The Ram Macho Power Wagon concept is totally in your face with its cool rack system
Tue, Nov 1 2016The Ram brand isn't being very subtle with this year's SEMA concept. It's called the Macho Power Wagon, and it's painted in Macho Mango. Yeah, it's for dudes. We apologize if you start hearing a Village People song in the back of your head.
This bigger, badder Ram is a throwback to the Macho Power Wagon of the late 1970s. Along those lines, it bears the retro, vertical Power Wagon graphics that line the C-pillar, and it also has vintage-style eight-spoke beadlock wheels inspired by its '70s namesake. Those wheels are shod in huge 37-inch tires, which fit thanks to a four-inch suspension lift, and custom, conceptual fender flares.
The truck is powered by the normal Power Wagon's 6.4-liter V8, rather than the crazy TRX concept's supercharged Hemi, and it has the stock front winch. This Ram also sports quite a few concept parts besides the wheels and fender flares. Starting at the front and moving rearward, the Macho Wagon gets custom bumpers with skid plates and tow hooks, a new hood with big heat extractors, an LED light bar, a roof rack, single-piece running-boards, and five-inch exhaust tips.
There's one more custom piece in back. Immediately behind the C-pillar is a sport hoop, under which hides another hoop that can slide along tracks on the bed. These hoops together are called the Ramrack, and when the second hoop is moved back along the bed, it works together with the cab's roof rack to create a long utility rack. It's a thoroughly clever way of adding practicality without sacrificing appearances. We would love to see something like this reach production, since it could be very handy on quad cab pickups with short beds, allowing them to carry long objects without having to drop the tailgate to get them to fit. Because there's nothing macho about that.
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By Joel Stocksdale
See also: FCA's SEMA vans: A Ram ProMaster bar and a Mopar'd Pacifica, Current Ram 1500 sticking around into 2019, Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, Toyota Tundra flunk IIHS headlight test.