[johnj]

i like the skid plate silver. shows it off. too much black for me

Agreed. I think I like the skid plate standing out a bit. Maybe even a medium gray, but contrasting enough to be well visible. This much black, you can't really tell it's a Rebel from the front end anymore. Could be any model with blacked out front end.

Just my opinion, for what little it's worth.

 

[johnj]

Comparative frontal view: basic white stock Tradesman on the left, your Rebel on the right. Other than the hood, they could be the same truck from a short distance. At least until you get a side view with the wheels. I dunno, I like black a lot, but in this case, I don't think it's helping define the truck as different from other stock Ram trucks, and especially the Tradesman, which is a common fleet model. Sorta what CTYHNTR was saying, I think?

 

[johnj]

Blacked out is attractive. I don't see much visible contrast at having it glossy vs matte. You have to be standing around looking at it. You're not going to notice the contrast it while driving past.

The Rebel doesn't have much exterior trim that makes it stand out on its own. I'd prefer to have mine recognizable as a Rebel both up close and at a distance. There are a lot of Dodge/Ram trucks on the road, but there aren't many at all on the road around here. I saw a Rebel approaching the other day on a country blacktop and recognized the look about 1/4 mile away. His was gray, but the black grill and silver skid plate were the giveaway, even easier to recognize as we got closer. The guy spotted mine, too, and flashed his fog lights as I waved.