- The Ram Chargers were a drag race team
- The Dodge Ram Charger was also an SUV nameplate
- What was the first Ram truck?
- What is a RAM?
Even though the RAM trucks brand capitalizes its name on its pickup grilles, the letters are not an acronym. Ram now refers to the longhorn male sheep that are the automaker’s mascot. But the word actually has its origins in a unique technology invented by a Mopar drag race team–in the 1950s.
The Ram Chargers were a drag race team
By 1959, Chevy cars with their big block V8s were dominating the drag strip. Then, over lunch a the Chrysler Engineering Institute (CEI), 20 students challenged each other to engineer a Mopar to beat the Chevies at the races. They each threw in $30, bought a 1949 Plymouth coupe, and got to work building a race car in their spare time.
Richard Petty’s 1965 Plymouth Barracuda | Bettmann via Getty Images
The students knew they had the advantage of a HEMI engine. They began experimenting with special, “long-horn” intakes to better mix the air and fuel. They coined the technology they invented the “Ram” intake. This also gave their club a name, the “Ramchargers,” according to AllPar.com.
The Ram Charger race team used science to dominate the drag strip throughout the 1960s. They developed such advanced speed technology that the 426 HEMI V8 is still used in drag racing today. Though the team was never officially part of Chrysler Corporation, the company capitalized on its notoriety by folding the words Ram and Charger into its vehicle offerings. Ram was also an advertising word for some high output engines, especially with a Ram intake.
The Dodge Ram Charger was also an SUV nameplate
1987 Dodge Ramcharger | John Prieto/The Denver Post via Getty Images
In 1974, Dodge launched an all-new truck-based SUV. The full-size, 2-door was available with powerful HEMI V8s out of Dodge muscle cars and 4WD. The Plymouth version was called the “Trail Duster” (a play on the Plymouth Duster’s name). And the Dodge version was called the “Ram Charger” (a play on the Dodge Charger’s name). The automaker continued building some form of the Ram Charger until the 1993 model year.
What was the first Ram truck?
Ram trucks logo | Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Dodge has been building pickup trucks for over 100 years. In 1981, it renamed its pickup truck line the Dodge Ram series. In 2009, Chrysler Corporation split Dodge and Ram into separate, parallel brands.
Today, Ram trucks–alongside Dodge–is one of the many brands that form Stellantis. It shares technology with Dodge as well as Chrysler and Jeep. Ram products include the half-ton 1500, the heavy-duty Ram 2500 and 3500, professional-strength chassis cab trucks, and the ProMaster vans.
What is a RAM?
A Ram is a male sheep. Even though the Dodge Ram was originally named for a high performance air intake, Ram trucks has adopted a fearsome bighorn sheep as its logo.
Custom Ram 2500 hood ornament | Stellantis
This capable, fierce and distinctly American animal is a perfect symbol for the truck brand. Bighorn sheep nimbly climb the mountains of Yosemite and the Grand Tetons. When the Rams fight, the sound of them headbutting one another echoes all the way to Jackson Hole.
Some trims of the Ram Charger SUV actually wore a fearsome bighorn Ram hood ornament. When Dodge founded its Ram truck lineup, it carried over this hood ornament. Today, you can even find a modern version of the longhorn Ram ornament on rare, special edition trucks.
Keyword: What Do the Letters RAM Stand For?