QOTD: Is This Relationship Just Based on Looks?
The current-generation Ram 1500 is older than many people realize. As the recession and bailout drama fades further in our memories, it’s sometimes hard to believe the Ram half-tons you see in newspaper adds (“25% off MSRP!”) have barely changed since the 2009 model year.
Sure, Fiat Chrysler saw fit to bestow new engines, transmissions, and the RamBox on buyers, but with the crosshair grille and shapely flanks carrying over from previous generations, it seemed the Ram 1500 was incapable of significant change. And many liked it that way. It was a truck you could set your watch to.
No so, anymore. For 2019, the Ram 1500 undergoes its greatest transformation since 1994, piling on content and returning a familiar (though now electrified) engine lineup to the fold. Gone is the gunsight grille, replaced with new take on a design seen on uplevel Rams in recent years. The crew cab grows in length. Meanwhile, flatter flanks have relegating the mini Freightliner look to the history books. Well, almost.
The old Ram 1500 will continue in production for a couple of years, giving current-generation diehards a chance to add this dream pickup to their household. A majority of the TTAC crew prefers the looks of the old model to the new one. (One member, who’ll go unnamed, has it bad.)
With the 2019 model headed to dealer lots and the previous generation soldiering on for a time, Ram buyers are faced with a hard choice. The newest everything on one side, but classic style and attractive deals on the other. But maybe it isn’t a hard choice. There’s always some initial pushback when a new generation of vehicle eclipses a modern-day classic, but maybe the feelings aren’t so fickle in this case.
Tell us, B&B, is the new Ram too much of a departure for you? Will your next truck purchase be an older-model 1500, not the newer one (and not just because the dealer slashed prices)? Or, has growing familiarity with the 2019 model already turned you into a convert?
[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]
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I think I'd rather look at any previous Ram than that gaudy thing with tiny tires in the picture. But I'm sure some of the trim levels look okay.
That truck is just a padded vinyl roof and stand-up hood mascot away from being a Ram Royal Monaco Brougham, but, I suppose black wheels, peek-a-boo brake calipers and copious arrays of LEDs are today's version of 1970's "Brougham Kit".