We were fortunate enough to sit down with Mike Manley, Head of Ram and Jeep brands, today at the LA Auto Show. Manley was open and candid with us on a number of important topics related to Ram truck, including where he sees the brand going, the possibly of the Ram Rebel TRX being more than a concept, and the possibility of re-entering the mid-size truck market.

On the topic of the TRX actually seeing production, Manley was clear in desire for it to happen.

“I believe it would be very important for the brand to do it,” he said. “I think we have all of the technology to do it, the power train, the suspension, we have the drivelines, we have everything we need, we have the frame that we would need to do it. I’m a big supporter of that project. We are literally in the middle of working through, frankly, the financials of does it actually make sense.”

MORE: 6 Things to Know About Ram Rebel TRX Concept Truck

Manley made the comparison of the TRX to another idea bounced around in recent years: the Jeep pickup truck.

“The best thing I can tell you is no one thought we would ever do the Jeep pickup,” he said. “I always believed in the Jeep pickup. We’re now going to do the Jeep pickup, so we were able to get the resources from FCA. I have a very similar feeling about [the TRX].”

When asked if the mid-size market is something Ram would be interested in re-entering, Manley was clear: “Absolutely. I think when we first separated Ram out that was done with a very clear vision of what we could do with expanding the range that Ram had, and that was a very very deliberate move not just so we could clean up our approach to the marketplace but we were then more free to expand the Ram brand.”

The mid-size truck market, and its recent success is something Ram is closely watching, and it sounds like there’s a real chance we may see a Ram-branded mid-size truck in the future.

“We’re exploring that, and that naturally puts back on the table re-entering the mid-size section in the U.S.,” he said. “So it’s very much on our radar.”