1985 Dodge RAM Cummins Diesel Prototype — Dodge Diesel Truck History Lesson

The Dodge RAM Cummins diesel prototype dates back to the 1980s, when Chrysler and Dodge began collaborating with Cummins to develop a new engine to improve pickup truck performance. This new engine made its debut in the 1986 Dodge RAM 350 pickup. This Autobytel video is narrated by Nick Cappa, the public relations manager for the RAM Trucks brand, and explores the creation of the 5.9-liter 6BT inline-6 Cummins turbo diesel engine. A large displacement diesel engine offered Dodge truck drivers a significant advantage over the competition, since this Cummins engine collaboration was a new strategy to boost power and capability. The Dodge RAM Cummins diesel prototype drivetrain is a good example to discuss the history of diesel engine technology, since RAM trucks now offer a 3-liter V6 diesel engine that packs more punch in a smaller package. This Autobytel video with Nick Cappa offers a little bit of insight into how much diesel engine technology has improved, in terms of power and efficiency, over the course of the last 25 years. As diesel technology becomes more powerful and more economical, even as the engines themselves get smaller, this type of engine can offer considerable improvements to the pickup truck category, and to RAM trucks in particular.