Chrysler in 1977 was a mess. At least, the car side of the house was…the mid-size models got the same names as the full-size models, the big cars weren’t selling because the buying public had dealt with a gas crunch and was not ready to just hop into a 5,000 pound land barge, and those new replacements for the trusty and dependable Dodge Dart and Plymouth Valiant…well, they were rusting faster than dealerships could react. Chrysler might have gotten lucky with the Cordoba, but Plymouth was getting the shaft and on the whole, the company was sinking quickly. But not all was lost: over on the Dodge Truck side of the house, all was well. You could still get big-blocks, crew-cab pickups, vans that were immediately converted into rolling bordellos, and Dodge’s own sports-utility, the Ramcharger. Try to not snicker too hard when the announcer refers to the Ramcharger as “the newest looking little sportster”…he might have been trying to pass the Ramcharger off as some sort of car, but even the most car-illerate could tell you that the Ramcharger was a slightly short Dodge truck with a kitted-out bed area. Four-wheel drive, a few bolts away from being an open-air driving experience, and because of the light truck loopholes, pretty fast for the late 1970s, the Ramcharger was a genuinely appealing vehicle from a company that seemed to be running on fumes.
I had one of these. Bought it used in 1979. The heater couldn’t come close to warming the interior. When it was 32 degrees outside, it was 42 degrees inside with the heater set on max, Not good for Minnesota!
I like to think my 2006 Durango is the spiritual successor to the Ramcharger. V8 AWD fun runabout.