We reported earlier this week that Ram's "Bucking Hemi" ride was stolen from this year's Roadkill Nights held in Pontiac, Michigan, last weekend. It seems reports of the theft of the ride--which features a V8 engine with a ram's head instead of the tradition mechanical bull saddle, but basically operated in the same manner--were greatly exaggerated. At least, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
The brand made it clear to media that their report of the missing Bucking Hemi ride was not a marketing stunt. It released flyers online asking for information from the public, and Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis released a statement this week calling the theft "bull***." It even said it was actively working with law enforcement to track down the dastardly thief. Ram now says that a supplier accidentally packed up the ride during breakdown of Roadkill Nights on August 9 and transported it 1,200 miles to North Carolina, where the mistake was discovered. The ride is now on its way back to Michigan, and Ram claims it was all a big misunderstanding.
But Michael Bouchard, the sheriff in Oakland County, Michigan, where the supposed theft took place, also thinks the entire event is "bs" but in an entirely different way than Kuniskis; the cops think Ram never had a theft to begin with, that the brand knew where the $34,000 ride was at all times, possibly wasting police time on a false report.
Read more: These Are The Dumbest Car Crashes You've Ever Seen
False Police Reports Are A Pretty Big No-No
"We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who rallied behind us and worked to bring RAM's Bucking HEMI® home. Notably, we are extremely grateful and sincerely appreciate the Oakland County Sheriff's Office's assistance in this matter," the company said via an official statement to the press.
The brand might want to hold off on thanking the Oakland County Sheriff's Office however, as Michael Bouchard told the Detroit Free Press there was never any theft to begin with. In fact, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office says it is now investigating Ram for false reporting of a crime:
Bouchard, whose deputies responded to the scene of Roadkill Nights after receiving a larceny report, said Ram's claim that the mechanical bull was stolen is false.
Bouchard said his detectives have concluded the "theft never occurred," alleging that the mechanical bull cover was in Ram's possession the entire time.
"The company never actually lost the bull," Bouchard said in a news release. "I find this to be very frustrating and a tremendous waste of valuable investigative time."
While the hunt for the stolen bull has concluded, the Sheriff's Office is now considering charges.
"Now, we're pivoting to see if a crime was committed by the filing of a false police report," Bouchard said.
Yikes. No one likes to have their time wasted, especially the sheriff's office in a county of 1.2 million residents. And I can tell you from my side of this story that journalists in the automotive biz also don't love a scam in the name of marketing, either. It wasn't that long ago that Volkswagen faced the industry's ire after pushing a fake story that the brand was changing its name to Voltswagen in honor of its new commitment to EVs. We called VW out on that one, though we heard from our inside sources that Ram's missing ride was not a marketing stunt.
Hopefully, this entire event really was all just one big misunderstanding, as filing a false police report of grand theft (the theft of anything worth over $1,000) in Michigan could be considered a felony.
Ram told Jalopnik it is in contact with the Oakland County Sheriff's office. We will update this post as things continue to develop.
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