'93 Dodge Ram with 5.9L Cummins Sells for Twice What It Did When New

This is what happens when you take care of what you own rather than run it into the ground. Yesterday, Auto Evolution published a story by Daniel Patrascu about a 1993 Dodge Power Ram 250 Club Cab in such mint condition that it fetched $50,000 at auction. The two-tone pickup came with a camper shell that no doubt added to its mystique. 

The original price in late 1992 on the diesel-powered pickup was $15K which would be $26K today, adjusted for inflation. So $50K shows how much value is added when you take care of what you own.

Over the course of its lifetime the truck had only accumulated 33,000 original miles, which Patrascu calculated to being about 1200 miles a year. Obviously the vehicle's single owner wasn't using it as a commuter vehicle, nor for annual summer vacations around the country.

Under the hood you'll find a Cummins inline-six diesel engine linked with to a four-speed transmission and a dual-range transfer case. According to Patrascu, "the 5.9-liter unit was originally rated at 160 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque." He suspects that most of that power is still there in the box.

The vehicle, which sold on Monday this week, had spent its life in Utah where dry weather conditions are favorable and kind, unlike regions of the country where humidity is a bane. Other features of the Ram include 16" wheels, bucket seats, air conditioning, cruise control and power windows.

It's noteworthy that in addition to all the original sales documentation, manufacturer's literature, clean title and Carfax report, the late owner kept meticulous service records, which enhances the value of used cars and trucks much the same as your medical records have a bearing on life insurance.

You can read Daniel Patrascu's Auto Evolution story here:
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/camper-shelled-1993-dodge-ram-goes-for-50k-double-what-it-sold-for-new-153707.html# 

For an excellent example of how to sell your own used truck, this listing at the Bring A Trailer auction site is a superb template showing how to present your used equipment so as to get the most buck for your banger:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1993-dodge-power-ram-250-turbodiesel-4x4/

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Will Cummins Ditch Diesel for Hydrogen?

Industry watchers who follow current trends with regard to alternative power sources recognize that a sea change has been taking place with regards to the move away from carbon-based energy. The question right now is not If but When. 

There are still a lot of unanswered questions as regards How, but there's plenty of thought being given to the possibilities of tomorrow, and a lot of money being invested in this rising tide of interest in alternative technologies.

At the beginning of the week Cummins hosted a virtual live-streamed Hydrogen Day event. Having recently purchased Hydrogenics, a fuel cell developer, Cummins wanted to show the world that there is real power in hydrogen fuel cell powertrains. A Fox Business story by Gary Gastelu featured highlights from Monday's event. 

The article, titled Cummins Is Starting to Ditch Diesel for Hydrogen, states that Cummins has a high degree of confidence that if they build it, people will come. 

CEO Tom Linebarger told Fox Business that he's personally been thinking about hydrogen power since 1999 when he first began working on fuel cell technologies. 

One of the big hurdles is creating the infrastructure to become "electric." It will be possible, Cummins executives indicated, for OverThe-Road fleets to be all electric one day, but only if the power grid gets upgraded. To do so we need a 50% increase above today's levels in electricity output. In other words, government will have to invest in producing more power to power an electric-powered future on our highways.

During one of the presentations it was noted that people driving Teslas today are powered by electricity that comes from coal. Most people do not think about that. 

Cummins' goal is carbon neutrality by 2050, which seems a long ways off. Then again, I suspect that for those of us here to see it, it might come faster than we think.

Another hurdle will be the production of lighter weight batteries. If you are hauling heavy loads, you don't want to also be loaded down with a ton of batteries. 

I remember about 5 years ago at SEMA when I saw a new battery concept which was one-fifth the weight and half the size of our current car batteries. People smarter than you or I have been working on these problems for a long time. This is what keeps them awake at night, and it's a good thing.

You can read the full story here:
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/cummins-to-start-ditiching-diesel-for-hydrogen 

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