Dodge Power Wagon
source: wikimedia
Up next is a truck that truly satisfies the allure of a “do-anything” truck whose reliability is almost too good to be true: The wartime-proven Dodge Power Wagon. Produced for decades starting in 1946, the truck’s original design, the ¾-ton WC Series, saw time in service overseas as a troop carrier, supply vehicle and general military transport in World War II. Demand for the truck in the civilian market was so high at war’s end that Dodge reproduced the WC Series as the Power Wagon we know today. The Power Wagon boasts a title as the first civilian truck available with a 4×4 drivetrain, accompanied by a utilitarian 8-foot bed and impressive 147” wheelbase, powered by a 230 cubic inch flathead straight-6. A simple two-speed transfer connected to an equally simplistic 4-speed transmission kept the Power Wagon rolling, while a Power Take Off unit could send power to the front or rear for auxiliary equipment – a feature well ahead of its time in the 40’s.
