Surprise! This is the updated 2025 Ram HD pickup truck, and although we don’t have many details on it, Ram is giving the world a full, undisguised look ahead of the truck’s launch. It’s a weird move, but there’s actually some sound justification for it. Here’s the full statement from the makers of this rig:
As we approach the reveal of our 2025 Ram Heavy Duty, the engineering teams are conducting final testing on one of the most important performance attributes of our heavy haulers: cooling. As the trucks will be running loose in the wild, with the camouflage removed, we wanted to share some quality exterior images with you rather than a badly lit snapshot out the window at 70 mph.
The formal reveal of the 2025 Ram Heavy Duty will take place at a later date. At that time, we will provide more details on design, powertrain and technology.
Alright, so although dropping full-on photos of a new vehicle without releasing details may sound weird, Stellantis has good reason to. It’s ridiculously hard to test cooling capability with camouflage on, and leaks often spoil hype. If these trucks are going to be tested on public roads undisguised, it makes sense to get ahead of the story, right?
There’s just one problem I can see — it seems like nobody actually took a step back from the clay model because my word, this has to be the least visually attractive Ram truck ever.
[Editor’s Note: I actually think the new truck looks decent, especially compared to the 2006-2008 Ram:
Yikes! -DT]
America is going through a phase of over-mawed heavy duty pickup trucks. Certain trims of Ford Super Duty have a grille that looks like the element on an electric oven. The Chevrolet Silverado HD looks like someone crashed the clay model into a shipping container nose-first. The GMC Sierra HD looks like its grille surround was designed in Microsoft Word. Check these out:
But none of them hold a candle to the bizarro stuff going on with the 2025 Ram HD.
Just look at the front end on the Rebel trim. This thing has vertical slats, horizontal slats, an entirely different type of mesh in the lower grille, weird almost-lung-shaped elements, and it’s all just so busy. You almost get the sense that the point at which to stop adding styling elements was long ago, and that the finished product might’ve been better if someone just paused more often in the design process. The current model isn’t a huge looker either, but this is just such a fuss.
Zooming on on the other trims shown off, the monochrome treatment on the red three-quarter ton is better, but still busy. Merely having two styles of grilles on one truck is an improvement over three, but the grille silhouette is overstyled compared to the one on most trims of the current truck, and surely there has to be a better way of integrating the radar sensor, right? Oh, and painting the entire front of the work truck trim satin black is certainly a choice, but it feels more like an attempt at disguising sins than anything else. On the plus side, if you do like simplicity, both the cab and the bed seem to be shared with the previous generation of heavy duty Ram, and while that is an ancient truck, if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it, right?
Part of the trouble is that massive grilles are a technical requirement for getting the cooling system capability that heavy duty truck customers need. If you’re pulling something like a loaded enclosed two-car trailer up a mountain, you don’t want your rig overheating, so big radiators and big airflow are critical. At the same time, there has to be a more tasteful way of styling around those needs than this. Maybe if NHTSA gets its way with revised pedestrian safety standards, we could see handsome heavy duty pickups again. Or maybe it’ll go the other direction. Who knows. The distant future’s hard to predict, but the near future is going to have this bizarre looking truck on the roadway before you know it. Oink.
(Photo credits: Ram, Dodge, Ford, Chevrolet, GMC)
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I’m not a fan of the new model… but not because it looks ugly. I dislike it because they made it taller than the already tall current model.
The height of modern trucks is getting ridiculous.
Based on what evidence?
It’s almost certainly the same height as before because it’s the same truck as before, just with a different grille design.
I’m looking at the picture and the new one looks a bit taller than the old one. Have a look and compare the top of the hood and the top of the mirrors
If this new one isn’t taller, then I’ll eat my hat!!!
(actually I won’t really).
The 2024 model isn’t pictured anywhere on this page, let alone next to the 2025. What you’re looking at are the various designs of 2025 grilles based on trim.
Well it looks taller and more imposing than the current one to me.
But no, don’t you see? They need to have huge front ends because they have to fit massive radiators because you have to be able to tow 476,000 pounds at the drop of a hat with a vehicle you also use to drive to McDonald’s. There’s literally no other vehicle that exists that could tow a heavy load other than a mass-produced pickup truck. We have to make them all into these grotesque abominations with the sightlines of a WW2 bunker or else the most divorced guy you’ve ever met won’t feel like a real big boy any more 🙁
My bet that there is nothing happening, no radiator, a void, above the ram logo.
You do know that Ram has the highest percentage of women buyers?
Personality disorders know no gender.
Neither does personal choice. 😉
I nearly finished a “there’s more than pickup trucks you friggin idiot” rant before I realized this was sarcastic. 😛
Anything this porcine has to be good in mud, right?
I think it would rather roll around in the mud, as it would need the surface area of the roof to avoid sinking under its weight and getting stuck. Maybe it eats garbage too? The different grill elements are spots for paper, plastic, and trash?
“LOOKS GREAT TO ME” – The worst guy you’ve ever met
Did they fire the design team and just get AI to vomit something out?
Is there a shortage of car designers? Or are the one’s graduating somehow being given participation grades? I just don’t understand how there can be such a prevalence of terrible car design across many different manufacturers.
Marketing = The cop from Pulp Fiction
Designers = The gimp from Pulp Fiction
That’s a Sustainability move. Everyone that looks at it will feel sick, barf and pass out. Only those that really really need to tow the moon will get one. This may save about 12 polar bears during the lifecycle of this generation.
Pretty sure there is no need for such a high hood (again).
Pretty sure it could be 15 to 20 inches lower.
Well at least when the 2025 RAM collides with my too-soft body, it’ll leave a neat pattern on my corpse. Assuming I don’t explode on impact.
The new front end resembles a $5 cheese grater from IKEA. Fugly as all get out
As this write up already suggests, isn’t pretty on par for the segment for the initial reaction to be “why did they do that?”
I seem to remember the same write up from the Super Duty and GM HD launches.
We have definitely been getting slow-boiled into busy, ugly design being the norm. And, yeah, I assume we’ll get used to this, too. Maybe not the Cybertruck, but most designs, if seen often enough, sort of numb us to everything we dislike about them.
That top shot is Gold. Nice work Pete!
What’s Ram’s logo at this point?
It looks like just RAM? Or does the older ram’s head badge ever make an appearance anymore?
Yes, I think it is just “RAM” as large as possible.
I’ve seen people move the letters around so it spells “WAR”, which is certainly… a choice. They’re probably fascinating to talk to at parties.
BMW: I’m going for the Euro-trash Gopher look!
RAM: Hold my beer….
At least the list of vehicles that make me start laughing just from seeing a picture keeps getting longer, sometimes getting on automotive news sites feels like reading the onion at this point
David, that may not be the best-looking pickup ever, but it’s not this bad. It had a much cleaner design language. I like a downward slope on a hood–it improves visibility. A busy grill with a tall hood doesn’t have redeeming qualities, in my opinion.
This is my thought as well. The mid-aughts were not exactly lookers, but they weren’t quite so aggressively ugly. The trucks from GM and Ford aren’t a lot better, but they are better.
I want whatever DT’s drinking or smoking, because it has to be some extremely good stuff… especially to say the ’06-’08’s look worse.
I agree with DT. The 06-08 HDs were a low point in Ram design IMO
I call that the aardvark phase of Dodge truck design. I like the front end on my 2014 Ram a lot better. That 2025 is a monstrosity, though.
It’s past the point that the hood height is way too high.
I say if you want one, you need a CDL to buy it.
Yes! I’ve long advocated that we need to have weight limits on the DL classes so you have to demonstrate a higher skill level before you’re allowed to drive around other humans in a 6-10Klb, rolling murder machine.
6k+ would catch every EV truck/SUV, for reference. If you went by GVWR it would get the Model X too.
I’m ok with this. It needs to start forcing the manufacturers to start caring about how heavy these really are.
Full size trucks are so big now people need to show they can actually keep the damned things in their own lane. If you want to have your Hummer EV at over 9,000lbs, prove you can drive it first before it tears up the roads and scares all the children.
We are past the point of the cars being reasonably sized. I don’t advocate bans on certain vehicles because this other thing is, “all anyone needs,” but I do think that something needs to be implemented to encourage/push lighter vehicles.
It’s better for safety, road wear/tear, fuel economy/efficiency etc. So, yeah I think 6,000 lbs is a good place to start. So many vehicles fit in that 4500-5500lb range that they can be exempt. But start making them smaller/weigh less or people will have to prove they can handle it (which they won’t, they’ll choose the smaller car before they’ll visit the DMV, so a win either way) or they don’t have a license to drive it.
I’m good with catching those. Heavy EVs are especially dangerous in the hands of unskilled drivers. Instant acceleration with a really heavy vehicle.
Dodge dropped the crosshair grille so Ram could use it, then Ram drops it’s super recognizable grille for generic ugliness.
When something like the Cybertruck sets the bar for repulsiveness, it gives
DodgeRam a lot of room to work with.I’m gonna be sick
“grill looks like it was designed in Microsoft Word” is possibly the most ruthless burn I’ll hear all day.
PS Yay notification bell!
I agree with DT, this is much better looking than the Cerebus-era trucks.
I do wonder how long they are going to keep going with this cab though.
I agree that hardly any truck looks worse than those Cerberus era examples. It’s a low bar, but this design certainly clears it.
With a turbo diesel these become Ram Whistle Pigs.
There is just way too much going on with that Rebel grill.
It looks like those old computer terminals that would just display gibberish symbols when something would crash, all ” <<III>>//////\\\\\\VVVVVVVV[[[[[[]]]]]]]”.
I’m more curious about the technology offerings this 2025 Ram will have.
The truck looks like it’s crying because it’s so sad about how ugly it’s become.
I just have to say: The bell is back!
Thank you Autopian!
I’m rolling thunder, pouring rain,
I’m comin’ on like a hurricane,
My lightnins’ flashing across the sky,
You’re only young but you’re gonna die.
I won’t take no prisoners, won’t spare no lives,
Nobody’s putting up a fight,
I got my Bell, I’m gonna take you to Hell,
I’m gonna get ya, Satan get ya.
Oh, Hell’s Bells,
Yeah, Hell’s Bells,
You got me ringing Hell’s Bells,
My temperature’s high, Hell’s Bells.
Yay the bell is back! Not-yay, I have 98 notifications…
Just got through 148 back notifications. Gotta rest my index finger.
Best news. The Delete All actually works now.
My bell is back and showing 39 notifications, but nothing happens when I click on it. Odd.
I use Chrome but for some reason have to use Firefox for bell to work
It only does it when I use Chrome on my phone, on desktop it seems to work fine.