{"id":34941,"date":"2025-09-05T08:56:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=34941"},"modified":"2025-09-05T10:03:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T14:03:04","slug":"payne-with-a-rebels-yell-the-ram-v-8-is-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/payne-with-a-rebels-yell-the-ram-v-8-is-back","title":{"rendered":"Payne: With a rebel’s yell, the Ram V-8 is back"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chelsea<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Corporate branding fails are legend. Coca Cola\u2019s New Coke debacle. Bud Light\u2019s Dylan Mulvaney detour. Cracker Barrel\u2019s generic logo remake.<\/p>\n

Ram and Dodge ditching V-8s.<\/p>\n

The Stellantis brands\u2019 epic, head-scratching decision has been the poster child of a bizarre few years in which automakers, reeling from billions in Nanny State fines, scrambled product offerings regardless of customer taste. After the implosion of their V8-focused muscle brands, Stellantis is working to right the ship.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The 2026 Ram 1500 eTorque V-8 boasts 395 horsepower.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n

Just as Cracker Barrel restored its traditional logo, Ram has stamped every V-8 model\u2019s fender with the “Symbol of Protest” badge featuring a ram’s head on an aggressive V-8 Hemi engine. If the six-cylinder lineup felt like surrender to The Man, the protest symbol is a rebel\u2019s yell against the Establishment. Take that, nannies!<\/p>\n

RAWWWWR!<\/em>\u00a0I buried the throttle of the 2026 Ram 1500 V-8 out of Stellantis\u2019s Chelsea Proving Grounds on to Chelsea-Manchester Road, the rear tires squealing with delight as I sailed through the pickup\u2019s natural habitat: farms, small businesses, rural homes.<\/p>\n

The majority of Ram 1500 truck sales are V8-powered, and, according to Sales Chief Brant Coombs, 40% of those buyers won\u2019t consider anything else. Detroit automakers have been under assault from their own government for making the engines Americans love, with Stellantis alone suffering $773 million in fines since 2016. Ram had been on a roll until those fines hit, surpassing Chevrolet as the #2 best-selling truckmaker in early 2019.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
The 2026 Ram 1500 eTorque V-8 is strong on and off-road.<\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Battered from federal haymakers, Ram\u2019s new European owners deep-sixed the eight for the \u201825 model year, and sales sunk as buyers delayed new purchases of the brand\u2019s six-cylinder-only lineup. You could\u2019ve seen it coming a mile away.<\/p>\n

Heads rolled at Stellantis, and, when the smoke cleared, company legend Tim Kuniskis \u2014 mastermind of Dodge-Ram\u2019s strategy a decade ago \u2014 had been installed as chief of North American product. That dovetailed with new management in Washington, D.C. that was favorable to consumer choice. In December 2024 \u2014 note the post-election timing \u2014 Kuniskis & Co. convened a corporate pep rally to bring back the V-8.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard loud and clear from consumers: there is no replacement for the iconic Hemi V-8. At the end of each month, we count sales to customers, not to statisticians or ideologues,\u201d roared Kuniskis. \u201cWe raise our flag and let the Hemi ring free again!\u201d<\/p>\n

To paraphrase John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd, the Bruise Brothers are getting the band back together.<\/p>\n

\"Engineer<\/p>\n
Engineer Marty Jagoda led a crack team to develop the 2026 Ram 1500 eTorque V-8.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was reminiscent of a few years ago when we were kicking butts and naming names,\u201d smiled engineer Marty Jagoda, vice president of special projects. \u201cWe put together F-15, a top secret team\u00a0to get the people and the parts to bring the Hemi back. Hemi is not just an engine, it is\u00a0the<\/em>\u00a0engine.\u201d<\/p>\n