OT - Dodge Acronym

[Stormin Mormon]

Ford: Fix or Repair Daily / Found on Road Dead GMC: Got Mechanic Coming.

Is there one for Dodge?

[Tony Hwang]

Hmmm, Old story. If you can't dodge, ram it.

[Ed Pawlowski]

My neighbor's truck has a big sign on it that says RAM. I did and boy, was he pissed.

[PV]

Dear Old Dads Garage Experiment

[Doug Miller]

FIAT: Fix it again, Tony. Fix it again today. Fix it again tomorrow.

Damned Old Dodge Goes Everywhere.

[Jules]

I never quite worked out why you'd name a truck after a sheep, anyway.

[Pavel314]

Having raised sheep for many years, I can attest to the strength and toughness of a ram. However, the derivation seems to be a bit more convoluted than that. From

"In 1959 a group of engineers from Chrysler Corporation began to participate in the nation's new craze; "Drag racing". They started with a 1949 Plymouth business coupe, named "The High and Mighty". They had extensive experience with the "long-horn" intake manifold that powered the early Chrysler 300 series, and began to experiment with the technology in drag racing. The name soon evolved from long-horn to ram's -horn and eventually the public settled on the nickname Ram- Induction. By the 1960 race season this group created the team named, RAMCHARGERS."

Paul

[Doug Miller]

No, you didn't.

[Paul Oman]

FIAT - Fix it again, Tony

[Oren]

First On Race Day

"Thelma"?

[DerbyDad03]

Drive Only During Great Emergencies Dead On Day Guarantee Expires Drips Oil Drops Grease Everywhere Dang Old Dirty Gas Eater Don't Over Drive Gutless Engine

Some of my previously owned vehicles:

- 1969 Dodge Coronet - 1972 Dodge Dart - 1996 Dodge Ram 3/4 Ton Conversion Van

Should I mention the two 1980 Plymouth Voyagers during a Dodge discussion? Actually, I probably shouldn't mention them at all!

[Jules]

Obviously my reply was tongue-in-cheek, but that's interesting... I'd always been under the assumption that the 'ram' terminology came from some sort of supercharging/racing pedigree, and some marketing department had decided to slap it onto the trucks. Interesting that the name came from the intake shape instead...

Having successfully learnt something new today, I think I'll go take a nap ;)

cheers

Jules

[aemeijers]

The name is to appeal to people that use them as cars, not trucks. Makes them feel bigger. The Ram name harkens to what they would do with what they are compensating for the lack of.

I'd love to own a pickup, even a light duty one. Half a dozen times a year, it would come in real handy. But no extra parking spots, and little extra cash, make a third vehicle an impractical indulgence for me. And I certainly don't want to feed a full-size one for a daily driver, or deal with a monster like that in city commuting traffic. (Not to mention a full-size would not fit in my short 2-car garage- I even had to get a short wheelbase minivan.)

Does anyone make a small pickup any more? Like the rangers or toyotas from 10-15 years ago? All the stuff on the lots now looks huge, not to mention looking like a Tonka toy. Big meaningless chrome phallic noses, pointless huge tires, etc. Does anyone make a truck that looks like a truck anymore? I'm a form follows function sort of person- I don't need rolling bling.

-- aem sends...

[Lp1331 1p1331]

I recall seeing a list that one for nearly every make but offhand, the only one that I can remember beside the ones already mentioned is HONDA

[Nate Nagel]

I hear that. It seems that even the full size trucks get bigger and bigger. I've got a 93 F-150 and I feel like the bed sides are really tall - taller than my dad's '73 Chevy and WAY taller than some old Studebakers I've worked on. But parked next to a NEW F-150 mine appears comparatively easy to load.

Why is it that both the bed floor and the top of the bed sides seems to creep up every revision of a truck chassis? Wouldn't a LOW bed floor be a selling feature? Some of these new trucks ought to come with a folding stepstool shoved behind the seat.

nate

[clare]

Interestingly, those "rams horn" manifolds DID have a "Ram tuning" effect.

However, the explanation given for the "ram" being because of the ram'a horn manifold design doesn't hold water - as the "RAM TOUGH" motto and the rams-horns hood ornament were used before the second world war. It was a prominent feature on the 1933 dodge car as well. I believe the "ram" was on dadge cars virtually from their beginning as a Chrysler product (after the "Star of David" emblem of the "Dodge Brothers" dissapeared)

[Lp1331 1p1331]

Found a few: Audi

Cadillac >> Crazy And Demented Idiots Love Large American Cars Chrysler >> Company Has Recommended You Start Learning Engine Repair Edsel >> Every Day Something Else Leaks GMC >> Greatest Chevy Made Hyundai >> Hope You Understand Nothing"s Driveable And Inexpensive Isuzu >> It Sucks Unless Zero Use Kia >> Korean Imitation Accord Lotus >> Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious Mazda >> Made After Zero Design Analysis Mitsubishi >> Mostly In The Shop Undergoing Big Investments Sometimes Halfway Incomplete Porsche >> Proof Of Rich Spoiled Children Having Everything Saturn >> Same American Trash Under Revised Name Toyota >> The One You Ought To Avoid

[aemeijers]

I think a saw a couple brands advertising fold-out bed and bumper steps a couple years ago. I think they have super-sized the apparent visual dimensions, and raised the bed and sidewall heights, to make them look Big and Tough, and in proportion with the giant tires. (Pretty useless for the 2/3 of trucks that never leave the pavement. And guess what, 4x4 guys? In snow, tall and skinny works better.)

When Ford split off their heavy pickup line about 10-12 years back, they suddenly had a lot of complaints from gooseneck and 5th wheel owners (one of the few groups that really need big trucks). The steep rake and high bedsides meant the old hitches were not tall enough, and if they raised the hitch up so bed sides and trailer didn't hit in bumpy roads, the tow geometry was all wrong. Guys that pull goosenecks for a living were having to buy chassis-cabs and get purpose-built diamond-plate utility beds put on.

As a kid, I had a couple of mid-70s Ford F150s as company trucks. They drove about like the full-size station wagons, and used the same size tires. As construction go-fer vehicles, they worked fine. No, I couldn't haul a full cube of block or shingles with them, but they did what they needed to do, and a small-block v8 provided enough power. A baby pickup like the stretch-cab ranger or early-90s toyota would meet 95% of my current hauling needs, and would probably fit in my garage. (My head does bang the rear window on the regular-cab version, and you do need SOME weather-protected hauling space.)

-- aem sends...

[Mark]

Subaru spelled backwards is U R A BUS

[Jules]

Probably not :-(

We've got a '67 F100 with the long bed for when we need to move anything that won't fit in the car. No power brakes, power windows, power anything. Beautiful to work on - the sort of tech where you can often do an emergency fix it by the side of the road if needed using spit and baling wire :-)

Sure, it doesn't like going over 55, but who really gives a crap?

cheers

Jules