CarBrandLogos archive · RAM · 2010

RAM1500

Chrysler's half-ton truck, twice reinvented, and eventually a brand of its own.

Photo: MercurySable99 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in RAM history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the RAM 1500, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The line begins in 1981, when Chrysler renamed its ageing D-series pickups Ram and put a badge on them it could not really afford to develop. For most of that decade the trucks were outclassed by Ford and General Motors, and the one thing that kept them relevant was the Cummins turbodiesel offered from 1989 in the heavy-duty versions, which gave the range a reputation among people who actually towed things.

2002-05 Dodge Ram · IFCAR · Public domain

Design and engineering

The rescue came in 1994. Chrysler abandoned the flat-sided convention of the class and gave the second-generation Ram a dropped, big-rig nose with a raised bonnet centre and prominent fenders. It was a gamble on a truck that looked like a truck, and it multiplied Chrysler's share of the segment several times over.

1983 D150 with SLANT6 · G.Goodwin Jr. & Snark · CC BY-SA 3.0

2002-2005 Dodge Ram regular cab -- 12-14-2011

In production

The fourth generation, launched for 2009, took a different sort of risk by replacing the rear leaf springs of the 1500 with a coil-sprung link axle, unusual in a full-size pickup and aimed squarely at ride quality; air suspension followed. In 2010 Chrysler split trucks off from Dodge entirely, and the 1500 became the flagship of the Ram marque, later gaining an eight-speed automatic, a mild-hybrid system and a diesel V6 option.

2002-2005 Dodge Ram regular cab -- 12-14-2011 · IFCAR · Public domain

Legacy

Ownership has changed hands repeatedly across the model's life, from Chrysler Corporation through DaimlerChrysler and Fiat to Stellantis, and the truck has outlasted all of them. It remains a consistent third place in the American full-size market, and the generation that stopped it from dying is still the one people picture when they hear the name.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1980–present

Technical specification

The 1500, in detail.

Production: October 1980 – present
Class: Full-size pickup truck; Heavy-duty pickup truck; Medium-duty chassis cab truck (Mexico only, possibly 1998–2002)
Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive / four-wheel drive
Manufacturer: Dodge/Ram Trucksefn; name=marque; Transferred to the Ram marque in 2010efn; name=manufacturer; Chrysler Corporation (1980–1998) ; DaimlerChrysler (1998–2007) ; Chrysler LLC (2007–2009) ; Chrysler Group LLC (2009–2014) ;

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