At $17,000, Would You Go Head To Head With This 2012 Ram 1500?
A standard cab and a short bed make today’s Nice Price or No Dice Ram one of the less utilitarian of Mopar’s pickups, but also one of the lightest of the bunch. That should help it make the most of its 5.7 liter Hemi. Let’s see what we make of its price.
There are certain aesthetics that speak volumes more than mere words ever can. If someone shows up at your house with a tattoo of a handgun in mid-recoil adorning their face, you can be pretty well certain that they were not the best choice to do balloon animals for the kid’s birthday party.
In a similar fashion, many of you noted that the wheel and tire combo on yesterday’s 2011 BMW M3 convertible told you everything about the current owner, and that tale was to stay away. At $22,990, the M3 wasn’t the priciest on the market, but it had enough red flags to serve as an entrant in China’s National Day Parade. Red flags on cars are rarely good, and in the M3’s case, they resulted in a hefty 75 percent No Dice loss.
The S65 in yesterday’s Bimmer was notable for being the largest engine in the M3 line, measured both by displacement and cylinder count. In the automotive world, there have been a number of noteworthy engines; those like the ubiquitous Small Block Chevy and Volkswagen’s staccato-sounding air-cooled flat-four. Not all famous engines get a name, some go just by a displacement number, manufacturing plant location, or maybe even a combination of those aspects. Ford’s 351C for 351 cubic inches built in Cleveland, Ohio is one such example. One engine that has gained both fame and a name is the Chrysler Hemi. Over the years, that engine has come in a number of different displacements, but its name is not derived from any particular size but shape. That is the semi-hemispherical shape of its combustion chamber which allows for more valve area than a standard non-hemi head.
It’s that Hemi V8, in 5.7 liter displacement, that powers the 2012 Ram 1500 pickup we’re looking at today. As equipped, the Ram dances to the tune of 390 horsepower and 407 lb-ft of torque. Those are pretty respectable numbers and with the truck pushing all that through the six-speed automatic to just the rear wheels, it should make for a fairly entertaining time. Or, maybe a panic-inducing one if you’re not adept at driving an unladen truck with that kind of huevos.
Other aspects of this 92,000-mile truck that you may or may not like are its standard cab and the short bed. Both make for a less utilitarian package than something more capacious, but it does make for a damn good-looking truck with a well-balanced appearance. That’s enhanced by the paint, which is described as Tequila Sunrise Pearl and is paired with black-coated factory alloys and side-step rails that establish for the truck a bit of anti-bling.
Everything looks to be in great shape, with no obvious flaws in that cocktail-flavored paint or the wheels. Inside, it’s much the same story, with cloth seats and a fairly spartan dash. There’s nothing especially notable here other than the seating which at first glance appears to be buckets but can be converted into a three-up bench with just a flip of the armrest.
The ad describes the interior condition as “like new” and says that the truck comes with both the tow option and a soft tonneau for the bed. Other than that, it seems like a pretty straightforward if somewhat unassuming truck. Its biggest selling points are that Hemi V8 and the cool color it has been painted. It also should be noted that the truck carries a clean title
The question today is whether or not all of that adds up to a $17,000 sale. With that question in mind, what’s your take on this truck and that $17,000 asking? Does that seem like a good deal for a fun color and a Hemi? Or, does the truck’s short cab and bed mean that the price should be just as constrained?
You decide!
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Jim Uritz for the hookup!
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