Does styling sell something as utilitarian as a full size pickup? You know your response to that question better than we do, but the short answer appears to be a resounding "yes."
By way of proof, consider the Dodge Ram pickup. For almost two decades, the Ram toiled along virtually unchanged - and unnoticed - behind the Ford F-Series and the GM C/K series trucks, a distant third in the sales race.
But the 1994 model year brought an all-new, knock-your-socks-off Ram to Dodge showrooms - bigger inside than its rivals from Ford and General Motors, with an exterior design that said truck in capital letters.
Reaction to the Ram?s bold styling was, and still is, polar. There are those who even employ the word ugly to describe its appearance. But there are just as many who seem to think that this is how pickup truck trucks ought to look - enough people, in fact, to swamp dealers with orders.
For ?95, Dodge has added the Club Cab, an extended cab, to the mix, and now the Ram is in the thick of the fight for full-size pickup truck leadership. The only thing that might hold it back is the factory?s inability to meet the rising tide of demand.
Aside from quality, styling is really the only significant differentiator between American full-size pickups.
Dodge,
Ford and GM trucks all offer a broad variety of engines, drivetrains, trim levels, cab configurations, cargo boxes and load ratings.
With its bull nose and big, bright grille, the Ram looks more aggressive than its competitors, conjuring up a bygone era when "trucks was trucks, buddy," and the notion of lifestyle cars lay somewhere in the murky future.
This retro-styling approach appears to have struck a strongly responsive chord. Perhaps it?s because those attracted by the ?50s exterior quickly learn that the look is only skin deep. Inside, there?s none of the cramped, back-breaking discomfort that went with gold ol? American pickups; the Ram is as modern as any in this respect. But more on that later.
As noted, Rams, like all full-size pickups, come in a bewildering variety of models. It?s important to have a solid fix on what you expect your truck to do for you - hard work? Light work? All-around driving? A little of each? - before you visit a showroom
Our choice here was a top-of-the-line Ram 2500 Laramie SLT with the all new Club Cab, an 8-ft. cargo box and Dodge?s massive 8.0-liter V10 engine. This is a lot of truck. At more than 20 ft. long with a gross vehicle-weight rating of 8800 lb., it?s probably more than most of us will ever need.
But it?s also a combination that?s unique among pickups. Although Ford and GM both offer big gasoline V8 engines of substantial power, the Dodge V10 is the guru of grunt among full-size pickups. You just can?t get more low-rpm power - the commodity we know as torque - than this big growler offers. It starts almost from the moment you insert the key and wake it up, building to a peak of 450 pound-feet at only 2400 rpm.
Torque is what you want for hauling or towing heavy loads, and this baby?s got more of it than the other guys.
