The Ford Maverick has spent two years proving massive demand for compact trucks in the United States and strutting around the compact truck space pretty much all alone. (Yes, there’s also a Hyundai Santa Cruz there; it’s pretty quiet). The Maverick has been such a sales smash that Ford recently prepared shoppers for the idea that there will be a shortage of them again in its third year of production.
Officially, the Ram Rampage is not coming to the U.S. But Ram could do a better job with that cover story. The all-new Rampage has American flags for taillights.
For now, Ram says this truck is designed for sale in Brazil. The truck was unveiled in a video on Ram’s Brazilian YouTube page yesterday. Curiously, it features some English-language commentary from outgoing Ram CEO Mike Koval. Hmmm.
The Rampage is a compact, unibody pickup just like the Maverick. Multiple media reports this morning speculate that it carries the Hurricane 4-cylinder engine from the Dodge Hornet and Jeep Wrangler 4xe, but the video doesn’t confirm that.
For now, all anyone can say for sure is that Ram is selling what looks like a Maverick competitor, complete with stars-and-stripes taillights, outside the U.S. But Ram enthusiast site Mopar Insiders has caught photos of what may be a disguised Rampage in testing on Detroit streets.
Chevrolet is reportedly working on its own Maverick rival as well.
