The first Ram 1500 electric pickup will be revealed in concept form in November. Ram CEO Mike Koval said it will "exceed" the competition's capabilities.
Ford, the automaker synonymous with big pickups, is about to introduce a new compact truck, one considerably smaller than its popular midsize Ranger.
The little pickup is likely to be called “Maverick,” a name Ford last used for a popular compact car it built in the 1970s. It should go on sale in the third quarter of this year.
The plan isn’t without risk. American buyers have repeatedly spurned pickups engineered and sized like the 2022 Maverick, dismissing them as not being “real” pickups because they’re small, less capable and look cute or goofy rather than tough.
Small pickups built on car-type, or unibody, platforms have an uninterrupted history of disappointing in the U.S. Examples largely forgotten include the Volkswagen Rabbit pickup and Subaru s Brat and Baja. The bigger unibody Honda Ridgeline a midsize like the Ranger has won awards, but never sold anywhere near as well as competitors built on traditional pickup chassis.