Typically, not a lot of news comes out of the Dallas auto show. It’s a great show for Texans looking to see the latest new cars, but it’s not much of a news-maker beyond the Lone Star State. This year, however, something never seen before has shown up, and it is—surprise!—a pickup truck: the Ram Texas Ranger concept. No, it doesn’t have anything to do with the Texas Rangers baseball team; think more along the lines of Walker, Texas Ranger, only with four wheels and no beard.
Rendered in a white-and-silver-metallic paint treatment “that embodies the white hats and silver badges that the good guys always wear,” the Ram Texas Ranger was designed to highlight Ram’s partnership with the storied Texas law-enforcement agency as well as the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Waco.
The Ram Texas Ranger is festooned with Texas Ranger–badge motifs in the star-and-wheel shape first coined—literally—from five-peso Mexican silver coins in the middle of the last century. Two can be found on the fenders, another on the tailgate, and one in the center of each of its 20-inch chrome wheels. More Ranger badges adorn the brown-and-tan interior, which is stitched as ornately as your best cowboy boots. Four real Mexican five-peso coins are inlaid within the walnut door-panel trim—heads in front, tails in back—and the center console has a simulated galvanized finish. The concept’s door panels also feature tan stitching, and the steering wheel has a distressed-finish Ram badge.
The Ram Texas Ranger is only a concept at this point, making this—yes—the lone Ranger (we’re here all week, folks)—but Ram says it has not ruled out the possibility of a production version. If something like this were to be produced for the mass market—and Texas is itself a mass market for trucks—we’d expect the exterior badges to be toned down somewhat so it doesn’t look quite so much like a blinged-out law-enforcement vehicle.
- They’re Grrrreeeeeat! Ram Channels Its Inner Tiger With Orange and Black Special-Edition 1500 Sport Pickups
- Half-Ton Comparo: New Aluminum F-150 vs. Silverado, Tundra, Ram 1500
- Ram 1500 Research: Full Pricing, Specs, Reviews, and More
One has to wonder if Texans will ever get sick of being patronized this way, but based on the number of full-size Ford, GM, and now Ram trucks that are thus kitsch-ified, the appetite remains big.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1y6smHy
via Agya
