Holy cow! Tacoma and ridge line had a baby!

I like that. My biggest gripe with compact trucks, particularly more modern ones, is the bed-space or lack thereof. It makes no sense to me when an automaker produces a compact truck with a big crew cab and/or four doors, and then "oh yeah let's put this teeny tiny bed on the back so we can call it a truck". If someone needs to haul around four people and groceries, a compact truck isn't going to be the best option. Like @WV_Taco alluded to, why not just buy an SUV? If I ever buy a compact truck, I'll be looking for more bed space than cabin space. Full-sized trucks with crew cabs on the other hand make a little more sense to me; even a "short" bed on a full-size truck is plenty big, at least for me. I think for a compact truck to make sense, it needs to maximize bed space, otherwise you're better off buying an SUV.

 

I think the Rampage was inspired by the VW Rabbit Pickup, vaguely recall earlier Horizon's and Omni's even coming with VW Rabbit engines.

 

I had a Horizon and it did indeed have a VW engine.

 

That makes much more sense than the quad cab with the teeny bed, especially for guys who yearn for the good old days when a 2WD RC is all they needed.

 

I basically learned to drive on a truck just like the one in your pic. 4cyl, 4-speed manual, red, grey vinyl bench seat, no rear bumper. Loved that thing. Would buy another just like it if they were still available.

 

Almost as cool as my first vehicle ‘72 El Camino Baby!

 

Stellantis might want to market that as a Jeep, it already looks like a Cherokee. Ram has a big following, no need to bring more foot traffic to Ram dealers. Jeeps are popular, but they only sell Jeeps.

It would be an insult to the Dodge Dakota name plate, to market the Ram 700 as a Dakota. I'd name it the Jeep Gladiator Sport.

Ram is also a truck brand. Not a FWD CUV brand, if Ram was still Dodge that would be fine. The Maverick works for Ford, because hasn't branded it self a truck only brand. Although Ford is synonymous with truck.
Probably why Dodge rebranded their truck line as Ram.

 

Hells to the yeahs! Had a ‘72 Chevelle.

not a ‘72, but bad ass none-the-less…

https://vimeo.com/78286502?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=1975390

My aunt had the 4WD version, it was the truck that got me into Toyotas.

 

Yup... I can't stand those idiots who copied the designs from others and revised them then put them in production.. Ford vs Mercury for example.

Which is why I told some people that I said "No one is original these days. All they do is copy and revise."

 

BMW is probably working on a 1series variant to take on the Ford Maverick.