Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Ram Macho Power Wagon Concept off-road pickup

In the 1970s, Dodge came out with the Macho appearance package for the W150 Power Wagon pickup. It was oh, so 1970s and very, uh, macho. Dodges so equipped were so manly that they practically sprouted chest hair. Now the 1970s are back! At least they are at Fiat Chrysler, which for the 2016 SEMA show in Las Vegas has given its already muscular-looking Ram 2500 Power Wagon a makeover that's Macho.

The Macho Power Wagon, as Ram is calling it, is a concept, but there's little that couldn't easily be ported over to a production model. To keep the vertically oriented Macho package's Power Wagon black stripe going, Ram added a sail panel behind the cab (which is nearly entirely covered by the stripe); the panel doubles as a housing for the conceptual sliding cargo rack, seen here supporting a kayak. Oh, and if that matte-black stripe package looks familiar, that's because it's a faithful remake of the original Dodge Macho package's kit.

More to the Macho point, the Ram sits on a four-inch suspension lift and wears 37-inch Nitto Trail Grappler tires wrapped around beadlock wheels. A front bumper with an integrated winch and tow hooks looks the business, while the black plastic fender flares pump out the Ram's shoulders even more. We think it would have been really Macho to put Dodge's Hellcat supercharged Hemi V-8 engine in the concept, but instead it uses a more demure 6.4-liter V-8, albeit with a cold-air intake.

It also took extreme restraint on our part to wait until this point to discuss the Macho truck's paint, but here goes: It's an amazingly bright orange, and it is named Macho Mango (as in: Macho Man, Go!). Chrysler's pre-eminence in awesome paint colors (and awesome names for them) continues, people. Should Ram man up and build it? Our staffers who lived through the 1970s say yes, while the younger ones like the idea of anything auto related named Macho. One female among us, assistant buyer's guide editor Annie White, simply rolled her eyes.
__________
► If you love cars, you should subscribe now https://www.youtube.com/c/dodymotors
subscription You will receive the latest automotive News.
GOOD LUCK