Meant to compete with military-based Ford/ Marmon-Herrington and GMC trucks, it had an enclosed all-weather civilian cab and a purpose-designed 8-foot cargo box. Some believe the truck was renamed "Power Wagon" after a contemporaneous trucking magazine with that title. The 'W' was a continuation of the 1941–1947 model year series, followed by a 'D' instead of a 'C', because the civilian truck was a 1-ton rating instead of the Army's 3⁄ 4-ton, and the 'X' was added to indicate four-wheel drive, as opposed to all previous civilian two-wheel driven models. During its development phase, it was initially named the WDX General Purpose Truck, a name still used on some of the preliminary materials handed out by Dodge, before sales began in March 1946. Mechanically derived from Dodge's 1942–1945 3/4-ton WC series military trucks, the Power Wagon was introduced in 1946 as the first civilian production 4x4 truck. The civilian Power Wagon continued the lineage of limited production Dodge 4WD trucks from the 1930s, that proved basic four-wheel drive design concepts, primarily for the military. It was produced starting in the 1946 model year, and U.S. The nominal one-ton rated Power Wagon's gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) was 8,700 pounds. The Military style Power Wagon had three series during its lifetime, with different model numbers. Shown WC-52 became a fire truck in 1959 ( Kraków, Poland). The Power Wagon was developed from the WW II Dodge WC series. Civilian 1-ton Power Wagon "Military-Type", Flat Fender Style" (1945-1978) For the 1981 model year, "Power Ram" became the marketing logo for the medium-duty Dodge trucks, and the "Power Wagon" name was not used until the 2004 revival. The "Power Wagon" options continued on the Dodge D-Series through the 1980 model year. The "Military Type" sales in the United States ended by 1968, because the vehicle did not comply with new federal light-duty truck regulations. The four-wheel-drive version of the Dodge Town Wagon also got the "Power Wagon" badge. The heavy-duty four-wheel-drive W-300 and W-500 trucks were marketed as "Power Giants". Later the "Military Type" was given the series number W-300M, and ultimately WM-300. The older design Power Wagon was marketed as the "Military Type" to distinguish it from the styled pickup versions. The pickups had the "Power Wagon" badge on the fender. Starting in the 1957 model year, factory four-wheel-drive versions of the Dodge C Series trucks were produced and sold as the W-100, W-200, W-300, and W-500, alongside the older Power Wagon. Following Chrysler Corporation policy of badge engineering to provide a greater number of sales outlets overseas, Power Wagons were also marketed around the world under the Fargo and De Soto badges. Until about 1960 it was internally known by its engineering code T137 – a name still used for the original series by enthusiasts. It represents a significant predecessor to the many modern four-wheel drive trucks in use today. The Power Wagon was the first 4x4 medium duty truck produced by a major manufacturer in a civilian version. The original civilian version, commonly called the "flat fender" Power Wagon (FFPW) or "Military Type", was mechanically based on Dodge's 3/4-ton WC series of World War II military trucks. As a nameplate, "Power Wagon" continues as a special package of the four-wheel drive version of 3/4 ton Ram Trucks 2500 model. The Power Wagon name was revived for the 2005 model year as a four-wheel drive version of the Dodge Ram 2500. The Dodge Power Wagon is a four-wheel drive medium duty truck that was produced in various model series from 1945 to 1980 by Dodge.
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