CES 2023: A Dodge Ram EV finally exists
Dodge Ram, the third most popular line of trucks in America, is about to exist in EV form.
A bold new concept vehicle rolled out Thursday by parent company Stellantis for CES is, according to a press release, going to inform an official Ram production model that will be on the road "in 2024," with details "to be introduced in the coming months."
The name they’re going with is "Ram 1500 Revolution," and it’s doubtful that has anything to do with the actual revolution in the year 1500 in the Spanish city of Granada, but you never know.
Point is, whether or not this truck is truly "revolutionary," the competition has already lapped Dodge, so Stellantis had to at least go big with its flagship EV pickup. Ford’s F-150 Lightning started production last year. The Chevy Silverado EV will go into production in the coming months. And with Rivian pickups already on the road, not to mention the 800-pound gorilla in the room, the Tesla Cybertruck, reportedly about to go into production this year, Dodge was looking a little behind the times.
But with this concept, Dodge is coming out swinging. Ford and Chevy EV pickups mostly conform to our preconceived notion of what a big, meaty pickup should look like. Ram hasn't gone full Cybertruck, but it's stuck out it’s neck a bit more than its main competitors, presenting a high-tech-looking design that clearly marks this as something other than just another Ram. The press release says the 1500 Revolution’s designers "set out to revolutionize the pickup truck segment by creating an ultra-modern concept that exudes heroic strength." That checks out.
As far as features and doohickeys, the new Ram concept is overflowing with them. There’s an AI-powered in car personal assistant with voice commands, "My Day" a proprietary trip-planning system, button-activated Cabin Modes like "Productivity Mode" and "Party Mode," an augmented reality heads-up display meant to extend the driver’s peripheral vision, an "intelligent storage" system to assess whether you can actually fit that massive toolbox you’re trying to carry, integration with your smart home, and an external movie projector for, y’know, movie nights.
There’s also a feature — and again, this is just a concept — called “Shadow Mode,” which allows the driver to exit their truck, and then walk with the un-piloted truck inching along behind them obeying their voice commands like a well-trained dog. It's a slightly alarming-sounding feature, but in practice, maybe it's a no-brainer that all cars should have had a long time ago.
But it's the design that's clearly meant to make a statement. From the animated (yes, animated) LED emblem on the front, to the undeniable Dick Tracy-ishness of the whole thing, to the promise in the 1500 Revolution's press materials that this "points directly to where we’re going on our electrified journey," it's clear that Stellantis and Dodge aren't phoning it in with their ongoing company-wide electrification.