By Edward A. Sanchez — Jan. 13, 2023

One of the most talked-about vehicles of 2023 CES was undoubtedly the Ram 1500 Revolution. The concept truck was jam-packed with clever and practical features that went above and beyond anything currently on the market, or on the immediate horizon (that we’re aware of). But the question, like with most concept vehicles, is how many of the bells and whistles on the concept vehicle will likely make it to a production truck?

Nothing shown on the Revolution concept is technically unfeasible, but putting everything and the kitchen sink in the truck would undoubtedly inflate the price to close to, if not above $100,000. This price point is not uncharted territory in either the premium SUV or full-size truck segment. But let’s be honest, if that’s the entry point, you’re going to lose a lot of potential customers. Even Ford, which launched the F-150 Lightning with a starting price of just below $40,000, ultimately raised the starting price to $56,000, citing supply constraints, and higher commodity prices for battery materials. However, $50-60k for a full-size truck is about middle of the road anymore. Ram could undoubtedly price the Revolution at that point and still be seen as a good value.

So what features will be or should be standard? I cherry-picked some of my favorite features and offer my opinion on both feasibility and desirability.

Frunk: Feasible – Yes; Desirable – Yes
This one’s a no-brainer. Every other full-size EV truck either currently on sale or announced has a decent-sized frunk. The key differentiator seems to be whether it has a front cut-down to enable easier loading, or not.

I pointed this out in my review of the Lordstown Endurance. Considering that truck’s intended use case, I have a somewhat better understanding of why Lordstown made the design decision it did, and why the frunk cut-down design is key to success in EV trucks like the Ram 1500 Revolution.

Full-Length Pass-through: Feasible – Plausible; Desirable – Yes
The full-length pass-through in the Revolution from the tailgate to the frunk is useful and clever. Barring some packaging constraint, I don’t see why it couldn’t make it to production. Will it be standard in all models? Maybe, maybe not. It might be a matter of it being standard in BEV models, and not available in range-extended models (for packaging for the generator engine and fuel tank). If Ram is clever enough in its packaging, there’s no reason it couldn’t be available in both.

Jump Seats: Feasible – Yes; Desirable – Neutral
The jump seats are a clever “what the heck” inclusion in what would otherwise be somewhat wasted (although not for cargo) space. Having had a closer look at them through some other outlets up-close reports and videos, I see them as more of a novelty than a truly useful day-to-day feature. If it’s only a 10-minute drive to lunch with some coworkers, or taking a few pre-teens to soccer or Taekwondo, they’re fine. But I certainly wouldn’t want to take a road trip in them.

They’ll probably make it on the options list, but I’m neutral in terms of my enthusiasm.

Midgate: Feasible – Yes; Desirable – Yes
If you’ve listened to The Watt Car Podcast or read many of my blog posts, you know I’m a former Chevy Avalanche owner, and a vocal advocate and fan of the midgate. I was thrilled when Chevy announced the feature would make a comeback in the Silverado and Sierra EV. I’m sure GM has its design patented in the early 2000s when the Avalanche first came out. But those patents have since expired.

Other than the engineering challenges of chassis rigidity, NVH considerations, and weather/moisture sealing, this is one of those “no-brainer” features that I’m surprised more trucks don’t have.

So of course, when I saw it announced for the Revolution, I was like, “Now we’re talkin’!” Once again, this is a feature I see being on the options sheet, or limited to certain trims or models. But I see it being a very popular option.

Autonomous “Shadowing”: Feasible – Plausible; Desirable – Potentially
When the “shadowing” mode was announced at CES, I joked with a fellow show attendee, “Yeah, cool until it decides to go rogue!” Which elicited a smile and a chuckle. While I made the comment partially in jest, cybersecurity remains a major concern among all OEMs, as nearly all new cars on the market have some form of telematics and persistent connectivity.

If a malicious hacker could get into the root powertrain control software for an individual vehicle, or even fleet-wide with this feature, and one of the vehicles ends up running over its owner, that has class-action lawsuit written all over it. I definitely see the practicality of this feature for hunters, farmers, ranchers, or those who have to do surveying or other work on foot, but would like their vehicles to remain close by.

There would need to be multiple safeguards in place for me to be comfortable with this, including a maximum speed limit, domain isolation (specifically enhanced/secured for this mode), and a failsafe where it immediately disables the function when it detects intrusion. However, cybersecurity is a constant cat-and-mouse game, and just when OEMs think their security is ironclad, that’s just an invitation for an ingenious hacker or collective to figure out a way to circumvent it.

Four-Wheel-Steering: Feasible – Yes; Desirable – Yes
Four-wheel steering, which has seen a revival in popularity lately after briefly popping up in the late 1980s and early ’90s on models such as the Honda Prelude, is now making its way to luxury sedans and full-size trucks. GM flirted with it in the early 2000s with Quadrasteer, a feature that was very popular among owners, and even relatively mechanically robust and reliable. But cost-cutting measures put a premature end to it.

There’s no getting around the fact that long-wheelbase full-size trucks can be cumbersome to maneuver in urban or suburban environments. Many owners would gladly pay extra for this feature. But with an estimated price of several thousand, just from a hardware perspective, this may be a feature that’s best left on the option sheet rather than as standard equipment.

Collapsible Steering Wheel/L3 Autonomy: Feasible – Plausible; Desirable; Neutral
Of course, being a concept vehicle, the Revolution had to have a nod to the autonomous future that’s been promised to us for the last six years. “Highway pilot” hands-free cruise control systems are now relatively commonplace, and there’s little reason to think such a system will not be included in some form on the production model.

The tricky issue is the “handoff” when the system prompts the driver to take over control. Even in Level 2+ mode, if the steering wheel is front-and-center, an attentive driver can grab hold of it within a second or less. If the steering wheel and column is retracted, it’s probably 5-6 seconds, and an accident or emergency scenario can happen in split-seconds.

I see the practicality of this feature when the vehicle is parked or stationary. Indeed, the latest version of the Ford Transit Custom in Europe has this feature in a production model, but only when the vehicle is parked. I’m not saying this feature will never make it to production, but likely not in the immediate future. All conceivable safety/accident scenarios need to be taken into consideration, and regulators satisfied before this makes it to production.

Range Extender: Feasible – Yes; Desirable – Yes
I applaud Ram for addressing the elephant in the room about EV trucks – range degradation while towing or hauling. This is well-documented, and the fodder for many right-wing conspiracy theorists, YouTubers, etc. While Ford and GM seem to be all-in on the pure-battery approach, Ram has taken a more pragmatic view of where the current market, technology, and charging infrastructure is.

Ram will have a decisive edge in the marketplace with a range-extender. This will bring peace-of-mind to many potential buyers who have a curiosity and interest in electric trucks, but real concerns about range while towing. Add to that the underwhelming state of the DCFC charging infrastructure in many parts of the country, it’s not at all paranoid to want a little more reassurance when towing in remote areas.

My question is what the packaging and tradeoffs of this option will be. There will inevitably be some. Looking at the STLA Frame chassis, the buck on display at CES showed a gap between the front cross-beam and the battery pack. Potentially enough for a side-mounted or horizontally opposed engine generator and/or fuel tank. My guess is the range-extender option may come at the expense of a larger battery (which will likely be offered in pure BEV models) and a possible sacrifice in the size of the frunk, or sacrifice of the full-length pass-through, but not necessarily.

Final Thoughts
I applaud the Ram design team for their imagination with the Revolution concept. Based on interviews with Ram Brand CEO Mike Koval, the team was given free rein to come up with features they thought would add practicality, value, or “surprise and delight” to owners. The concept truck undoubtedly got the attention of Ford, GM, and probably Rivian, Tesla, and others.

Until it’s in showrooms, and pricing and features are finalized, it’s still just a concept. But a promising one at that.

(Images courtesy Ram)

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