My big white truck is a RAM. And she is proud of it! But, you might ask, what is a “RAM”? Is it different from a “ram” (a bighorn sheep)? Do the letters R-A-M stand for something? Is it an acronym? Maybe “Ready And Mighty” or “Racing Around Merrily”?
I wondered. So I looked it up online.
The back story is that many decades ago Chrysler Corporation started a line of pickup trucks and cars that they called “Dodge” and then they subsequently made Dodge a separate company from Chrysler. I don’t have a clue why they called it Dodge. Then, later, 1981 or so, under the Dodge corporation, a line of cars and trucks was created called RAM, but they were all Dodge vehicles (like Dodge Darts and Dodge Chargers were and have always been) so the RAMs were called Dodge RAM vehicles.
More recently, in 2010, Chrysler separated the RAM pickup trucks (and larger RAM trucks) from Dodge so that today RAM is its own brand of vehicle. It isn’t Chrysler RAM or Dodge RAM … it’s just RAM.
Almost every RAM truck has the head of a ram (a bighorn sheep) on the front grill … or on the back tailgate (or both). Here’s my big white truck’s proud logo … first photo below is of the tailgate. The head of the ram is sculpted so that, when a bright sky is above, the eyes are gloriously illuminated. She’s looking’ right at you, baby! And she’s sayin’, don’t you get too close unless you mean business! Got my double-barrel exhaust pipes looking’ right at you. (click to enlarge the photo if you dare)
And here’s the front grill of my big white truck …
If you see this in your rear view mirror, you know that this big white truck has her trailer in tow and is serious about getting down the road to her next campground!
Fun stuff. 🙂 But, where did the name RAM come from? Well there are different answers depending on which website you read. When Chrysler/Dodge was building race car engines, the mechanics came up with a new way to force more air into the engine which made the engine more powerful … and they won races! They called that process of injecting/forcing more air “ram injection”. That technology was then used in the engines of some street cars and pickup trucks and those vehicles were then labeled RAM. There are other stories about how the label RAM came to be, but I like this one. It’s the most believable of all of the stories I’ve read.
My big white truck is a gentle soul, she’s so sweet and comfortable and quiet. But she does have that other side of her inside, that other way of dealing with the world, if need be. She does have that “ram injection” engine in her after all. And the engine that she enjoys is the largest gasoline engine that RAM makes. She wouldn’t harm a fly if she could help it. But if she needs to take action, she can sure do that without batting an eye.
We (she and I) have one story about a fellow here in our home neighborhood who, in what he thought was a hot snazzy car, pulled up along side my big white truck at a stop light thinking he would leave her in his dust when the light turned green. Well, I’d seen this guy before, cutting off other drivers, causing problems. So today my big white truck and I had other thoughts. I put my left foot on the brake pedal, and just pushed ever so gently on the gas pedal with my right foot. When that light turned green, I floored it … and we left that NOT so hot snazzy car in our dust. And he tried, he tried to beat us, his car was screeching, leaving rubber on the pavement, his engine was screaming and his car was veering left to right, right to left, but the big white truck didn’t blink an eye, left no tire marks on the pavement, didn’t screech, didn’t huff and puff, but simply left him, ever so gently, and ever so perfectly and pleasantly and undeniably in her dust.
After I got a couple of blocks down the road and then slowed down (it took only about four seconds to leave that guy in our dust), at that next intersection I turned right to go visit friends of mine. And then I noticed another RAM pickup truck behind me … who had ALSO left that guy in the dust, we had BOTH passed that not-so-snazzy car. So I pulled over and stopped. That other RAM pickup pulled up next to me and opened his passenger window. That other RAM driver was grinning! He gave me two thumbs up and said WAY TO GO! Both of us had seen this guy drive like a idiot so many times here. The other RAM pickup driver said he’d been trying to set up the scenario we’d just had, but that he had wanted to be in front. On the other hand, he said, TWO … TWO RAM trucks left that guy in the dirt. He thanked me, I thanked him. We smiled big smiles. And went on our way.
I like to think this kind of scenario doesn’t happen often. It could endanger others on the road. But boy it felt good to leave that idiot behind. And … my big white truck … she just yawned and said “yes, he was irritating me too.”
I take care of her, anything she needs, and then some. And she takes care of me AND she takes care of Towhee the Trailer. They are such good friends! 🙂
Gee, Ithought RAM meant Random access memory: Like when you randomly drive around from your campsite to access any number of memorable things.
😄 👍🏼
Amen Fritzi! 🙂
Janet, I almost fell off my chair laughing, that was spectacular! 🙂 You are so clever!
LOL! Perfect comment Janet. I’m a retired MCSE like Ann is and was trying to think of something clever to say about random access memory. You nailed it. 🙂
Wasn’t that great, Jamie? Wish one of us had thought that, huh. 🙂
Google the Dodge brothers as they were some of the first car builders in America.
Thank you Vernon. At your suggestion, I looked them up and found tons of information about them, most of which I didn’t have a clue about. Great stuff. Here’s a link to one of the websites I liked a lot. Thank you!
https://www.motorcities.org/story-of-the-week/2019/remembering-the-famous-dodge-brothers-a-brief-history
Yes, Dodge, thanks Vernon, good info. A friend of mine who is a retired diesel/gas truck mechanic tells me is exactly what you say Ann. It was the race car industry that produced “ram injection” and resulted in RAM trucks today. And yet, I like that your big white truck is so gentle and is such a friend with your trailer. That was really cool. 🙂
Thanks Walt. Nice comment. 🙂
Zounds. What a truck!! 🙂
Indeed! 🙂
Cool truck duel … you AND the second truck left him in your dust! And yet you are kind.
I was behind a RAM truck today and noticed those eyes on that logo. I never had before, and now I back off! 🙂
Aren’t those eyes great? I never noticed them until I bought a RAM truck. Funny how that is. Sometimes I wonder what else is right in front of me that I’m not seeing.
Didn’t realize you were such a hot rod driver!
Vroom vroom!! 🙂
I have a nice SUV to pull my trailer, but now I want a big white truck!! 🙂 Wow!
Your SUV is probably excellent, Susan. But I do sure love my truck. It’s rated to tow about 11,000 pounds and my trailer is only about 3,000 pounds, and the truck has larger-than-standard brakes, and a more powerful transmission, and the best gear ratio in the differential for power and fuel cost. But I bet your SUV is excellent. 🙂 On the other hand, keep looking at trucks for sale, never know what you might find. Mine was 5 years old when I bought her and she has been terrific.
Cool beans! 🙂
Ha! 🙂
I want to say how much I liked your last blog post about the narrowboat Together We Roam. What you wrote, the photos you shared, but mostly what you wrote was so beautiful, so kind. I know you didn’t want comments, but I’m sneaking one in here. 🙂 We’ve been watching their vlog, commented once. She produces truly wonderful, gorgeous videos of cruising on the canals in England and as you say the music is beautiful and so relaxing. Thank you!
Oh Marge, that’s so nice of you to say that. That made me smile a big smile. 🙂 Thank you. And thanks for supporting “Together We Roam”, they are such nice people.
Same thoughts here, Marge, thanks for sneaking in the comment. We will follow suit. Really nice support for those narrowboat friends of yours, Ann, even tho you’ve never met them and might never meet them, they seem friends …… the same as we are here in this blog! Would that all humans could be so kind. Even tho a FEW aren’t kind, let us, all of us, continue to be kind. Thank you Ann.
Jim
I tell you … I set rules about no comments and then people break the rules and say the nicest things. Thank you Jim … well said!