.

The new Charger R/T was quicker in 0-60 and quarter-mile times and its highly tuned suspension and brakes give it an advantage over its B-Body ancestor when “running from the law.” Now, imagine the trouble the Duke boys could have caused in Hazzard County if they had a new 370 horsepower HEMI® Charger R/T.

Check out the video for all the tire smoking excitement!

Ram Trucks Battle of Bands finalists named, head to Austin

If you’ve been following our blog, you’ll remember the Ram Truck Battle of the Bands contest that kicked off back in January. We put the word out that if you had a country music group, Ram Trucks was looking for you. The top 10 videos that received the most votes were reviewed by a Ram Truck panel of judges. Well the time has come, and the fans and judges have spoken and now there are two finalists that will perform live at this year’s Rodeo Austin in Texas. The first-place winner will take home a full $5,000 and the second place winner will go home with $2,500 in their guitar case.

The first finalist is a 26-year-old who calls the Motor City her home. Justine Blazer (yes, that’s her real name) grew up in the auto industry and even knows a thing or two about cars and trucks in addition to her affinity for great music. She has been performing since she was four years old and has been writing songs since and was eight. She learned to play the guitar, piano and harmonica at 10 years of age. By the time she was 13, Justine recorded her first three-song EP. Justine said her desire to pursue a country music career was influenced by various artists.

"My musical influences included Patsy Cline, Martina McBride, Faith Hill Reba McEntire" said Justine. "My father was an automotive engineer and we moved to Nashville when I was younger and that’s probably where the country roots started. My mother owned a dance studio and it was there I was exposed to all sorts of different music."

Later her family moved back to Michigan and she continued to hone her vocal skills. The hard work and dedication paid off as she was nominated for 15 Detroit Music Awards and won the Detroit Blues Challenge in 2007. Her recent single ‘New Country Beat’ was released in July 2010 and was immediately picked up by XM satellite radio, AOL radio and CMT radio.

When we reached Justine to tell her the news that she is a finalist, she was ecstatic. “This is indescribable and a once in a lifetime opportunity. My band and I have worked so hard over the past years and I feel so lucky to be a finalist. This is one of the biggest events in my career. As a musician you work so hard to achieve that goal. To be recognized by Ram Truck is simply awesome!”

The second finalist hails from a region in the country better known for seafood, Paul Revere, cranberries and maple syrup than country music. Just formed over four months ago, The Natalie Turgeon Band claims Concord, New Hampshire as home but their heart and soul is definitely southern. Hearing of the Ram Battle of the Bands contest, they answered the challenge by creating their first music video in a matter of days, with no budget.

The band practices in the basement and their music epitomizes the true spirit of an authentic country sound with just a hint of R&B. The driving force behind the band is the lead vocalist, Natalie Turgeon. At four years old, her music talent became evident as she sat at the piano and easily played her favorite Christmas carol.

Despite being a trained pianist, Natalie decided to concentrate on singing and working on her vocal range. Her dedication paid off and in 2007 and 2008, where she was a finalist in the New Hampshire Idol Competition. In 2010, Natalie stepped up her game and swept the New Hampshire Country Music Association’s annual competition by walking away with Female Vocalist and Female Entertainer of the Year. This month, Natalie and the band will be representing the Northeast in the National Country Music competition in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

When Natalie and her band mates heard the news of being a finalist for the Battle of the Bands contest, they were blown away. “It’s very unexpected, this came as a big surprise. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity that I have for the band and myself. I’m excited to see where this takes us and to see the opportunities that come from this!” said Natalie. “I can’t thank Ram Truck enough for this contest and I know the band and I will be practicing real hard between now and Rodeo Austin.”

We know the music is going to be hot and the competition fierce, between these two highly talented bands. Make sure to check back next week for the winner and if you're fortunate enough, go see their performances this Sunday, March 20 at Rodeo Austin.

Fun in Central Texas

We’re always talking about the automotive industry, but today we’ve decided to stop and take a break, as in Spring Break, and talk about what the beautiful city of Austin has to offer this next week or so.

This is far and away the busiest time of the year as far as entertainment is concerned in the Capital City and your choices are wide and varied.

If it’s music you’re looking for, you have plenty of choices. First, there’s the obvious with the South By Southwest Festival in town. We love that there are so many different types of music to choose from including reggae to hard rock to grunge. But SXSW isn’t your only option when it comes to listening to quality music acts.

The Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo opens this weekend as well and there will be lots of great entertainers over the course of the next few weeks including Dierks Bentley, Eli Young, Kevin Fowler, LeeAnn Rimes, and Ronnie Milsap for the country music listeners as well as Big Time Rush, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and Rick Springfield.

And of course, this next week we understand a lot of folks won’t even be in town to enjoy SXSW or the rodeo as they’re heading out of town for Spring Break in one of their great Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Ram vehicles to destinations far and wide.

Regardless of whether you’re staying in town or traveling on the road this next week, Cecil Atkission in Burnet hopes you have a fun and safe Spring Break!

Dodge Grand Caravan Does Have Everything – Including Lowest Price

If you’ve spotted Dodge brand’s Never Neutral campaign around the country, you might have seen this reference to its Grand Caravan minivans: We gave our minivan everything; So you can do anything.

And, one of the things that Dodge just gave its minivan is the lowest price available in the United States. As of March 1, the MSRP of the 2011 Grand Caravan Express is reduced $1,000 to $23,995 – the lowest MSRP minivan in the country. The MSRP for the 2011 Grand Caravan Mainstreet is reduced $250 to $25,745. Both models’ MSRPs exclude $835 destination charges.

“We added a number of safety, performance and efficiency features to the 2011 Grand Caravan Express and Mainstreet models, without taking away any features from our 2010 lineup,” said Fred DePerez, head of Dodge Minivan Marketing.

“They’re already a solid value. By dropping the price on them, we’re telling the U.S. family that we’re looking out for your budget as well as your driving performance and safety,” he added.

Through the first couple months of 2011, the Dodge Grand Caravan is the #1 selling minivan in the United States, with 18,368 units sold. That’s a 34% increase over January and February 2010. The nearest minivan competitor is 2,602 minivans or 16% behind.

Among the upgrades for the 2011 Grand Caravan are a new fuel-efficient Chrysler Pentastar 3.6 liter, V-6 engine, updated front and side airbag system, and noticeably improved interior comforts.

Dodge to ditch cross-hair grille soon?

2012 Dodge Charger SRT8

Now that Dodge and Ram are separate groups under the Chrysler umbrella, Dodge plans to phase its trademark cross-hair grille out of its product lineup. The cross-hair nose will remain a part of the Ram truck lineup for the foreseeable future, but Dodge vehicles will get a new identity that has not yet been revealed.

Ralph Gilles, Dodge CEO and Chief Designer for the Chrysler Group, recently spoke to Automotive News about this decision. Gilles stated that this move will take time but the products will evolve and go in a different direction. In other words, no matter what direction Dodge takes its styling, don't expect to see any wholesale changes until well after the 2011 model year.