5 Of The Most Fun And Practical Easter Eggs Ever Put In A Ram Truck

Within the automotive industry, Easter eggs are hidden, interesting, and funny symbolic design elements or features that are purposefully added or incorporated by manufacturers to provide astute owners and enthusiasts with a nice or light-hearted surprise. These surprises are a means for the car designers and their brand to express themselves as a form of marketing and advertising.

Vehicle Easter eggs are cool because they inject humor, surprise, and individuality into the vehicle and the driving experience. They offer owners and enthusiasts a pleasant detail to find and occasionally even serve as a subliminal reference to a brand's history or rivalry with another car brand. Starting in 1997, Ram's stablemate, Jeep, began the practice of putting Easter eggs in their vehicles when it featured a tribute to the historical seven-slot grille on its wiper cowl.

This tradition has since been adopted by other companies owned by Stellantis, including Ram, Dodge, and Chrysler, with these brands featuring their unique and separate take on Easter eggs. Ram first came out with its first Easter egg for the 2019 Ram 1500 and continues to release new ones to the present day. One of Ram's most recent and interesting examples can be found in the 2024 Ram Rampage, where its taillight has the American flag incorporated into its design, which, when lighted up, makes the Stars and Stripes design of the flag clearly visible. 

The first Easter egg for Ram trucks can be found in the 2019 Ram 1500 DT series, which was the 5th generation of its model line. Completely redesigned from its boxy-styled predecessor, the Ram DS, the DT has a more aerodynamic facade, a better infotainment system, and different bed size configurations. Released with three engine options, starting with the entry-level 3.6L Pentastar V6 up to the top-specced 5.7L Hemi V8, the Ram 1500 was capable of 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque for its top-of-the-line version. 

Located behind the armrest, which also serves as the lid of the center console, hides a clever collection of mathematical tables and charts that are stamped into the plastic. This clever Easter egg features a ruler, protractor, conversion charts for SAE to metric, and others. The math-oriented surprise was reportedly a result of an imperfection left behind during the plastic molding process, and Ram designers wanted a way to incorporate or hide the drop circle mark, hence the addition of the Easter egg.

Along with the center console, another less visible, measurement-related Easter egg can be found on the 2019 Ram 1500 DT. This time around, it's a couple of rulers that are stamped on the edge of the floor stowage inserts, near the rear passenger footwell. Because the stowage inserts can be removed, it can work as a functional measuring tool if something needs to be measured because on one side is a 26-centimeter ruler, and on the wider opposite end is a 15-inch ruler.

The origins of the Ram 1500 began in the early '80s, when Dodge launched its first truck line called the Dodge Ram. Released in October 1981, the first-generation Ram truck was called the Dodge Ram 150, which was when the name Ram became the official model name.  Engine options on the first-generation Ram were a Mopar 3.7L slant six, a 5.2L or 5.9L Magnum V8. These could then be mated to four transmission options, including a four or five-speed manual or a three, or four-speed automatic. For its drivetrain, the original Dodge Ram was available in two-wheel or four-wheel drive configurations. 

From the small Ram 150, there are now five generations of the Ram 1500, and Ram created a fun homage to its heritage by placing a visual record of its model history in the 2020-year model Ram 1500. Located at the bottom of the center console is a piece of removable plastic that acts as a divider. Stamped on its surface are cute-looking Ram trucks that represent the first four generations of Ram trucks stamped into it.

Now in its 44th year, the Ram 1500 nameplate has remained a popular and respected pickup truck that is renowned for its powerful engines, iconic design, and capacity to carry huge cargo and tow heavy loads. Throughout its history, Ram trucks have continuously evolved and, for today's modern market, have come out with its first ever electric truck, the Ram 1500 REV, as its entry towards more sustainable vehicles.

The pickup truck market segment is highly competitive, and the Ram 1500 and the Ford F-150 are some of the fiercest competitors. Having very similar specifications, both trucks provide comparable features, such as a variety of engine options, towing and cargo capacities, and comparable safety and technological features. In addition, Ram and Ford are perennial contenders for the top spot in the full-size pickup market and are regularly among the best-selling pickup trucks in the United States. 

The competition between the two brands is also evident in marketing, as both companies frequently emphasize their advantages and run advertising campaigns that specifically target the other's products. This level of competitive advertising was taken up a notch by the 2021 Ram TRX, where an amusing Easter egg that directly targeted its rival was included. Located at the engine bay of the truck lies a sneaky play on its name because opening the airbox cover reveals an image of a T-Rex dinosaur chomping down on a Raptor in its mouth.

This portrayal of two dinosaurs is essentially a direct dig at its rival, the Ford F-150. In this instance, Ford has a high-performance, off-road trim version called the Raptor that is the challenger of Ram trucks. As a name play on its own top-of-the-line version, the TRX, which sounds like the T-Rex, the depiction of a T-Rex making a meal of the smaller Raptor is meant to showcase the superiority of the Ram truck in a jesting manner.

As an essential element in the automotive industry, advertising and marketing play a critical role in boosting sales, and employing competitive advertising through the use of Easter eggs is one way to raise brand awareness and highlight any weaknesses of a competitor. Using Easter eggs is an important marketing tool that helps manufacturers gain market share and boost customer confidence, which can help boost sales. Easter eggs found on vehicles are an inside joke that is purposefully placed to surprise and amuse the owner and passenger.

In another example of a crafty Easter egg by Ram, another humorous jab in the form of a size comparison can be seen in the 2021 TRX model. In this Easter egg, an image of a human, a Ram 1500 TRX, a T-Rex, and a velociraptor at 1:60 scale is stamped on a section of the bottom part of the TRX center console. This image, similar to the previous one with the T-Rex eating the Raptor is Ram's way of playfully acknowledging its rival because of the obvious size difference between a T-Rex and a Raptor, basically implying the TRX is stronger and bigger than the Ford.

The Easter eggs in Ram trucks show its buyers and the public that despite the serious and rugged appeal of its trucks, there is some fun and humor in them too. And fortunately for the company, because the interior design head of Ram trucks, Mr. Ryan Nagode, is ok with adding Easter eggs in the company products, it is reasonable to expect that the next iterations of Ram trucks will have even more Easter eggs in the future.