Ram Truck jumps on the beardwagon

Expert photo illustration by Jacob Black

Many people say they see a face when they look at the front end of a car, but the Ram Truck design team may have been taking that idea too seriously when they drew up the brand’s new Rebel pickup trim package.

Apparently, the Ram 1500 (originally the Dodge Ram) has had a “beard” since the 1994 redesign that introduced the grille that has since become a hallmark of the Ram brand, and that played-out facial hair trend was central to the look of the Ram 1500 Rebel’s front end styling.

Okay, sure, that silver skid plate-looking piece could pass for a beard, but honestly, we’ve been too distracted by the mass of black plastic above the bumper to notice it, so it’s a good thing the folks at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles pointed it out to us so we could mock it.

Ram Truck’s senior creative designer Michael Gillam calls the truck market the “most conservative, design-wise, market in the world.” Which explains perfectly why pickup buyers are spending upwards of $60,000 on trucks that look like a chrome plating machine vomited on them.

Watch out, Ram Truck dealers: now that the hipsters and lumbersexuals know you’re paying homage to their questionable senses of style, they’ll be lining up to buy your pickups. Just be prepared to explain why the cupholders aren’t built for mason jars, and there’s no plaid paint option.