Find Reviews by Make:
News of a new Ram performance truck was bolstered by these images released by Ram yesterday, that preview the new model set to be unveiled at this weekend’s Woodward Dream Cruise.
With a yellow bee motif and the word “Rumble” stenciled below the Ram’s shifter dial, it’s safe to assume that the Rumble Bee is based on the Ram Express, a stripped-down Hemi powered version of the Ram 1500. But while the Ram Express is rather basic (vinyl seats are available, for example) the Rumble Bee will likely have some more upscale features to go along with a higher price tag.
59 Comments on “Is Ram Reviving The Rumble Bee?...”
Read all comments
In the words of Marv Albert: “Yesh!”
Below “Rumble” it looks like those two buttons would control the exhaust noise. Servo exhaust dump maybe?
Sweet, that’s what the world needs now. Yet another huge truck that breaks the 100 decible level at a stop light.
Somewhat off topic, but my idiot neighbor’s teenager has a 90s Cummins Ram with stacks. He was “rolling coal” in the driveway for a good 5 minutes yesterday for no apparent reason. This is why diesel has a bad reputation in this country.
Yes, exactly what we need is another cheap vastly overpowered big ass pickup truck for the local teenagers to make a mess with.
Most teenagers around me don’t have jobs and can’t even afford fuel for these trucks, let alone buy them.
Anyone who puts straight pipes on anything ought to be spayed or neutered, without anesthesia.
But old Detroit Diesel two-stroke trucks sound awesome with straight pipes…
Oh c’mon don’t be a party pooper. Some engines sound great with straight pipes.
How do you feel about cherry bombs?
I’m not a fan of any aftermarket exhaust which increases the noise level. They certainly don’t sound “awesome” to everyone whose peace and quiet is ruined by them.
Doesn’t the States have regulations that don’t permit this?
In Australia the cops will pull over a kid (or anyone for that matter) who has a vehicle that is noisy, smokes, etc.
The cops hand him a defect and he has to have the vehicle inspected.
Depends on the municipality; generally larger cities have noise and emissions requirements that smaller ones don’t. This has the odd effect that I can drive around in Albuquerque traffic with the windows down, enjoy a nice day and be able to talk to my passengers in relative peace, but if I’m in the much smaller town where I live, I have to constantly put up with loud exhausts and diesel smoke-outs from the sort of inconsiderate douchebags who buy trucks like these.
“They certainly don’t sound “awesome” to everyone whose peace and quiet is ruined by them.”
I’ll be sure to take the long way around the nursing home next time.
Great, Dodges (oops, RAMs) are loud enough as it is. I spend a lot of time in campgrounds and you can always tell when a Ram is going by. I like a nice sounding exhaust like any other guy, but in everyday situations, it gets old fast.
I prefer my whisper quiet Ecoboost, thank you very much. I get the same thrill when the blow off valves pop on my truck anyway. Of course it means that people in the same campground don’t notice when you are coming up behind them and a little horn tap is needed.
Is it a prevalence of aftermarket exhausts? I’ve never heard a stock Ram that I would consider terribly “loud,” although they do have the V8 burble.
Nissan Titans, however, absolutely howl. In a most unpleasant way. The one time I drove one as a rental I absolutely couldn’t tolerate 65mph on the interstate (yeah, that was the speed limit) without getting a splitting headache.
“Is it a prevalence of aftermarket exhausts?” I’m betting this. Of the Big 3 trucks, Hemi equipped Rams seem to be the most consistently exhaust modded.
In my little corner of New Mexico it is rare to see ANY truck more than about two years old that hasn’t had aftermarket pipes installed, usually nice chrome trumpets sticking out the back as an addition too. It doesn’t matter around here if it is a Toyota, Nissan, Dodge, Ford, Chevy or GMC. I’ll rasise my hand for giving my F150 Heritage a cat back system
Ditto in Farmington / Aztec / Bloomfield. After being around loud airplanes at work most days, I prefer my quiet Corolla.
I think almost every endeavor that attempts to turn a truck into a street car/hotrod seems to end in tasteless failure of extreme magnitude surely to end up only in the driveway of the daftest of D-bag’s. Like moths to the flame really. This one in bright yellow example with offensive exhaust noise will fit the bill quite nicely in that regard.
I think the way to make a speciatly truck that is actually cool is the F150 raptor. I not a fan of trucks as personal transportsion, but the Raptor may be the only truck I have ever coveted.
Trucks are the current “muscle cars”. Yes you can still buy a Camaro or a Mustang or a Challenger but lets look at how many 1/2 ton trucks with the manufacturers largest available V8 are being sold.
The Ram “Express” is like buying the old Road Runner, cheap V8 thrills. The Rumble Bee is like buying the up optioned Chargers/Challengers/’Cuda of yore. And if we’re honest these “muscle trucks” outperform the old 442s, Mustangs, and AMXs of the 60s and 70s.
I still pine for the return of the “Little Red Express Truck”.
All buyers will do with these Bumble Bees are add those obnoxious vertical, over-sized pipes sticking out of the bed behind the cab, towering over the roof!
Besides, the colors remind me of those ground-digger cicada-killer wasps that are making our back yard a mess!
The original Li’l Red Express came standard with the “obnoxious” transport truck style vertical exhaust stacks that you’re complaining about. The main difference was the Li’l Red Express was a stepside box, so the stacks were outside the box. I’m not sure what you’re really asking for, a return of the stepside box?
I meant to say the LOUD obnoxious vertical pipes, not the pipes themselves, just the noise.
A stepside box would be a plus, too.
That is true, and I will admit it is a matter of personal taste or lack thereof. However offensive it may be to the eyes or ears, the important thing is that it be a profitable venture for Fiat/Chrysler, which I am sure it will be.
Disagree, see syclone/typhoon
That one got it right. Limited decals and striping, the same wheels as the regular sporty versions of the Jimmy and…whatever GMC called their pickup before it was the Sonoma…relatively understated, especially in black.
S-15 :)
“I think the way to make a speciatly truck that is actually cool is the F150 raptor.”
The Raptor is the Affliction T-shirt of the truck world. Not to say I wouldn’t want one or they aren’t awesome, but it’s every bit of the DB bait that a Hemi Ram with a stripe package is. The only thing ensuring there are fewer of them out there is the fact that they cost more and would make the gym membership a little harder to afford.
….and would make the gym membership a little harder to afford….
Odd statement; the vast majority of truck drivers I see would benefit greatly from a gym membership as a good percentage of the trucks’ capacity is used up by the weight of the driver’s belly. Since we are generating a lot of stereotypes here….
“Odd statement; the vast majority of truck drivers I see would benefit greatly from a gym membership as a good percentage of the trucks’ capacity is used up by the weight of the driver’s belly. Since we are generating a lot of stereotypes here….”
Perhaps their truck payment forced them to give up the gym membership.
With all the genital size and other generalizations, I just thought I’d join in ;)
My sister (28) after just having a baby seven weeks ago, traded her two or three y/o f150 lariat for a 14 raptor crew cab. So said it was her holy fu€k I made it through that present. Her husband approved of her purchase or course.
The realistic looking bee sitting on a honeycomb design in the knob is a neat touch.
Too bad its not a 6 speed manual. Anyone want to wager if a stick will even be available?
” Too bad its not a 6 speed manual. Anyone want to wager if a stick will even be available?”.
Unlikely. The 1500 doesn’t have a manual trans available on any other model, so they’re unlikely to add one for a low volume deal like this. If you want a manual transmission pickup from Chrysler, you gotta step up to the 2500.
Although I understand how automatics WIDELY outsell manual transmissions, am I the only one that is a little sad that manual transmissions are no longer available in ANY trim level of most 1/2 ton trucks?
My old F150 is an automatic but then I bought it used. If I had ordered/purchased new I would have insisted on a manual, and there are days when I think I should have searched the used market a little more vigorously.
I agree that the lack of availability is a bit saddening. A manual cog swapper in something like this would be a real hoot as I imagine the Viper powered shorty Rams were.
One side effect of the all-auto trucks is that some guys let their girlfriends drive them. ANYONE, not just young ladies, who got a license driving a Corolla in their road test needs a couple lessons in a stadium parking lot before driving these trucks in traffic.
I hope this will have the truck version of the 6.4L Hemi that is going into the HD models for ’14. That would make this a real performer. The 5.7L R/T shorty models already scoot pretty good, the 6.4L would put them solidly up there with the Lightning of yore and maybe even the Viper truck.
Nothing complements macho truck design better than calling it a “bee”.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
You may remember that the guy who gets credit for saying that was pretty well respected as a man.
The “bee” name is appropriate from a historical context, ignoring for a moment that these trucks are technically “RAMs” and not “Dodges” any more.
Super Bee = a Dodge muscle car
Rumble Bee = a Dodge muscle truck
You’re right, although I must admit that the first thing I thought of was Romper Room, “Romper, bomper, stomper, boom…” and Dooby Bee.
Forget the Ram Express. If you want to follow the great Mopar tradition of dog dish hubcaps and options deleted, you can apparently get the same 5.7 Hemi/6-speed auto combo in the base-base level Tradesman, along with steel wheels and black bumpers. That say “Mopar” to me more than some Rumble Bee silliness.
And optioned that way, they’re very inexpensive too. All the performance without the bling and extra cost.
Sadly most people don’t want to be seen in a work truck fleet special with a black plastic grill.
A 4×4 Hemi Tradesman comes in at a bit under 29k. Seems quite cheap for a 4×4 “big V8” truck.
Add in rebates and financing and all that and you’re down to $24,300 for a 4×4 V8 truck. That’s damned cheap.
Yep, and option it as RWD for the sport truck crowd and the price drops even more. They’re surprisingly fast in that configuration too.
Eh, when you live in the Northeast, might as well sacrifice a bit of performance for not having to dump a ton of crap in the bed to get traction.
Those grilles are easily removed and replaced, or painted. The base vehicle is easier to customize to taste, at far less than the price of the bling packages that include things you don’t want.
For those of us who don’t mind doing the mods, that’s the way to go IMO.
I think the Sport model includes upgraded wheels/tires, but I’m not sure about the suspension. The tires on the Tradesman have a tall sidewall and would probably get squishy in the corners.
The lower end Rams used to have a two tone black/grey vinyl bench, which could have passed for low grade leather. I’m not sure whether they still offer it, but I liked that feature.
That is because they are poseurs.
The photo looks like it’s based on the RAM R/T, not the Express.
The R/T comes with a 4.10 rear end, seats with more aggressive bolstering, the fake hood scoops, and 22-inch wheels with lower profile tires. It also can only tow 5000 pounds. Some form of Uconnect is probably standard too.
My guess is that this either replaces the R/T or is a new trim level on top of it.
I don’t believe the R/T will be a Ram model going forward anymore.
I’m not a fan of yellow, but a fire engine red or bright Jeep red would be a better colour.
As a collectable, will it hold its value?
If you want to retain or make money, put the equivalent amount in a 40-year CD at 0.5% interest.
You’ll come out better than buying a modern truck and hope it goes up in value some day.
Hard to believe that Dodge (now Ram) pickups were barely a ripple in the market until Chrysler stuck a Cummins in them, either by choice or by chance. The idea of a real truck engine sold and they thought maybe a “big rig” look would go over. Marketing history was made and now people with small penises and low IQ’s have a vehicle of their very own.. an Italian truck to hang their pro-American and anti-Obama stickers on.
Stereotype much?
He jelly. Not sure what qualifies the Ram 1500 as “Italian” either. Is it the chest hair? The gold medallion? Just curious.
Hopefully it has the 6.4L (392ci) Hemi that’s in the 2500 for next year, a single cab, 4.10’s, and sticky tires.