Hopefully This Isn't the Face of the 5th Generation Ram 1500 Pickup (Video)

A new commercial by the Chrysler Group bragging about winning Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year honors two years in a row has revealed an intriguing image of what could be a future Ram pickup but as a multiple Ram owner – I hope that this rendering is not the future of the award winning Ram 1500.

Although the Ford F Series pickup has been America’s bestselling truck and vehicle for almost 4 decades, the Ram pickup family has proven to be an innovator in the segment since long before Ram was a brand of its own. The Chrysler Group might not sell as many Ram pickups as Ford sells F Series models but Ram trucks have one of the biggest enthusiast followings in the automotive industry and much of that enthusiasm is centered around the powerful drivetrains, cutting edge technology and – of course – striking styling. Since the second generation Ram pickup was introduced for the 1994 model year, Chrysler’s pickups have been at the forefront of advanced truck design but the truck shown above (captured from the video shown below) looks like a substantial departure from the basic design cues that have been the Dodge and Ram trucks so popular over the past 40+ years.

That short video (which is included below) is your typical automaker commercial with the deep voice guy bragging about why the Ram 1500 is awesome with the emphasis being the fact that the half ton Ram has won the Motor Trend Truck of the Year award two years in a row. To many people this commercial may have been ignored as just another truck commercial but at the 3 second and 20 second mark of this commercial we get a look at a curious vehicle that appears to be some sort of Ram concept. A still from the 3 second mark is posted above and as you can see, this appears to be some sort of futuristic Ram brand vehicle from the front and while the Ram brand has been known for cutting edge exterior designs – this appears to be a touch too far into the future for my tastes.

This rendering is incredibly curvy – even for the Ram truck lineup that has traditionally been quick to introduce flowing lines to create great aesthetics and superior aerodynamics. We can see a bulging hood that sits amidst a raised hood that “runs” down to the top of the fenders and into the headlights. Based on that top line of the hood and fenders, you can definitely see the modern Ram styling in this rendering but the rest of the front end is what catches me up. First off, the bold crosshair grille design that has been a mainstay of the Dodge and Ram pickups for generations appears to be gone with one solid bar (or might it be an opening?) running across the middle of a fairly narrow grille with some sleepy eyed projection headlights and LED trim bits found inside some fairly bold accent pieces that enclose the entire grille and headlight area. It doesn’t look bad but it is hard to look at this curvy rendering and believe that this passive looking front end, small windshield and super low profile roofline would be found on the next generation Ram truck. The Ram brand has always gotten by on big, powerful and bold styling but the squashed looking face of this truck would be a huge departure from the looks of the 3rd and 4th generation Ram pickup. It doesn’t look bad but from what I can see here – as a longtime Ram truck owner – I have a hard time accepting this new front end as the future of the Ram pickup family.

What do you think that vehicle shown above is? Is it the next generation Ram truck or perhaps the long awaited replacement for the Dakota midsized pickup…or is this some new model (perhaps an SUV or crossover) that will join the Ram brand lineup in the near future? Tell us what you think this picture shows in the comment section below!

We have been wondering what the Chrysler Group has in store for the 2014 North American International Auto Show – perhaps a curvy concept from the Ram brand will serve as the big unveiling in a few weeks in Detroit.