2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Regular Cab 4X2 New Car Buyer's Guide

What's New for the 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10?
By dropping the Dodge Viper SRT-10’s 8.3-liter V10 engine under the hood of a Ram pickup, DaimlerChrysler has created the ultimate super truck. The 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 possesses 500 horsepower, 525 lb.-ft. of torque, and a 500-watt sound system. It tops 150 mph and goes 0-60 in just over five seconds. Performance suspension tuning drops the truck one inch in front and 2.5 inches in the rear with new front and rear strut assemblies and a new rear sway bar. Bilstein monotube shocks, performance-tuned springs, an aero body kit, 22-inch wheels, and P305/40R22 Pirelli Scorpion tires complete the hardware package. Red-painted brake calipers, brake-cooling ducts in the front fascia and a hood scoop with “Viper Powered” badges on either side are telltales that the SRT-10 is not your garden-variety Ram.

Advantages of the 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10:

• Tire shredding power and torque
• Menacing styling cues
• Real-world, albeit diminished, payload capacity

Objections to the 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10:

• Terrible fuel economy when used to potential
• Towing is not recommended
• No automatic transmission
• Base price is $45,000

Editor's Advice:
The 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 is what the Chevrolet SSR should have been all along. Both are weekend enthusiast machines with limited cargo and towing capacities. Both make strong styling statements and serve as halo vehicles for their respective brands. Both will trade for between $40,000 and $50,000. But only one frightens small children as it rumph-rumph-rumph’s down the street. If the Dodge Ram SRT-10 has you salivating, noting that it gets lousy fuel economy, doesn’t come with an automatic transmission, and isn’t recommended for towing is laughable. Until the 2006 Ford SVT F-150 Lightning enters the race, the Ram SRT-10 is the Governator of Truckville.