September 2, 1945: a date that will always stand out for those who lived it. On this day, the Japanese formally surrendered ending World War II, thus marking the end of a frighteningly bloody chapter in human history.
Following this, as American GI’s were victoriously returning home, they discovered that they missed the reliability and strength of their Army trucks. In hopes of finding a civilian duplicate to their wartime vehicles, they wrote to Dodge and implored that one be created. The result: The Dodge Power Wagon.
The Dodge brand proudly built the Power Wagon based off of the 3/4-ton Army truck’s chassis with a civilian cab and a redesigned 8-foot cargo box. It featured a 126-inch wheelbase chassis and a 230 cubic-inch flathead six-cylinder engine, a two-speed transfer case and a 4-speed transmission. The Power Wagon, although redesigned several times, remained in production until 1980, when the following year the Dodge Ram took its place. The Wagon’s design and capability helped it to become the predecessor for most of the four by four trucks we see on the road and was eventually reborn as the Ram 2500 Power Wagon available again today.
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