The Evolution of the Dodge Truck
The history of the Dodge truck has been a very colorful one. From the very first model, built by The Dodge Brothers Company in 1914 and modeled after Ford 's Model T, to the 2004 Hemi powered Dodge Ram truck that we see on the road today. Dodge trucks have come far over the years, from advances in body styling to advances in motor technology.
The early years of the Dodge truck, 1918 1950, proved to be the designing years of the truck. The original intention of the Dodge truck was to be used in the military during World War I, as ambulances, chassis cowls, repair trucks, and cargo trucks. After the war, the Dodge Brothers, revamped the design of the original military ambulance, and started marketing it to the general public. Over the years, Chrysler bought the company and the engines and structure were redesigned. ( Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard) When Chrysler bought the Dodge Brothers, they intended to produce a truck that could compete with the already popular Ford and Chevrolet. In the 30s the truck went from looking like a cargo van, to the design that we know today as a truck. Most of the truck was originally produced out of wood and metal. In the 40s the trucks were designed to maintain a heavier workload and became known as job rated pickups. ' The engine was more powerful and the payload allowed for a heavier capacity. At this time, the trucks ranged from ½-ton capacity to 3-ton capacity. Each different payload capacity of truck had a different engine size that offered different ranges of horsepower and a different transmission setup. (Bunn, http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/history/history.html)
The Dodge truck of the 1950s 1980s proved to be the popular truck of their era. A sleeker styling and highly advanced for trucks of their era. The features of these trucks put them well ahead of the competitions trucks. The horsepower increased, as technology was increasing. The
Cited: "Dodge – Ram Truck." October 27 2004. "DaimlerChrysler AG." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard. CD-ROM. 10.0.0.0712. Washington. Microsoft Corporation. 2001 Bunn, Don. "History of the American Pickup." PickupTruck.Com. October 24 2004. The Enthusiast Networks. "Dodge Truck World." October 27 2004.