John and Horace Dodge began their automotive careers with ties to Oldsmobile and Ford Motor Company (having provided everything except for the body and wheels of Ford products from 1903 to 1908); their 1913 departure from Ford Motor Company launched the company that shares their surname. The Dodge brothers passed away during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1920, and their widows would sold the Dodge brand to Dillon Reed and Company in 1925. Three years later Walter P. Chrysler purchased the Dodge brand, which would become a stable branch of the Chrysler Corporation thanks to high performance muscle cars in the 60's and 70's. And of course, Dodge would also be well known for their rugged and dependable trucks.


The First Generation
It would be over 60 years before the Dodge truck would carry the name which would become known for rugged trucks, but with the release of the 1981 Dodge truck, the Ram was born. Based off of the Chrysler's AD platform, the first generation of the Dodge Ram was basically a rebadged version of the Dodge D-series trucks, which had begun in 1961, and in 1972 the D-series got a facelift to the look that would carry over into the first generation of the Ram, with the wrap around tail lights and square headlights. When introduced, the Ram was offered as a standard cab, a club cab (extended cab with 2 doors) and the crew cab, which was a 4 door model. Like other brands of trucks during this time, the new Dodge Ram was a bulky looking, boxy vehicle with a flat front end and fairly upright front glass section. The trim lines were the 150, the 250, and the 350 which were half ton, three quarter ton, and one ton vehicles respectively; and each were offered with either a 6.5 or 8 foot bed. There were three engines offerings introduced in the early years of the first generation Ram. The base model engine was the 95 horsepower 3.7L inline six engine, the mid level was a 5.2L V8 making 125 horsepower, and the premium engine was a 5.9L V8 making 170 horsepower. Very little changed in the first few years, and the first alteration to the lineup was a minor one, with the addition of the D100, a low performance, manual transmission entry level. The next change was the addition of the new "Ram-Trac" transfer case which allowed for a change on the fly from 2- to 4-wheel drive. Also, the crew cab was dropped in 1985.

1986 brought about a minor cosmetic change, but that change would mark the introduction of a symbol of not only the Dodge trucks, but the Dodge brand as a whole.  That change was the new Dodge "crosshair" grille, and that grille style is still evident today, from the 2007 Dodge Ram to the 2007 Dodge Viper SRT-10. There were no changes for 1987 and in 1988 the only change worth mention was the addition of an electronic fuel injection system to the 5.2L engine which increased the horsepower output to 140. A year later, the other two engines received upgrades of sorts. The slant six was removed in favor of a 125 horsepower, 3.9L V6, and the 5.9L V8 got a similar fuel injection system to that of the 5.2L, and with it also got a jump in power, to 190. This would be the standard lineup until 1992 when Dodge introduced their new "Magnum" engines. The Magnum engines held the same engine displacement as the prior year, but with the new engine design, the 5.2L now offered 230 horsepower and the V6 3.9L made 180 horsepower. The 5.9L would not be receive the Magnum label until 1993, at which point it also got the same 230 horsepower as the 5.2L, but with more torque, as well as more potential. Along with the upgrade in horsepower in 1989 to the 5.9L and the introduction of the 3.9L V6, there was also the introduction of a new engine, the mighty Cummins Turbo Diesel. While this new smoke spewing diesel only offered 160 horsepower, the torque output, of 400 lb/ft made the Cummins powered Rams to be real beasts when it came to the needs of hauling or towing. This where an era where trucks did not have "luxury items", and they were typically viewed as being vehicles used for work, but the market was shifting, as trucks because a more popular vehicle for people who did not need the ability to haul or tow a lot, or the ability to go anywhere. While the Ram was popular, it was not as good of a seller as the comparable models from Ford or General Motors, and the engineers at Dodge knew that it was time for another facelift; the first real facelift since 1971.


Second Generation
1994 marked the release of the second generation of the Dodge Ram, and this new look to the Ram proved to be in instant success. Built on the new BR/BE chassis, this new Ram had a much sportier look and feel with its round front fenders, curved body lines along the bedside, and the large grille. Unlike the previous Ram, and many other trucks during this time, the hood was not flush at the sides with the fenders, and instead, the sat up above the fenders. The headlight assembly, which contained the corner markers on the outside, wrapped slightly around from the front of the truck into the fenders, giving the truck that much more of a rounded look. This new Ram not only lent itself to the needs of the old truck buyer, who needed hauling and towing capacity, but this new, more aerodynamic shape made the truck attractive to those who wanted a big, sporty truck. In 1993 Ford debuted their Ford Lightning, which was a sporty 2 wheel drive truck based on the regular F150 series, and in rebuttal to that, the second generation of the Dodge Ram Sport offered the 5.9L engine with 230 horsepower. However, the new Dodge Ram was not just a sports truck.

Offered in a 1500, 2500, and 3500 (which replaced the 150, 250, and 350), and with the options of a regular cab or new "quad cab" which had two standard doors and a set of "suicide" doors and no pillar, as well as the option of either a 6.5 or 8 foot bed. New Ram buyers who did not need the power of a V8 still had the option of the 3.9L V6 which made 175 horsepower. Those who opted for a V8 could choose from either the 220 horsepower 5.2L or the aforementioned 5.9L. The 3.9L and 5.2L engines would remain the same throughout the life of the second generation Rams. There was also the option of the incredibly powerful 5.9L Cummins turbodiesel for those who needed a great deal of torque for pulling or hauling, and these Cummins powered Rams quickly gained a reputation for being among the strongest pickup trucks offered in the United States. The big news for the second generation of the Dodge Ram was the addition of the V10 option. Following the release of their new Supercar, the V10 powered Dodge Viper, Dodge decided to use a differently tuned version of the V10 in the new Ram. Named the Ram Tough V10, this 8.0L engine made 300 horsepower and 450 ft-lb of torque, making this engine as capable as the Cummins engines, but the V10 was not easy on the wallet at the pumps, and was not a great seller, although it would remain the same throughout the run of the second generation Ram. This was your engine lineup for 1994 and 1995, with an increase in power for the Cummins models in 1996, no real changes for 1997, and in 1998 the Cummins remained the same, but in 1998 the 5.9L V8 got an increase in horsepower to 250, and that would be the rating through the end of the generation in 2001. The only other drivetrain change was another upgrade to the Cummins engine. The prior Cummins engines had all been 12 valve engines, but the new Cummins, named the ISB, was a 24 valve cylinder head design, and made 230 horsepower and 460 ft-lb of torque when mated to a manual transmission.

This new Dodge Ram was huge success, with sales in its first year increasing from 100,000 units in 1993, to 240,000 units in 1994. The new Dodge Ram, which came along with the slogan of "the rules have changed", made such an impact on the market that Car and Driver named it the 1994 Truck of the Year, and although sales gradually declined over the next few years, this generation embedded the Ram as a leader in its field. However, by 2001, Ford and General Motors had reworked their trucks in order to keep up with the Ram, and thanks to copying some of the cues that made the Ram so popular, they cut into Dodge's sales...and it was time for another redesign.

Third Generation
When the 2002 Ram, built on the DR chassis, rolled off of the assembly line, it was a whole new truck with a new frame, new interior, a new exterior look, and most importantly, the installation some new engines, and the return of a legendary engine, the Chrysler Hemi. While this new Hemi was smaller and less powerful than the fabled 426 Hemi of the muscle car era, its 345 horsepower and 375 ft-lb of torque made this one of the most powerful engines placed into a Dodge Ram, with only the torque specifications being lower than the Ram Tough V10. The other new engines fitted into the 2002 Rams were the 215 horsepower 3.7L PowerTech V6, similar to the one found in the Jeep Liberty, the 4.7L Magnum V8 which makes 235 horsepower, and the 245 horsepower 5.9L Magnum, which was only offered in 2002. Combined with the 5.7L Hemi, these four engines made up the powertrain lineup for the 1500 series. The 2500 and 3500 series models come standard with the 5.7L Hemi engine, and the optional 5.9L Cummins ISB, which offers 325 horsepower and 610 ft-lb of torque, making the heavier duty Rams among the strongest work trucks in the world. One of the few complaints about the new Ram equipped with the 5.7L Hemi was that they were hard on fuel, and in late 2005 the Hemi received Chryslers Multi-Displacement System, or MDS. This system effectively shuts down cylinders during points of steady cruising to help improve fuel economy.

The engine lineup of the new Dodge Ram has gotten a great deal of the attention, but the styling of the new trucks has a great deal to do with the high sales volumes as much as the engines do. The new Rams have maintained the sporty feel, but have done so with a bigger, more muscular looking body. While smaller wheels are available, the new Rams are easily recognized by their huge polished 20 inch wheels as well as their semi-circular headlight lenses. The DR chassis Rams provided solid work truck ability with the 2500 and 3500, the versatility of the 2005 released Power Wagon provides some excellent options such as locking differentials, automatically disconnecting sway bars, larger tires, a winch, and wider fender flares, but to the displeasure of many, no Cummins was offered, with the Hemi being the only option in the Power Wagon.

Even with this Power Wagon option, it seems as though the emphasis of the 2002 and newer Rams were placing the spirit of a sports car in a truck body. There were four options which back up this theory. The first is the Rumble Bee, which was named based on the Super Bee sport packages found on Dodge muscle cars of the 60's and 70's. Available only on regular car/short bed models, the Rumble Bee was essentially an appearance package added to the Hemi Ram. The package included cladding around the base of the body, a hood scoop, an improved exhaust system, and interior upgrades with include a serial number plate. The Rumble Bee Ram was offered in either black with a yellow stripes or yellow with a black stripe. While some new Dodge Ram buyers may like the sporty look of the Rumble Bee, but need the room of the quad cab, the HemiSport Ram was the truck for them. Wearing similar body cladding to the Rumble Bee, the HemiSport was offered in black, red, or silver, with the option of four wheel drive. The next special edition model was the Ram Daytona; another take off of a vintage muscle car name. Like the Charger Daytona of 1970, the Ram Daytona has a high rear wing, and was offered as either a regular cab or quad cab. Like the Rumble Bee, the Daytona features sportier body cladding, the "SRT-10" hood, Borla dual exhaust, and a serial number plate. Like the Rumble Bee, this is basically just an appearance package.

While the HemiSport, the Ram Daytona, and the Rumble Bee afforded some sporty options to truck buyers, the final upgrade package proved to be the new standard for sport trucks around the world. That package was the Dodge Ram SRT-10. Developed by Dodge's Street and Racing Technology group (SRT), the Ram SRT-10 was meant to be nothing shy of the fastest production truck intended for street use ever built, and it was just that. Like the other Ram models introduced with the third generation of the Ram, the SRT-10 model had an engine that demanded immediate attention. That engine was the 8.3L, 505 horsepower V10 which was also found in the Dodge Viper SRT-10, and it was mated to the same 6-speed transmission found in the Viper. Originally offered only as a regular car, the SRT-10 truck was able to set the "Fastest production truck" record with an average lap speed of 154.587 at the DamilerChrysler Proving Grounds in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The SRT-10 Ram comes with a functional scoop on the hood, as well as a wing at the rear of the bed, which helps this beast of a truck safely maintain control at high speeds. The SRT-10 model also comes with a much sportier front fascia, and tucked under the fenders are massive 22" aluminum alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli high performance tires. Everything about the truck, including the suspension, has been specially designed for this high performance model, and even with a price tag of over 50,000 USD, the Ram SRT-10 is easily one of the baddest trucks ever built. However, there was one complaint. The transmission of the Viper, which was fitted into this sport truck, was not capable of towing, and many people wanted to tow with their SRT-10, so for 2005, Dodge released a quad cab version of the SRT-10, and that model was offered only with a much sturdier automatic transmission, offering the power of a Viper with the towing ability of a light truck. Sadly, Dodge ended the production of the Ram SRT-10 mid year of 2006, but there are rumors of an upcoming SRT Ram, with an engine based off of one of their high performance crate motors, such as the 510 horsepower 6.4L Hemi. However, rumors of this new SRT-8 Ram are only rumors, but time will tell what Dodge has in store for high performance minded truck enthusiasts.

2006 brought about a slight cosmetic change for the Ram, with larger headlights and a "smoother" front end. There were very few other changes, aside from the aforementioned addition of MDS to the 5.7L Hemi, helping to improve fuel mileage, and the added option of in-dash navigation to the Ram. The "big news" of the 2006 refresh was the addition of another new trim line. The new "Mega Cab", as it is badged, features a 6-foot cargo box, and 4 full sized doors, and 20 more inches of cabin spaces over the quad cab. This added room allows comfortable seating for six, with the rear seats having the ability to recline, giving this large truck the seating capacity of a large SUV, with the hauling ability of a pickup truck; which is another fine innovation from Dodge.

Since John and Horace Dodge began offering their Commercial Car, through the D-series trucks of the 1970's and into the 1980's with the official introduction of the Ram name, Dodge trucks have always been powerful work ready vehicles, and with the market shift toward sportier trucks, Dodge has responded in offering a group of the most sport minded trucks in the world, all without losing their hard working ability. The Dodge Ram is one of the best selling trucks in the world, and with the addition of new high performance engines, as well as strong work trucks, and fuel saving features like MDS, it is likely that the Dodge Ram will stay atop the truck market for years to come.

- Patrick Rall