About Dodge Diesels
Dodge vehicles were fitted with diesel engines in the years immediately following World War II. Fargo trucks, which were rebadged Dodges for the Canadian market, and American Dodges were equipped with Perkins diesels in the early 1960s. The popular and reliable Cummins diesels began appearing in Dodge trucks in 1965, and with regularity in 1989.
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Diesel Image
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The diesel engine was a necessity in postwar Europe, while in the United States it never gained a wide following. American vehicle buyers perceived the diesel as polluting, noisy and unreliable compared to gasoline-powered engines. Trucks, however, were a different animal all together because of the diesel's pulling ability. And Dodge in particular understood the necessity of equipping fuel-efficient, strong diesels in its European line of vehicles.
Perkins
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The British-based F. Perkins Ltd. had been producing diesel engines since 1932. Its first connection to Dodge was building engines for Commer, a British commercial vehicle manufacturer purchased by Chrysler. By 1958, the Perkins diesel began appearing in the Chrysler-owned DeSoto, a Dodge sibling.
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American Use
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By 1959, Perkins was bought by tractor builder Massey-Ferguson. During this time Perkins was producing 1.6-liter, 60-horsepower diesels and later a 1.8-liter version. In 1962, Chrysler installed the Perkins diesel in 1,000 Dodge trucks as standard factory equipment. In 1965, Perkins produced a straight 6-cylinder diesel that generated 120 horsepower for the Commer/Dodge 500 Series trucks.
Enter Cummins
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Perkins continued to extensively supply engines for the Commer/Dodge European commercial vehicles, although fewer were equipped in American-made Dodges by the 1970s. Today, it still builds diesels for American truck makers. At the same time that Dodge was using the Perkins in its Dodge 500 Series trucks, the automaker also began using a Cummins 352-cubic-inch 6-cylinder rated at 130 horsepower in the same series.
Changing Perceptions
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Cummins Engines didn't win a large-scale production contract with Dodge until 1989. General Motors began using diesels in 1978, followed by Ford in 1983. Perceptions were beginning to change largely due to technological advances that allowed diesels to run more smoothly, quieter and with less pollution. An American public beaten up by the 1973 and '78 gas shortages contributed to the rethinking of the economical benefit of the diesel engine.
Dodge Relationship
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In 1989, Cummins was producing a 160-horsepower straight 6-cylinder engine that promised to reach 300,000 miles before it needed an overall. The engine was built with tractor-trailer rigs in mind. In other words, it was over-engineered for light-duty trucks, but that was the appeal because it led to durability. Dodge responded with its Ram truck line also over-engineered to handle the pulling capacity of the Cummins.
Today
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By 1994, the Dodge Ram could be ordered with a 5.9-liter V-8 Cummins diesel generating 230 horsepower. In 2002, Cummins introduced the 5.9-liter turbo diesel rated at 305 horsepower for the heavy-duty truck market for vehicles with a 23,000-pound towing capacity. These same engines were used in the Ram 2500/3500 series light-duty trucks with a towing capacity starting at 8,500 pounds. By 2006, 1.5 million Cummins diesel engines were produced for Dodge.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Chrysler LLC, Cummins Engines
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Comments
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surfbeetle
Jul 25, 2009
The 5.9 liter Cummins engine is an inline 6 cylinder, not a V-8 as mis-stated in the article. Yes, Dodge had a V-8 5.9 liter in 1994, it was a gas motor offered along side the Cummins 5.9 liter Diesel.
