15 Manliest Cars On The Road

11. 2004 Dodge Ram

Full-size pickups have always been manly, but when Dodge redid the Ram for 1994, and gave it a broad-shouldered, big-rig front end, the genre was redefined.

Park a ’93 Dodge next to a ’94, and you’d swear they were made decades apart. On the basis of manliness, they were light-years apart.

Buyers responded accordingly, and the years since kept enthusiasm going strong with variants featuring big diesels, crew cabs, dual rear wheels, and even a version with the Viper’s V10 under the hood.

2009 brings another update to the Ram, but Dodge has wisely chosen not to make radical changes, keeping this a manly car for a long time to come.

Dodge’s Ram is available in 1500, 2500 and 3500 versions, which translates to half-ton, three-quarter-ton and one-ton ratings, respectively. While the 2500 and 3500 models are designed for serious work, an offshoot of the 1500 — the high-performance Ram SRT-10 — is designed for serious play.

Light-duty versions of Dodge’s boldly styled full-size pickup trucks earned a fresh “big-rig” look for the 2002 model year. Two new option groups were added for 2003: an Off Road Group with off-road tires, skid plates and tow hooks, and a Work Special Group. A new Laramie model that replaced the previous SLT Plus joins the ST and SLT trim levels.

Dodge’s Hemi V-8 engine generates 345 horsepower; it became available late in the 2003 model year. The 5.9-liter V-8 has been dropped. For 2004, automatic transmissions add a Tow/Haul mode and a navigation radio is available. A new electrically activated full-time four-wheel-drive system is available for the SLT and Laramie models. Dodge also has launched a hot new Ram SRT-10 that comes equipped with a 500-hp V-10 engine.