Just like any other truck manufacturer, Dodge runs extensive marketing campaigns aimed at convincing the public that their pickups are the most powerful, most reliable, and most capable of anything on the roads today. And with Dodge's historical commitment to muscle cars and beefy trucks, the public seems convinced that the brand is ready and willing to produce serious workhorses that can withstand daily abuse.
Dodge has brought luxury into the modern pickup truck market, as well, and their offerings almost approach the kind of interior amenities that typically come in $100,000 sedans and high-powered sports cars. But underneath the skin, Dodge would love it if every potential truck buyer just knew that their powertrains—highlighted, of course, by the reputation of the Hemi—are rugged and durable as ever.
The news that Dodge will be selling their trucks under a single nameplate, RAM, may seem confusing to plenty of truck owners out there. Is RAM an entirely new company? Will the legendary Dodge aspects that have attracted so many loyal fans remain intact? In reality, Dodge has been a subsidiary of Fiat-Chrysler after an industry shake-up following the 2009 recession. FCA's first step for Dodge was to bring back the SRT and everyone knows that today's Challenger and Charger Hellcat models are about as wild as things get.
Hopefully, with the change to RAM, FCA can keep the success rolling. Luckily, Dodge's long line of pickup trucks can provide plenty of inspiration for the future—though there are plenty of weak Dodges to provide stern lessons, as well.
20 Weak: Ramcharger
With a name like Ramcharger, a pickup truck better leave the factory fully ready to deliver the goods. And at first glance, even today, the Ramcharger looks like a solid piece of Dodge history, complete with rugged style, plenty of off-road ability, and an adaptable format that allowed it to serve as a pickup, an SUV, and even as a convertible.
But a range of problems plagued the Ramcharger, not the least of which was a Center Axle Disconnect system flaw that left drivers unaware that they were either stuck in four-wheel-drive mode or completely without four-wheel drive until they could get their truck into the shop.
19 Weak: Dude
Even longtime Dodge fans may not remember the rare Dude, which was actually a trim package on the 1970 and '71 model year D100 pickups. But to call it a trim package is even a bit of a stretch, as the Dude really only came with a nifty paint job, side decals, a smooth tailgate, and dog-dish hubcaps.
Other than that, it was a completely standard truck—so it should come as no surprise that only an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Dudes were ever ordered by customers. Sure, style counts in a lot of life's decisions, but apparently, pickup truck buyers in the early-1970s weren't fooled by such a silly marketing ploy.
18 Weak: 2nd-Gen Dakota
The Dodge Dakota of the late-1990s and early-2000s was a major cog in the development of bold exterior styling that would has served the brand well over the past two decades. And for the most part, the Dakota was a solid truck with a few different cab and bed configurations and capable work potential.
But for some strange reason, Dodge saw fit to include among the engine options an AMC straight-four that displaced a measly 2.5 liters. Maxing out at 120 horsepower when equipped with multi-point fuel injection, the powerplant was a disappointment in a truck that could weigh in at nearly 4,000 pounds.
17 Weak: Dodge Ram 50
Today, there are no pickup trucks the size of the Dodge Ram 50 coming out of any Detroit factory. Buyers these days clearly prefer larger, more capable trucks—and even in the Ram 50s heyday, it's safe to say buyers wanted a bit more out of their purchase.
Essentially a rebadged Mitsubishi Mighty Max sold with a different name for various different markets, the Ram 50 goes down in history as a truck barely worthy of the illustrious Ram name. The truck didn't even come with an engine option that had more than four cylinders—any manufacturer delivering such a weak truck today would be laughed right out of the market.
16 Weak: 2002-03 Cummins California Emissions Version
The great state of California, on the West Coast of the United States, has tried to be a pioneer in the fields of vehicle efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. The idea is that by enforcing tougher standards in such a large and populated state, California can force manufacturers to apply the cleaner technology to their vehicles sold nationwide. And to some extent, the plan has worked—but in many cases, brands have delivered disappointing products that receive minor changes to be legal for the California buyer.
Case in point is the 2002 and 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, which came in a detuned version to meet the stricter rules. But no one wants a big pickup that's weaker than the ones right across the Arizona border.
15 Weak: Fourth-Gen Ram
Dodge's current line of pickup trucks has doubled down on the aggressive designs, powerful engine options, and interior amenities—all while simultaneously (at least for the most part) maintaining a reputation for affordable entry prices and long-term reliability. But Dodge isn't just waving a magic stick at their trucks to deliver a great product under the single Ram badge, and as they say, "something's gotta give."
In the case of the latest generation of 1500 pickups, Dodge clearly skimped on the safety-focused developments, and in fact, the trucks received a side-impact rating so low that it prompted a quick, unplanned redesign. Hopefully, the forthcoming fifth generation is designed properly from the get-go.
14 Weak: HemiGTX
Dodge has a solid history in the muscle car market, and they've tried a number of times to parlay that success into their pickup trucks. But the efforts haven't always resulted in new successes, as is demonstrated by the limited-edition HemiGTX. Available for the 2004 and 2005 model years, the HemiGTX was essentially an appearance package that tried to fool buyers out of another $8,300 without the benefits of any actual muscle car performance.
Instead, that money bought some retro paint colors, a two-tone interior complete with a serialized number plate, and 20-inch wheels. To absolutely no one's surprise, fewer than 1,000 were sold before the experiment reached its end.
13 Weak: Third-Gen Dakota
It's never a good sign when a vehicle is the last generation before its model was entirely discontinued. And though the Dodge Dakota's actual design and engineering aren't perhaps the only problems for the truck, Dodge's R&D team did themselves no favors in a marketplace where customers were increasingly turning to either larger pickup trucks or crossover SUVs.
The third-gen Dakota struggled with reliability, from catalytic converters that fried quite quickly to weak, warp-prone brake rotors and from ill-tuned shocks to general electrical gremlins. To their credit, though, Dodge did give the Dakota a V8 all the way to its last days.
12 Weak: Ram Daytona
After the disappointment of the HemiGTX, Dodge at least upped the game a little bit for the Dodge Ram Daytona. To their credit, the Daytona had some performance enhancements; to their discredit, it was another attempt to turn a recognizable piece of history into a quick buck in the modern age.
With a hood scoop sourced from the SRT-10 that nonetheless didn't actually do anything and a strange spoiler at the end of the truck bed, the Daytona was primed to take advantage of 3.92 ratio rear-end. Exhaust and tire options rounded out the actual changes, while the rest were purely cosmetic.
11 Weak: 2013 Ram 1500
The current generation of Dodge pickups is the fourth, and it will continue to be sold alongside fifth-gen trucks into 2019. In the decade since the fourth-gen hit the streets, Dodge has enjoyed a serious increase in popularity for their Ram pickups thanks to awesome styling, powerful engines, and legendary reliability—not to mention that now the trucks are just Rams, not Dodge Rams, for some reason.
But over the years, small changes to the fourth generation haven't always been positive enhancement—with a major flaw coming for the 2013 Ram 1500, which suffered from airbag and seat-belt tensioner issues so bad that they resulted in a recall (and a couple of tragedies).
10 RAM-Worthy: Lil Red Express
Dodge continued their commitment to muscle cars with an unlikely candidate in the later years of the 1970s. The Lil Red Express truck was an amazing creation nonetheless, and fared well in period testing against even the likes of Ferrari. With a high-performance V8 mated to four-barrel carbs and a host of other upgrades, the Lil Red Express was the fastest vehicle of any class made in the United States in 1978.
Styling cues—including those massive exhaust stacks that could be made useful with a bit of aftermarket work—hinted at the truck's awesome potential, but the looks on drag racers faces as a stock factory truck pulled away must have been classic.
9 RAM-Worthy: Shelby Dakota
Any time a product of Detroit ends up bearing the Shelby name, the result is sure to turn heads anywhere it drives. From the earliest GT40s, Mustangs, and Cobras on, the chicken farmer from Texas has made his presence felt in the industry. But most Shelby fans probably don't know that he teamed up with Dodge for the Shelby Dakota for the 1989 model year.
After the Lil Red Express but before other street-sport trucks like the GMC Syclone and Ford's F-150 SVT Lightning, the Shelby Dakota featured a 5.2-liter Shelby V8 and was the fastest production pickup truck of its era.
8 RAM-Worthy: Ram SRT-10
Dodge set the table for street-sport pickup trucks with the Lil Red Express, and then Carroll Shelby kept the dream alive with the Shelby Dakota—but it was SRT-10 that truly broke the mold. The buck-wild truck was basically a Viper beneath the skin, complete with the 500-horsepower V10 and six-speed manual transmission that took the world by storm in the 1990s.
The absurd setup also cranked out 525 lb-ft of torque, meaning the SRT-10 could accelerate to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds, despite a curb weight in excess of 5,000 pounds. Of course, fuel economy was rated at a dismal 9 MPG in town, but no one buying an SRT-10 cared one bit.
7 RAM-Worthy: D/W Series
While Dodge has produced plenty of street-sport trucks that wowed consumers with ludicrous speed and performance, a truck brand's true staying power comes in the form of products that do their job simply, capably, and reliably.
The D/W Series represents the final iteration of Dodge's D Series (which had previously included the Lil Red Express) as well as the first actual Ram. With a bare-bones exterior, a bare-bones interior, and nothing a truck didn't need to do its job, the D/W Series was a rugged workhorse that owners could depend on day in and day out for the rest of their lives.
6 RAM-Worthy: Power Wagon
Perhaps the truck that most firmly cemented Dodge into the working public's perception was the original Power Wagon, which enjoyed a production run of nearly 40 years after its 1945 debut. The truck was a civilian version based largely on military-spec, 3/4-ton WC trucks that Dodge had built during World War II, and brought powerful, medium-duty, four-wheel-drive pickups to the forefront of the market.
Today, collectors love to restore old Power Wagons to their former glory, though it's a testament to Dodge's build quality that any have survived after the decades of hard work and neglect that so many suffered at the hands of their owners.
5 RAM-Worthy: New Power Wagon
In 2005, Dodge reintroduced the Power Wagon nameplate, applying it to a range of off-road focused versions of the 2500 pickup. At first, the new Power Wagon featured a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 as standard and utilized a ton of specific upgrades including electronically-controlled locking differentials, electronically disconnecting sway bars, Bilstein shocks and a 1.4-inch lift, skid plates, 33-inch tires, a beefed-up torque converter, and even a 12,000-pound winch.
The Power Wagon continues today (as a RAM) with an even wider range of options boxes available for buyers to select from and a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 in place to produce 410 horsepower.
4 RAM-Worthy: 1989 Cummins B Series
While the D/W Series marked the first in the line of trucks that would eventually become known just as Rams, there was a serious step along the line that took place for the model year 1989. For that year, Dodge added the Cummins B Series to the Ram pickup, leading to a marked sales increase.
Compared to Fords and Chevrolets of the time, the Cummins had an advantage in that it utilized direct fuel injection (removing the need for glow plugs) and was turbocharged. Up to 160 horsepower may not sound too impressive, but this is a diesel, so the important stat is the 400 lb-ft of torque that the straight-six could produce.
3 RAM-Worthy: 2007 Ram
For the 2007 model year, Dodge had some big changes on tap for its Ram pickup trucks. The new offerings included a 6.7-liter Cummins turbo-diesel that could pump out 350 horsepower and a seriously beefy 650 lb-ft of torque. The outgoing 5.9-liter unit it replaced was mated to a four-speed transmission, while 2007 models now received a six-speed to help improve fuel economy despite an increase in displacement and overall power.
At the time, the upgrades helped to establish Dodge as a pickup truck builder with intentions on leading the market into the future by producing both reliable, capable work trucks and sport street trucks alike.
2 RAM-Worthy: Rampage
The little-known Dodge Rampage is a clear knock-off of Ford's Ranchero and Chevy's El Camino but with exterior styling that clearly points to its 1980s heritage. Smaller than both the Ranchero and the El Camino, the Rampage was nonetheless a fun car that is prized today among collectors.
Sure, it couldn't match the massive V8 of its competitors, but a lower curb weight certainly helped—and let's face it, no one was really doing any serious work with any of the "crucks" that hit the market in those years. A V8 swap would have been nice, but instead, Dodge opted to keep the Rampage simple and stylish.
1 RAM-Worthy: Rumble Bee
Dodge may have missed out on a major marketing opportunity when they let Chevy take the lead role in the live-action Transformers films, but regardless, their Rumble Bee was another solid entrant into the arena of street-sport trucks. The Rumble Bee utilized Dodge's largest Hemi V8 at the time, which cranked 345 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels (or alternatively, and way cooler, to all four tires).
That bright, black-and-yellow paint theme may be a little aggressive for plenty of drivers out there and an automatic gearbox is a bit disappointing, but for the right person, a Rumble Bee is just right.
Sources: It Still Runs, Dodge Connection, and Allpar.