This winter was exceptionally dry and warm, so the moss probably didn’t make much progress this year in its goal of eventually enveloping this Dodge Rampage, vintage 1982 or so. I wonder how many years it’s been since it started growing?
The air intakes on the slope-nose plastic grille so much in fashion at the time are getting plugged up.
Never mind the wipers; they’re totally entombed. The moss has already dried out and gone dormant for the year, and is hoping for a longer growing season next winter.
On the north side, there’s still enough shade and condensation to keep it green, for now. The lichen adds a bit of contrasting texture.
For those not familiar with these little pickups, they were based on the Horizon/Omni coupe versions, had an extended wheelbase, and were rated for 1174 lbs. Powered was by the 2.2 L Chrysler OHC four. They were designed to compete with the VW pickup, but the car-based pickup market turned out to be a very short-lived phenomena in the US. VW shipped theirs off to Europe, where it became (and still is) The Caddy. Chrysler pulled the plug after just three years.
Gotta say…I’m totally lichen this.
Ba-bump-bump-dzzt!
It’s growing on me.
These and their coupe counterparts were fun cars. My first car was an 86 Plymouth Turismo with the 2.2. It is amazing how much more responsive it felt than the one in my father’s 82 Reliant. Between 82-86 the engine had gone from 84-96hp and the smaller platform was circa 200 pounds lighter.
These would seem to be darn useful trucklets, but it is probably for the best that they failed. None of the big three could have built these as profitably as full size trucks. Trucks are what kept them in business.
Amazing life forms. You do realize, they are basically feeding on DIRT!
Actually they ran off of unleaded;
the running off of dirt part was a common
misconception.
Nice little Trucklets .
One of my Uncles who’d survived being a Flying Tiger in The War , being shot down and a Japanese POW , bought one and drove it all around America for a few years , he loved it ~ it was silver and had the matching fiberglass cover , he slept in it as he traveled .
-Nate
I think the moss is going to win. I remember these but don’t remember them being very dependable. Of course the drivers I remember probably didn’t care for them very much.
Does the moss/lichen damage the metal underneath? Could you just pressure wash it all off or would you have to media blast it (and then replace all the steel underneath)? I’m used to rust holes, so this is a whole different thing to deal with.
I almost bought a Rampage, in 1990. THe one I was looking at looked just like this (but not as mossy!) I ended up not getting it because the pillars around the windshield were so rusty that if I pressed on the windshield, it would move down into the interior… EEK
No. Just needs a good washing.
I think the moss is racing (at plant speeds) with the tree next door. “Bet I can lift the windshield off my car before you lift the roof off your house!”
I think we need moss pictures like this!! There is one of these little trucklings (sans moss) that looks to be in amazing and functional condition in my neighborhood, I’ll try to get a picture of it and post later today.
Ok here it is, I feel certain a whole photo-shoot using my poor skills could be arranged.
One near me checking in. Were all of these black or something?
That’s just crazy CC effect happening!!
This is just too amazing that this exists, and in Washington or Oregon as usual, if it doesn’t have moss on it, its not from Oregon.
There’s a guy around here who’s bought up a lot of property and subsequently a lot of vehicles. Dude doesn’t care what happens to it, doesn’t want to do anything with the property or cars, and just lets them sit out in the rain wasting away. And we get a lot of rain around here. Anyways, dude bought a car lot that previously was an insurance office that previously was a gas station, and did nothing with it. Except put an early 70s Ford Econoline, 1982 Dodge Rampage, and 1980 Chevrolet El Camino on the lot. They’ve been there for seven years now, and as they sit the cars are in terrible condition. The topper on the El Camino’s rusted through, the Econoline’s sitting on rust (the tire sidewalls rotted away long ago, busting them open and throwing pieces all over the parking lot), and the fiberglass nose on the Rampage has no paint and holes all through the bottom. Dude refuses to sell them, even though I offered five grand for the Rampage… And that was knowing I’d have to ratchet the thing onto a trailer and spend a good $300 to even get the engine to turn over, completely forgetting finding a replacement nose.
I remember the Dodge dealer in our city had a very special Rampage in the showroom back in 1984. A Shelby Rampage. Wow! Could it be real? Me, an eighteen year-old fresh out of high school, and I was in love with it. Of course I did not have the means to afford it, and no way would I even consider asking my folks to help out. It sat there for months, waiting for me. I would ride my 10 speed around town at night, visiting after hours so I wouldn’t be noticed drooling on the sidewalk. Years later, I learned that these were only clones, as the Shelby folks never made this model. California dealers did. I don’t think I would have cared. It was still the most unique little truck out there.
There was a Shelby Rampage on the Seattle Craigslist a while ago. Who knows if it sold. Pretty interesting truck
They were VERY close to making them. Its a shame that it never saw the light of day, as turbo Shelbys were packing plenty of heat for the day. The Rampage was very light weight so 180 hp or so goes a LONG way.
I dont know where your winter was, because here in PA is was one of the worst on record! Massive snowstorms and temperatures in the negatives were common.
On the West Coast, we had the warmest winter on record. In Oregon, we had sunshine most of January and February, which are usually gray and wet. And it was warm; often into the 60s. Lots of hiking, in shorts even. Borderline drought up here; bad in CA.
I didn’t know you guys were getting dry in Oregon, too. That’s scary unusual, especially west of the Cascades.
The snowpack in the Cascades is something like 20% of normal. Enjoying the great weather in Washington state also but it is a trend that is not good.
Looks like a Blue 2009 sticker on the front plate.
Some people are just beyond description and understanding.
I recall really, really wanting my parents to get one of these when we were in the market for a small truck. Of course I was 12 at the time, and my tastes have changed.
That 1178 pound payload is quite respectable. And sadly, better than a 2015 Ram Ecodiesel Crew Cab.
I’ve always wondered why our big, brawny modern trucks with megatorque diesels still are rated for the same half-ton payload that was managed by a sub 100 HP car-based ute like this…
Well the Ram is rather weak-kneed to begin with due to the soft coil-sprung rear suspension. Add in the weight of the diesel and crew cab and it becomes laughable as a truck. If you have four 250 pound men in the cab you’re about out of payload. That’s less than a Charger! It’s selling great though, presumably to people who assume diesels are better for hauling but never did the math.
On the flip side, a properly configured F-150 maxes out at 3,300 pounds. Much more in line with what you would expect given the size and power. You also have to keep in mind that the ratings are often a reflection of the center of gravity changes. I’ve had my truck overloaded by a good 600+ pounds and it only dropped the back a couple inches and handled it like nothing.
It could have been quite successful in Europe. As it had been developed from the Talbot/Simca Horizon (Dodge Omni / Plymouth Horizon) europeans could probably swallow it. This segment was mostly filled with VW Caddy. While on the huge market of the West-Balkans was/is filled with Zastava Skala-Poly (a pick-up version of Fiat 128)…
Driving south out of Lincoln City, one was parked next to the closed fish market by the Cutler City neighborhood. It sat from 1996-til last spring when my last trip to Depoe Bay occurred. I always meant to ask about it…..
Chia pets come to mind at first. The real question that I’m wondering is what could be living inside it?