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In an era when pickup trucks and SUVs vastly outsell regular cars, off-road capability is one of the biggest selling points. Off-roading is cool, and non-cars are inherently more rugged than ordinary sedans, hatchbacks, and wagons. So they should always be better at this kind of thing, right?
That’s the assumption Ram hoped visitors to the 2026 Oklahoma State Fair would make. The Stellantis truck brand set up a short course to show off the capabilities of its latest pickups, but it got upstaged by something nearly a century old that isn’t even a truck. As shown in this video posted to YouTube by Davis Auto Ranch, someone let the owner of a 1928 Ford Model A have a go. And I’m not talking about a Model A body attached to some other chassis, Mad Max-style. It looks stock, and it aced the course designed for modern pickups.
This is a flex in more ways than one. The Model A drives over a few moguls without hesitation, its suspension flexing nicely, just as you’d want with any purpose-built off-road rig. As several people point out in the comments, the Model A was built at a time when paved roads weren’t a given, so it’s not really out of its element tackling uneven terrain. And while this one is a sedan, Ford did make trucks based on a modified version of the Model A chassis.
1928 Ford Model A attempts the 2027 Ram challenge at the 2026 Oklahoma State Fair #ford #car #truck
The course isn’t nearly as tricky as Hell’s Revenge. It’s just some dirt piled up on an otherwise flat piece of fairgrounds. But that’s pretty typical of manufacturer demos, both for potential customers and media. There are plenty of reasons to use a less-than-challenging temporary obstacle course like this. They’re easy to set up wherever you might need them, which often beats having to drag people to a dedicated off-road park or trail. And they’re more approachable for less-experienced drivers, ensuring that they are comfortable and that things are less likely to get damaged.
Still, it’s not a great look for a manufacturer trying to show off how tough its new trucks are. The chest thumping isn’t justified when a 98-year-old classic car makes it through no problem. There are definitely situations a new Ram pickup can handle that a vintage Model A can’t, or at least ones that will demand less of the Ram’s drive than the Ford’s. But it’s telling that the Model A can even be mentioned in the same conversation as a modern truck.
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Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
