Michigan natives John and Horace Dodge broke into the budding automotive industry at the dawn of the 20th century as parts suppliers to the likes of Oldsmobile and Ford. They built their first vehicle in 1914, and by the following year, Dodge Brothers was the nation’s third-biggest automaker. They soon added trucks and vans to their lineup, and Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928. The famous ram hood ornament appeared on Dodge trucks in 1933, and by the late ’40s, four-wheel drive and diesel engines had been added to the list of functional features.
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Dodge began using the Cummins 5.9 liter diesel engine in its pickups in 1989. For those first few years, the Cummins 5.9 produced 160 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque, although output would climb steadily as the pages of the calendar turned. Those changes gradually brought the 5.9 into the realm of the most potent diesel engines ever used in Dodge trucks. Dodge split Ram off into its own division in 2009, but for the purposes of cataloguing these engines, we’ll keep Dodge and Ram branded trucks in the same bucket. Let’s first explore how the 5.9-liter Cummins evolved and then see where it fits among the other potent diesels that have powered Dodge and Ram trucks.
