My Ugly Truck

Otto the Road Truck on the road to the Grand Canyon

I am the owner of a 2002 Dodge Ram pick-up. It’s big and it’s ugly. It gets atrociously poor gasoline mileage. The paint is crazing and will probably peel off of it soon. It’s on its 4th set of tires, its 2nd battery and 2nd set of brakes. I have put over 160,000 miles on it in nine years.

I have never been very enthusiastic about this truck, even though I did name him (Otto). I have never felt much loyalty for Dodge, or Chrysler. I haven’t had much respect for the products of these companies, at least since the 1970s.

Here are some of my complaints (but don’t jump to conclusions, this may not be headed where you think). The “accessory” stuff is just flat cheap. In the first three or four years, it required a new steering wheel (flaws in the leather covering), three new radios (and the last one isn’t right either), new sun visors (and one of the new ones is crap too), and several minor wiring problems (resulting in shorts and melt-downs).

The dashboard has completely disintegrated and is covered with a dash mat so I don’t have to spend $1000 to replace it. The heater control box is likewise disintegrating and has required several jury-rig repairs in the last two years, with more to come (it's probably made from the same plastic crap the dashboard was). There’s more, I’m sure, but I simply cannot remember at the moment. It’s had one major repair – the radiator and the heater core had to be replaced a while back. So I’ve spent a lot of time hating on this cheap Chrysler junk product.

My last vehicle was a pretty little white 4WD Ford Ranger and not one thing like that EVER failed on it. It ran about 100,000 miles before it had its first repair. I always thought it was an excellent vehicle. But then at about the 100K mark, the air conditioning compressor blew up, the entire cooling system (and later the heater) had to be re-done including the radiator; the transmission went completely (and it was a manual), the brakes had to be completely rebuilt (not just pads) and the 4WD wasn’t working either when I traded it (an electrical problem). This was all high-dollar stuff. I don't know what I was thinking when I traded it -- it was mechanically new. I should have kept driving it after putting all that money into repairs -- and it would have been easy because it still LOOKED like new.

All that is true, but you know, this cheap-ass Dodge has never stranded me? I guess I had to have it towed once when the radiator sprang a leak. Everything else has been normal wear and tear and consumables. All the problems have been mostly cosmetic stuff, except for that radiator. Now that’s irritating, but at 160,000+ miles, the engine is still smooth and strong, the transmission is seemingly fine and I still pretty much trust the vehicle not to leave me on foot anywhere, knock on wood; I mean, that’s bound to happen sooner or later, right?

I heard somewhere that Dodge builds a 500,000 mile engine and drive train, but a 50,000 mile body. This is apparently true. In terms of reliable transportation, I have never had any other vehicle that comes close to the reliability of this one; no Toyota, no VW, no Mazda; no nothing. It’s still ugly though.

Apparently, the American craftsmen building Dodge trucks can build a vehicle that rivals at least the mechanical quality of anything the world-wide automotive industry has ever produced. Now, if they could just put a radio in it that would last more than six months...


P. S.  I traded this truck in March 2011 for a Chevrolet Malibu.  I like the Malibu, but I miss my truck…