FCA Design Requests Wild Ram Drawings, the Community Responds

Ram 1500 front end was applied to a Hellcat Challenger with a bed to showcase the sketch battle.

Around noon on April 8, the FCA North America Facebook page announced an impromptu sketch battle that focused on unique Ram truck designs. This battle is being headed-up by FCA design heads Ralph Gilles and Mark Trostle, and to kick things off, the FCA Design team created the unique RAMpage concept shown above. That Ram 1500-Challenger hybrid is featured on the flyer to promote the contest, which ends just 29 hours after it started, but there are already some great entries on the company’s Facebook page.

Ram Sketch Battle

The Ram Sketch Battle introduced on April 8 and ending on April 9 is part of the company’s annual Drive for Design contest. This year, that contest is focusing on Ram trucks, so this sketch battle also focuses on FCA’s pickups. The rules are simple. Gilles and Trostle want to see “your wickedest and most outrageous designs for a Ram truck”. Unlike the official Drive for Design contest, this sketch battle is open to everyone, not just high school students looking to get into a career in automotive design.

To offer an idea of what Gilles, Trostle and the FCA Design team had in mind when talking about the wickedest and most outrageous Ram trucks, they created the RAMpage shown above. As you can see, it has the grille, headlights and hood of a new Ram 1500 with the lower front fascia, chassis and greenhouse of a Hellcat Challenger. Out back, it has a short cargo box, creating a very muscular modern-day rendition of the old Dodge Rampage pickup.

That unique Challenger-based Ram pickup was showcased on the flyer with the official rules and instructions for the sketch battle, as shown here.

Impressive Entries

The length of this sketch battle is pretty brief, running from noon on April 8 and ending at 5 p.m. on April 9, so artists don’t have a whole lot of time to pen their creations.

Fortunately, there have been many entries already, ranging from some that are actually sketched with a pencil to some that have clearly been created using advanced computer programs. Regardless of the format, there are some very cool ideas and there are some very strange ideas. Image above is by Anton Ostaptchouk.

We suggest that you click here to visit the official contest thread on the FCA Facebook page, where you can view all of the entries in the comments. We have picked a handful to share here and as you can see, we have picked some that are obviously based on the current Ram pickups and some that are more futuristic. Image above by Miguel Leal.

Longtime Ram and Dodge truck enthusiasts are likely to recognize some vintage cues with the trucks that we have chosen. There is a Viper-inspired truck, a Hellcat truck, a futuristic Rebel and even a modern take on the 6-by-6 1997 T-Rex. There is even an SRT Dakota that many mid-sized truck lovers are likely to enjoy. Image above by David Scott Neal II.

This sketch battle is sudden and short, but with so many people stuck inside with nothing to do and so little automotive news, this contest gives artists something to do and fans of the brand something to enjoy. Image by Muhamad Shammas.

Above image is by Ali Hernandez.

Above image by Ricky Ryan Goimarac.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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