![Nissan Maxima Turns 40, Gets the Birthday Treatment [UPDATED]](https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2021-20th-Anniv-Maxima-18-source-610x371-1.jpg)
Yet another special edition Ram pickup has landed for your trucking enjoyment. With the freshly renewed half-ton truck finally finding its way into showrooms, FCA is continuing to throw premium materials at its heavy-duty brother in an attempt to tide it over until an all-new machine bows for 2020.
Aimed squarely at wealthy cowboys who tow a lot of stuff, the 2018 Ram Heavy Duty Longhorn Ram Rodeo Edition (yes, the word “Ram” appears twice in its official title) is laden with leather, chrome, trailering gear, and badges the size of Texas belt buckles.
Based on the Longhorn trim, the Longhorn Ram Rodeo adds content to a pickup already sodden with luxury items. The interior of the now admittedly workaday Longhorn must make owners feel as if they’ve accidentally stepped into a cow barn, given that the Longhorn Ram Rodeo adds a suede headliner against contrasted interior colors such as Black or Cattle Tan.
Farmhands will know you’ve traded up to a Ram Rodeo thanks to this truck’s body-colored bumpers and side-steps. All-caps “Longhorn” badging continues to announce itself like a chrome billboard on the tailgate. Open that tailgate and one will find a bed already prepped for fifth-wheel and gooseneck hauling duties. There is also a bed-view camera to help with hitching. A rear air suspension tries to keep things on the level. There are a couple of skid plates underneath, too.
Six colors are on tap – black, a couple of whites, a grey, that fabulous Delmonico Red, and RV Match Walnut Brown. Laugh at the last option if you wish, but after spending four summers hauling a 37.5-foot camper around the Maritime provinces, your author can assure you that serious RV fanatics like it when their tow rig matches their trailer.
The Heavy Duty Longhorn Ram Rodeo Edition is available in just about any Ram HD configuration. Crew Cab or Mega Cab, 4×2 or 4×4, 6.4-liter Hemi or 6.7-liter Cummins – have it Your Way at the Ram dealer.
This is, of course, but a prelude to the 2020 Ram HD that will likely bow at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show in January. Spy shots floating around the internet prove that the next Ram HD will bear an interior very similar to the well-crafted cabin found in the new 2019 Ram 1500.
Development mules of the 2020 model have been spied roaming the streets of Michigan in a myriad of cab and bed configurations. Joyously, one has been spotted wearing wheels and off-road gear that strongly suggest the continuation of a Power Wagon trim.
Powertrains for the next Ram HD remain a mystery but it is certain the 6.7L Cummins diesel will return, possibly with a compacted graphite iron block replacing the current cast iron. Bank on a boost in torque, too, given that the Detroit Three are constantly chasing each other for numbers supremacy. I would not at all be surprised if Ram is the first manufacturer to crest 1000lb-ft of torque in a consumer truck.
Pricing for the Ram Rodeo start at $60,790 for a 2500 and $71,260 for a 3500. Neither of those prices includes $1,695 in destination fees. Look for them on dealer lots in Q3 of this year.
[Images: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]
L O N G P E N I S.
RAM. The truck that shows your horn is long. RAM delivers with the longest horn in class. When your horn length is in question, RAM is there.
I tried to buy one of these, but they would only sell me a Medium Horn Edition.
Something about “truth in advertising.”
Come on, don’t sell the name short. It is the 2018 Ram HD *Laramie* Longhorn Ram Rodeo Edition.
$60,000 Per.
Sales = Good.
Tax write off = Its mothers milk
That “LONGHORN RAM” badge would make a great belt buckle.
That was 100% its inspiration.
The even higher trimmed Limited and Tungsten models don’t have the belt buckle badge, since they aren’t “cowboy” themed.
Commercial:
Cowboy One: “I went with the new Ram HD Laramie Longhorn Ram Rodeo and got more.”
Cowboy Two: “More?”
Cowboy 1: attempts to walk with belt buckle made from a complete Ram front end, falls over “Mooooore”
Only if it’s narrated by Sam Elliott.
Back in the late 80s/early 90s my Dad dragged me to a dealer presentation from John Deere (he’s been a JD salesman since the late 70s). They showed a corporate product video to the assembled farmers that was narrated by Sam Elliott.
I could listen to him read a Wikipedia article and be enthralled.
Cowboy 3 steps in, helps Cowboy 1 up: “Here, lemme help you with that” and takes his huge buckle, puts it on his belt.
Cowboy 3 then walks on and despite that huge Ram front end on his belt he walks without any kind of effort. He looks back and says: “Son, this isn’t my first Rodeo!”
Not a fan of the big Longhorn logos stitched in the seats. Takes away from what appears to be an otherwise classy interior for the Cheddar.
“Well, what’ve you got?”
“Well, there’s the Ram HD Longhorn Ram Rodeo, Ram Mojave Sand Ram Custom, Ram Heavy Duty Ram Lone Star Ram Silver Edition, Ram Ram Laramie Limited Ram Southfork, Ram Ram Ram Bighorn Deep Ram Country, Ram Rebel….”
“Do you have anything without Ram in it?”
Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Lovely Ram! Wonderful Ram!….
Freaking Vikings!
Good game.
You have to love FCA. They know how to milk a brand with new special editions that serve the same purpose as the last special edition.
The “All-New” Special Edition 2018 Ram 2500 Laramie Special Edition LongHorn SouthFork 69th Anniversary Anodized Chrome Longhorn Laramie Special Editon, Edition.
If they build a SUV version will
it be the Longhorn Ram Rodeo Canyonero?
Looks like the perfect interim vehicle for all waiting for their Tesla M3.
Ram went from the best grill in the business to the worst. What were they thinking?
Sales of Mopar alternate grills?
As someone who fancies small, light cars, this makes it more evident how completely out of touch I am with the current market.
The bigger the belt buckle, the smaller the ranch.