Quick, which one of the Detroit Three has been building a turbodiesel pickup truck for the longest? That distinction goes to the Dodge Ram, which began offering the legendary 5.9-liter Cummins 6BT in late 1989. You can still order a heavy-duty Ram truck with a Cummins engine from Columbus, Indiana. But your diesel Ram truck will be assembled in Mexico.

What was the first diesel pickup truck?

Diesel engines were once too large for small trucks. But they have been getting lighter every decade. General Motors first dropped the Oldsmobile 350-cubic-inch diesel V8 in its half-ton Chevy C-Series trucks in 1978. The same year, Dodge offered 4.0-liter, naturally aspirated diesel I6 from Mitsubishi in its half and 3/4-ton trucks.

Dodge did away with its diesel option after just one year. Chevrolet found the Oldsmobile V8 (which was a modified gasoline engine) plagued with reliability issues. For the 1982 model year, General Motors partnered with the Detroit Diesel Company to offer a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter diesel V8 in its full-size pickup trucks.

In 1982, Ford also found a diesel partner: International Harvester. The Blue Oval began offering F-Series full-size trucks with the 6.9-liter “IDI” V8 in 1982.

What was the first turbodiesel pickup truck?

International Harvester pioneered its first naturally aspirated diesel engine in 1933. In 1980, International upped the ante with a six-cylinder Nissan turbodiesel in its Scout II SUVs and light-duty pickup trucks. Dodge offered the first 3/4 and one-ton turbodiesel pickup truck with its Cummins-powered 1989 Ram.

By the 1980s, Dodge was years behind General Motors and Ford in the diesel pickup truck game, so it partnered up with Cummins. Cummins was a well-established diesel engine supplier for heavy industrial equipment. Its new 5.9-liter “6BT” turbodiesel was not like the competitors’ V8s. It was a straight-six with just 160 horsepower. But with its turbocharger, it could make 400 lb-ft of torque. It also proved ridiculously overbuilt and reliable for pickup truck applications.

Heavy-duty Dodge Ram trucks with Cummins diesel engine immediately established a diehard following. Soon it was Ford and General Motors playing catch-up, trying to roll out redesigned, reliable turbodiesel engines for their pickup trucks.

Can you still buy a Dodge Ram pickup truck with a Cummins engine?

The Cummins turbodiesel engine is still a popular option for Dodge Ram trucks. To meet the latest emissions regulations while increasing power output, Cummins has upped the 6BT to a 6.7-liter displacement. It still builds the engine in Indiana, but Ram now assembles all its heavy-duty trucks in Mexico.

Chrysler Corporation opened its first plant in Mexico in 1968. The company completed its truck assembly plant in Saltillo, Mexico in 1995. Today, the facility assembles all the Ram 2500, 3500, 4500 and 5500 Heavy Duty trucks. The greater Saltillo compound also includes a stamping plant and an engine plant that builds all of Stellantis’ “HEMI” V8s and the new “Hurricane” I6.

Ram still assembles the current generation of its half-ton “1500” in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Its parent company (Stellantis) has promised the UAW union that it will only move 1500 production to Mexico if the Sterling Heights plant is at full capacity.