Cool Wall: 1999-2001 Dodge Ramcharger

[Snikle]

Poll 1498: 1999-2001 Dodge Ramcharger nominated by Snikle

Body Style: 2dr SUV
Engine: 5.2L V8, 5.9L V8
Power: 230-245 hp
Torque: 300-412 lb-ft
Transmission: 4-speed auto, 4-speed manual
Drivetrain: FR
Additional Information: Built and sold only in Mexico following the success of prior generation Ramchargers there - The back had a sideways-folding 3rd row and the hatch from a minivan.

Spoiler: Additional Pictures

 

[Snikle]

Hard to find good pictures of this one. Quite the parts-bin special here, although I'm glad it exists. If I saw one here in America I'd flip, although whether or not that makes it cool is a different question entirely. The Durango this car is based on is good looking, but the back of the car is where it falls apart. Why not just use a Durango rear? Either way, good on Mexican Dodge for knowing what their customers want and working to make it a reality, even when America had moved away from 2-door SUVs. I might give it a low cool despite the weird rear just for that.

 

[TexRex]

The striping on the red example in additional pictures is just awful. I can't imagine anyone thinking that looks good and doing it themselves, much less buying it like that if it was done in any kind of official capacity by a factory or dealership.

 

[TexRex]

Why not just use a Durango rear?

Width? Second gen Rams are considerably wider than first gen Durangos. You're probably looking at a difference of eight inches.

 

[GranTurNismo]

Two pieces of incorrect information in the OP, I will point out: the Ramcharger produced 245hp at it's maximum, not 360, and it is FR not MR.

Even though 2-door full-size SUVs were falling out of fashion by the late 1990s, I wonder how it would have sold in the US given that the Bronco and 2-door Tahoe/Yukon were discontinued by the time the 3rd-gen Ramcharger came out. The Ramcharger would have had no competition in it's segment.

Meh.

 

[JohnBM01]

You know, I always liked the 1990s and 2000s Dodge RAMs. My favorite is the Dodge RAM SRT-10. This one, though, I can't say it's too exciting or appealing. I don't want to say it's uncool. Then too, it isn't overly cool either. Actually, let me make this my final call- Uncool, and I was going to say "Meh" prior to posting.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Nah, I'm gonna vote cool. I have a hunch most non-car people in the USA at least are going to think these are cool with our current car market geared towards SUVs in general. Also, a lot of people tend to be not exactly tasteful.

 

[Snikle]

Two pieces of incorrect information in the OP, I will point out: the Ramcharger produced 245hp at it's maximum, not 360, and it is FR not MR.

Not exactly sure how I could have thought this was mid-engine lol. Funny typo

 

[TheCracker]

Ugly and 40hp per litre? Uncool.

 

[Centroid]

There was a Dodge Ram in the car park at my local supermarket the other day. It looked stupidly large in New Zealand. That is irrelevant though. The Ram is one of the few interesting looking pickups, however this does it no favours. I've seen worse though. Meh.

 

[Tornado]

It's truly kind of fascinating that Dodge has not made a full size SUV in nearly 30 years, even when the 1993 Ram basically clawed away an entire quarter or more of the pickup market away from GM and Ford almost immediately upon release. They basically ceded the entire market to Ford and Chevrolet right before the Tahoe replaced the Blazer and the market exploded as a result; and then never bothered to get back in.



And it's not like Chrysler as a whole were worried about internal competition, because Jeep also didn't make one for over 30 years (nor did Mercedes).

 

[MisterWaffles]

This thing looks like it wants to aggressively tailgate me for 40 kilometres down the highway even when I’m doing 20 over the speed limit.

Uncool.