Lancaster says he first noticed dash plaque numbers over 3700 while looking
over Rumble Bees on eBay. Then he saw higher numbers online as more new
owners started posting pictures of their vehicles, including shots of
the dash plaque.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Lancaster says through an
email interview with PUTC. “I felt like I had a no-value, overpriced
regular truck when I had paid for what Dodge calls a limited edition collectible
truck.”
When asked if he would have purchased the Rumble Bee without the production
limit, Lancaster says: “If it would have been a cheaper retail price
I would have considered it. But the limited edition and how DaimlerChrysler
deemed it as a collectible is what got me as a selling point. Plus, mine
was one of the 43 NASCAR trucks from the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 (loaned
to Ricky Craven).”
As part of Lancaster’s research, he emailed DaimlerChrysler Customer
Service and asked about the Rumble Bee production. A response from senior
staff representative Lynn Dilley sent July 22, 2004, said, “Our
records indicate there were 3,703 of the 2004 Dodge Ram Rumble Bees produced.
In addition, there are some being built for the 2005 model
year. Hopefully, this information helps.”
That is just
one of many references to the 3700 number from Dodge. The first came early
in 2004 when word of the Rumble Bee package was just getting out. Auto
Week magazine ran
a short news item that was also posted on the Auto Week Web site in
early February last year. It said: “Starting this month, Dodge will
begin cranking out 3700 special-edition Ram SLTs with the ‘Rumble
Bee’ package.” Around April 2004, the Web site 440magnum-network.com
posted a page dedicated to the Rumble Bee. It showed a photo of the truck
and close-up of the emblem and posted information about the Rumble Bee
package. The last two lines of the page read: “Production of the
Ram Rumble Bee started in the spring of 2004, with only 3700 to be produced.
Source of Information: DaimlerChrysler Corporation.”
Editor’s
Note: When PUTC ran
its review of the Ram Rumble Bee in October 2004, I mentioned
the 3700 production limit but was not aware at the time of the overrun
controversy within the Rumble Bee community. I did not get the 3700
number from the DaimlerChrysler information package sent to me.
I found the number in the Auto
Week and 440magnum-network.com news items. I considered both
to be reliable sources and did not confirm with Dodge before the
story was written and posted.
For this story,
I contacted the authors of the two news items. Both confirm that
information about the Rumble Bee and the reference to the 3700 limit
came directly from Dodge but neither author kept the original paperwork.
The Auto Week
news item was still available online when this story was written
but 440magnum-network.com has rebuilt its truck section. The Rumble
Bee page is similar to the previous page except there is no
reference to the 3700 production number. A spokesperson from 440magnum-network
told PUTC in an email, “We were going to update that page
with the actual production numbers but were unable to verify how
many they built.”
– Mike
Magda
A search on the Internet
reveals references to the 3700 limit in scattered news items. Even an
internal DaimlerChrysler employee publication in a password-protected
Web site ran the following news item, according to a posting on RumbleBee.org:
“Ready
to Rumble? Auburn Hills, 1/29/2004 – Starting this month, Dodge
will begin cranking out 3700 special edition Ram SLT trucks with the “Rumble
Bee” package. The truck gets no extra horsepower, but it will have
unique body cladding, body-colored taillight guards, a hood scoop, chrome
exhaust, 20-inch wheels and cool exterior graphics and interior trim,
including Rumble Bee logos on the door inserts and a numbered badge. Like
its namesake, the truck comes in two colors: yellow and black. Package
price is $2600, available only on the Ram SLT regular cab, two- or four-wheel-drive
models. Read more Chrysler Group Employee News on The Scoop at Chrysler
Group.”
This news item was
tipped off by a person claiming to be a DaimlerChrysler employee who also
was upset at the production numbers. The author of the post said: “If
I knew then what I know now, I would have waited for a 6.1 Hemi.”
