These Are the Coolest Pickup Truck Trim Names of All Time

For decades, trims have been used in the automotive industry to distinguish the different levels of equipment and features fitted as standard on vehicle models. Most are designated by letters and numbers, others have complete, names but few are ingenious.

Over the years, many manufacturers have invested serious resources to change that, giving birth to some interesting names. Those helped raise the popularity of their vehicles and add to their exclusivity.

As one of the most popular vehicles on the North American continent, the truck has gotten its fair share of cool trim names, and here are our favorites.

Dude (Dodge D-100 Sweptline)

Introduced in August 1969 as a 1970 model, the Dude Sport Trim Package was, in essence, a standard half-ton, regular cab D100 with an 8-foot (2.4 m) bed.

Besides the cool name, this trim offered a unique muscle car-inspired black or white "C" stripe decal on both sides of the bodywork, a Dodge Dude decal on the box, tail lamp bezel trims, and a set of hub caps with trim rings.

To promote the Dude, Dodge hired Don Knotts, a famous comedian and actor at that time, but the truck never rose to expectations with only 1,500 to 2,000 units sold in 1970 and 1971.

Honcho (Jeep J-series)

The Jeep J10 truck got this trim package in 1976 as part of a broader marketing strategy that aimed to increase its popularity.

One of several special decal packages, the Honcho was only available on the sportside (stepside) and short bed trucks. It was offered with different factory extras from 1976 to 1983.

Apart from the unique exterior decals, Jeep Honchos featured a special Levi's denim interior. The only way these trucks would have been more American was if Jeep offered them with apple pies instead of steering wheels.

Lil’ Red Express (Dodge Adventurer)

The forefather of today’s monstrous TRX, the Lil’ Red Express was one of the first performance trucks ever made. It was available in limited numbers from 1978 to 1979 and distinguished itself from conventional pickup trucks with the help of two big exhaust stacks.

Under the hood, it hid a 360-cu-in (5.9L) V8 that produced 225 hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque. The cabin was also different from the standard D-series, being fitted with a muscle car-inspired steering wheel, gauges, and a choice of bench or split bucket seat arrangement.

The Li'l Red Express was not available for sale in California, Florida, Maryland, Oregon, and Washington because it did not meet emission or noise standards, so only about 10,000 of them were ever produced.

Gentleman Jim and Beau James (GMC Sierra)

GMC experimented with the idea of luxury trims for its trucks long before today’s Denalis. In fact, in 1975, they released two limited-edition Sierras called Gentleman Jim and Beau James.

The former was offered with a distinct gold-and-black paint job, a matching gold grille, and a set of rims finished in the same color. The cabin featured tweed and saddle vinyl bucket seats, vinyl storage pouches, and even the dashboard was covered in the same material.

The Beau James came with a blue-and-white paint scheme, velour seats, wire wheels with white walls, and a unique hood ornament. The truck used a three-quarter-ton frame on a half-ton suspension for increased comfort.

Only 4,000 examples of the Beau James and 2,500 Gentleman Jims were ever produced, which means that surviving models in good condition are rare and valuable.

Raptor (Ford F-150; Ford Ranger)

Since 2010, America’s favorite truck has been offered in a high-performance off-road version named after an agile predator that roamed the Earth approximately 75 years ago.

More of an individual model than a trim, the truck was initially called SVT Raptor to highlight the fact that Ford’s Special Vehicle Team developed it, but the name was shortened to Raptor in 2017. Two years later, Ford gave this name to the performance version of the mid-sized Ranger as well. Unfortunately, Ford decided against selling this model in the U.S., at least for now.

The 2010 SVT Raptor was based on a twelfth-generation F-150 powered by a standard 310-hp 5.4-liter V8, or an optional 411-hp 6.2-liter Boss V8 shared with the Super Duty. It came with a performance-oriented cabin and many off-roading upgrades such as Fox Racing shocks, a locking differential, or redesigned rear leaf springs.

The name lives on with both the F-150 and Ranger models, with the latter becoming popular in many markets including Europe.