Internet Commenters React to the 2019 Ram 1500

Matthew Guy / January 29, 2018

We’ve had more than a week to digest the new Ram 1500 and the ditching of its signature crosshair grille. So how are keyboard warriors and industry experts receiving the change? We put on our hazmat suits and combed through the minefield of internet comments to find out.

There’s no shortage of opinion about the styling direction, and we’ll get to those in a moment. If you haven’t yet formed an opinion on how the truck looks, take a moment to view our mega gallery of over 200 photos of the new Ram 1500.

What amazes this author is the positive reception to the truck’s new 48-volt eTorque hybrid system. Pickup buyers are not generally known to embrace change, so when this author learned that every V6 Ram would be a hybrid (and its appearance as an option on the venerable HEMI), I figured the commentariat would look upon it with the type of suspicion one would look upon a lump of plutonium that just appeared in the lettuce crisper.

“Sure got my interest,” said one, pictured standing next to an EcoDiesel 1500. Some even opined that Ram didn’t go far enough with the hybrid system, calling for a configuration that would allow the truck to move under its own power using only electricity like the, erm, Chevy Volt. Not sure I’d go that far.

A straw poll of our own readers showed that the majority of those who responded think the Ram is now the best looking of the Detroit Three pickups.

Have Your Say in Our Poll: What’s the Best Looking New Half-Ton Pickup from the Big Three?

Over at the diesel Cummins forum, folks were on either side in terms of Ram’s new style, either professing they’re glad they got a current model or positively comparing it to a Durango. This may be damning with faint praise; we’ll leave you to make up your own mind about the Durango remark.

For the record, this author thinks the 2019 Ram is as big of (if not more) of a statement and departure than the new-for-1994 model which ushered in the aggro-look we know today. Why? Today, pickups represent a much larger financial bottom line to a manufacturer than it did twenty five years ago. Plenty of people are buying them as family rigs, something few did in ’94. There’s a lot riding on the success of a truck and to depart significantly from a well-trodden path certainly takes a leap of faith on Ram’s part.

Naturally, plenty of Luddites hammered away at their keyboards bemoaning the appearance of a jumbotron in the Ram’s dashboard. Fortunately for them, a simple radio is still available, but they will be forced to give up their Duran Duran cassettes.

In a surprisingly measured response – especially since we’re dealing with forum commenters here – one user, who lists himself as a ‘Cummins Fanatic’ opined that Ram should’ve taken the opportunity to introduce a turbo gas engine instead of relying on eTorque to improve efficiency. With the company coffers freshly vacuumed clean thanks to paying for the 2019 revamp, that wishlist item could be a few years away.

What are your thoughts on the new Ram? Add your opinions in the comment section below.