Dodge Rampage, D50, Ram 50 and Power Ram 50 - The Littlest Ram Trucks
Today Ram makes some of the biggest, toughest trucks around, but at one time they sold excellent little trucks as well. Lets look back at the little Dodge and Ram trucks over the years.
1. Trucks of All Sizes
In 1983, you could buy the classically styled full sized D150, D250, and D350, as well as the little D50, and the car based, front-wheel drive Rampage, to suit whatever your truck needs were. 1987 was another huge year for Dodge trucks, as you could get a Ram in full sized 1/2, 3/4, and 1-ton models, the brand new mid-sized Dakota, and the D50 mini truck. Currently, though you can get large and small vans from Ram, they only sell big and bigger pickup trucks.
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2. The Dodge D50 and Plymouth Arrow
Mini trucks were big business once gas prices started to go up, and Toyota and Datsun showed Americans you could haul cargo with a car sized truck. Chrysler had already been selling small Mitsubishi cars in the US, so it made sense to import their small truck as well. Not only did Dodge get a version, but Plymouth dealers got nearly the exact same truck, badged as the Plymouth Arrow from 1979-1982. You could get your choice of a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder with 93hp or a 2.6 liter with 105hp, in a truck rated for a 1,400lb payload (including passengers).
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3. Dodge Power Ram 50
In 1982, Dodge expended the mini truck line with the new 4x4 Power Ram 50. This was basically the same truck, but only available with the larger 2.6-liter motor. It was a shift on the fly system, with chain driven transfer case featuring 4-hi and 4-low. Up front, the coil spring control arm suspension was replaced with torsion bars to make room for the drive axles to the wheels.
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4. Turbodiesel!
Yes, these trucks are small, but just like a big Ram the little D50 and Power Ram 50 offered turbodiesel power, way back in 1983. This makes sense, especially considering how Mitsubishi actually engineered and built the truck, and they are big into turbos and commercial trucks, even back then. This was not much of a torque monster, though, with 80-86hp and 125-134lb-ft of torque, but it was one of the most powerful of the diesel small trucks at the time. These rare trucks are cult classics and were only sold from 1983-85.
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5. Dodge Rampage and Plymouth Scamp
Dodge was still selling the D50 when they introduced the front wheel drive, car based Dodge Rampage and Plymouth Scamp twins. These sporty little trucks were part VW Rabbit Pickup, part El Camino, but all Mopar. Based on the same underpinnings as the Omni, Omni 024, and Charger, they featured a 2.2-liter 4 cylinder motor with 96hp and a 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic. With just 2400lbs of curb weight these were fun little trucks to drive empty, but when packed with 1100lbs of payload they were no longer very sporty. If these had caught on they would have been more profitable than the captive import and Chrysler would have been able to cancel the D50, but that didn't happen.
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6. 2nd Generation Ram D50
The D50 was once again slated for cancellation after the introduction of the Dakota in 1987, but the smallness of the little Ram and the largeness of the Dakota allowed then to coexist until 1993. The 2.6 liter was making a little more power (105hp) and in 1990 a 2.4 liter with fuel injection replaced it and offered a power boost (116hp), plus a 3.0-liter V6 was offered. The 2nd generation also was available as an extended cab for the first time.
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