Ram Just Announced a Full-Size SUV Fighter That I Never Saw Coming

Mopar just confirmed Ram’s going beyond pickups to join the big SUV party.

Close-up of a black RAM truck grille with bold RAM lettering and an R/T badge at sunset.

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Published 7 hours ago

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In an entirely unprecedented move, Ram is apparently going beyond pickup trucks to make a Chevy Tahoe and Ford Expedition fighter. According to AutomotiveNews, the new body-on-frame big boy will launch sometime in 2028.

The news broke during a product strategy update for investors on October 30. There, Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa confirmed the new SUV, which is a part of the automaker’s new North American strategy expansion and $13 billion investment into US-based assembly.

Mopar’s first crack at a full-size SUV

Blue RAM pickup truck driving through a muddy forest trail, splashing mud on both sides, with headlights on and a driver visible inside. — Ram’s new SUV will likely be derived from the current 1500 platform.

Mopar’s decision to make a full-size SUV comes as a huge surprise. It’s the automaker’s first attempt at such a vehicle in over three decades.

The last time Ram’s parent company, Dodge, ever tried to compete with GM’s and Ford’s full-size SUV offerings was in the 1980s. Back then, Mopar still produced its D Series trucks, which also gave us the original Ramcharger.

Two-tone blue and silver Dodge Ramcharger SUV with large off-road tires parked on grass. — Before the current Jeep Wagoneer models, the second-generation Ramcharger was Mopar’s last-ever attempt at competing with Detroit’s full-size SUVs.

That Ramcharger picked fights with the original full-size Ford Bronco and the Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Those SUVs eventually evolved into the Ford Expedition and the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon and Suburban.

2021-Suburban-and-Tahoe-gear-patrol-slide-04 — GM’s Tahoe and Suburban, and its GMC cousins, have since become an iconic fixture of the America’s taste in cars and its domestic auto industry.

Dodge discontinued Ramcharger to focus on selling the then-new Durango. Since then, Auburn Hills sat out of the hugely popular full-size SUV wars until Jeep launched the Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer revival a few years ago.

Now, Ram is looking to follow in the same footsteps.

Why didn’t they think of this before?

Since Dodge discontinued the full-size Ramcharger in 1993, Detroit’s full-size SUV offerings eventually evolved into the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon, their long-wheelbase Suburban/Yukon XL siblings and the Ford Expedition.

green ford expedition — Ford matched GM’s full-size SUV move by introducing the Expedition in 1997, which still lives on today.

The Ramcharger model lived on as a unique, limited-production three-door version of the first-generation Durango.

But once GM’s and Ford’s full-size SUVs launched in the mid-1990s, they exploded in popularity. So much in fact, they essentially became the automotive poster children for the American auto industry next to full-size pickups.

Silver Chevrolet SUV with headlights on driving on a dirt road with autumn trees and snow-capped mountain in the background. — When GM introduced the GMT400-based Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon in the mid-1990s, they cemented America’s contemporary love for SUVs.

Mopar finally takes on Detroit’s full-size SUVs

The American auto industry is known to be wildly competitive with itself. Thus, it’s been a forever revolving mystery as to why Auburn Hills never produced a full-size SUV.

That’s been especially true since GM’s and Ford’s full-size SUVs basically utilize the same platforms that underpin their wildly beloved full-size pickups. GM’s SUVs are basically the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, but with full bodies.

Chevy-Silverado-gear-patrol-3 — Today, the formula for GM’s full-size SUVs remains unchanged after decades, with the pickups underpinning the SUVs.

The story is the same with the Ford Expedition being basically an F-150 with a long roof. Thus, with Ram and its popular 1500 pickup, it was a huge mystery as to why they didn’t make the same move.

But that changed for the first time in a long time with the reintroduction of the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. Both SUVs are the first long-roof, full-bodied models derived from the Ram 1500.

Gray Jeep SUV driving on a mountain road with snow-covered trees and peaks in the background. — Mopar’s first modern crack at the full-size pickup-based SUV happened with the Jeep Wagoneer revival.

More so, Jeep’s Wagoneer models are Mopar’s first direct answer to the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, the Suburban, the Ford Expedition, and even the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator.

But now, Ram is finally following the same recipe and spawning a full-size SUV off its pickup platform to grab a piece of that lucrative pie.

It’s about time.

About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

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