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Ron Burgundy wants to be on you … and for you to be in a 2014 Dodge Durango

turns ron burgundy thinks dodge durango terrible car
Ron Burgundy wants you to know what he keeps in the glovebox. Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ron Burgundy is back and he really wants you to know about the glove box in the new Dodge Durango.

The Chrysler really, really wants you to buy, or at least know about, the 2014 Dodge Durango. Accordingly, Dodge has hired Will Ferrell, the star of “Anchorman” and the upcoming sequel, “Anchorman II,” to hock its updated SUV.

Fortunately, Dodge’s admen and adwomen have had the wit not to take themselves – or the car – too seriously. The main ad features Ron Burgundy discussing the size and quality of the glovebox, which purportedly “goes on for inches” and includes enough space for six ballpeen hammers.

Gas mileage is up nine percent from the previous year Durango. So we, the viewing audience, gets to be treated to such fun sights as 30 seconds of Ron Burgundy failing to pronounce mpg correctly.

Speaking of which, mileage may be up since last year, but 25 Em-pug-uhs is still nothing to crow over. My 13-year-old Toyota Tundra nearly gets there on the highway and I am not even a comedy legend!

Want to watch a mid-seventies TV News Anchor berate a horse? Chrysler has that covered, too. Burgundy compares the 360-horsepower HEMI V8 under the hood of the Durango to the one horsepower of a rather charming white horse.

It may not be Ron Burgundy’s bag, but I would recommend the Pentastar V6-powered Durango. The Pentastar has got to be one of my favorite mainstream engines on the market – even if you would need to tape 290 horses together to match its power.

With this ad campaign, Dodge is clearly trying to reestablish brand image and reach out to younger buyers. They must either be pretty confident that this will work or pretty desperate to get something to work because I can’t imagine that Ferrell comes cheap.

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Peter Braun
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Peter is a freelance contributor to Digital Trends and almost a lawyer. He has loved thinking, writing and talking about cars…
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