I'm extremely disappointed in the looks of the new Ram ProMaster... In almost all other aspects it seems like an excellent vehicle that promises to be able to go toe to toe with the competition's best vans, but it looks like something Daimler would come up with; a hack job. I'm talking shades of the ridiculously oversized black hubcaps on the later Sprinters hack job. I understand that form follows function in work vans, and looks aren't really much of a concern, but it looks like they popped the Fiat badge off with a screwdriver, cut the plastic on the front a little wider (haven't we gotten to the point where we can make plastics in something OTHER than matte black/grey?) and glued a Ram badge on. It looks terrible, in my opinion.
Seems to me that Ram could have done a tie-in with the recent popularity of "retro" styling and reviving old nameplates and call it the A1500/2500/3500, the A representing a "new start" for the Ram van line. They could have styled it after the old A vans from the '60s, which were very powerful sellers for Dodge, and splashed "RAM" across the hood in huge letters where the original said "DODGE". It would help to define a brand that people are still confused about, made the van look less European (to me, current European styling, especially with fleet vehicles like vans, seems to be what would be considered "futuristic" in the mid '90s, it's awful), and would have given Ram a distinct, positive, current image while tying back to a uniquely American (the new van is distinct... but not in a good way, IMO). I know that there would be extra issues with producing and styling a new front end, but I think it would attract people to the product and would give Ram a better image as an American brand rather than an American brand owned by Europeans.
Seems to me that Ram could have done a tie-in with the recent popularity of "retro" styling and reviving old nameplates and call it the A1500/2500/3500, the A representing a "new start" for the Ram van line. They could have styled it after the old A vans from the '60s, which were very powerful sellers for Dodge, and splashed "RAM" across the hood in huge letters where the original said "DODGE". It would help to define a brand that people are still confused about, made the van look less European (to me, current European styling, especially with fleet vehicles like vans, seems to be what would be considered "futuristic" in the mid '90s, it's awful), and would have given Ram a distinct, positive, current image while tying back to a uniquely American (the new van is distinct... but not in a good way, IMO). I know that there would be extra issues with producing and styling a new front end, but I think it would attract people to the product and would give Ram a better image as an American brand rather than an American brand owned by Europeans.