The two compact car-truck hybrids uploaded by LeSabretoothTiger vie for some of the most colorful model names assigned to four wheels: would you rather deal with a brat or someone (or something) in a rampage? I can’t help but think of a five-year old dressed as Rambo knocking toys off of a shelf, but buyers appreciated these cars more than they could like the average problem child. Unlike their namesakes, they set about making themselves useful.
In fact, unlike their Ranchero and El Camino forebears, they actually made a good degree of sense. And, unlike the compact pick-ups which replaced those cars, good fuel economy was possible in daily use. It naturally helped that the cars upon which they were based were themselves quite good. What better way to get the most out of a rugged 4WD car’s all-weather hauling capacity? What better way to maximize your Omni’s already excellent cargo capacity?
Subaru tried around 2003 to recapture some of that BRAT magic with the Baja, but had a hard time convincing customers it was worthy of their affections. If it were Impreze-based with a nice set of steel wheels, a body free of cladding, and cloth/vinyl seats, they might’ve succeeded. While the optional turbocharged EJ25 made it very rapid, the car should’ve been called the BOAR (BRAT On A Rampage), as it was more in the El Camino mold: burly, not scrappy.
Of the two cars featured here, I’d have to favor the Dodge: older Subarus’ manners actually were somewhat truckish but the Rampage was a nimble car which could do what a truck could. And with its big 2.2, the Dodge offered contemporary buyers a fun way to rampage through the tail end of early ’80s recession and its coincidental high interest rates, in addition to half-ton capacity.
Thanks to the Subaru’s undeniable charm, though, it’s the Chrysler L-body which is more obscure and under-appreciated today. So for you BRAT fans, here’s a “nicer” example, with a T-top and exposed bed with jump seats (I like the more basic featured car better). I never did see one with the seats left in place growing up around Lake Champlain, where they were immensely popular, but that’s what it took to get them past the chicken tax. For 1983 and 1984 (the Rampage’s last two years on the market), Subaru offered a turbocharged 1.8 with 95 horsepower and 123 lb-ft of torque; but drop one of the ubiquitous 2.2 turbos the Dodge, and you’ll get a car that really lives up to its name.
I will take the Brat please!!
I liked the BRAT a lot as a kid. It’s kind of a shame I never got the chance to ride in those jump seats. Somehow at the time, they looked a lot more truck-like to me. Now when I look at them, I see them more for what they are. I still wouldn’t mind having one, although I think the last one in the Northeast US rusted away years ago.
I had a Plymouth Horizon TC3, so I would like the Brat.
Subaru all the way! The Brat (like the car it was based on) was immensely tough, 200K+ miles were not uncommon. And who wouldn’t love those rear-facing seats in the bed with handgrips instead of belts…
I had the Tamiya R/C car when I was a kid so maybe that colors my thinking a bit as well.
The biggest problem with the Baja was that since it was a 4-door the bed was too small. Back in the Brat’s day it was competitive with other small trucks, these days though the Baja’s bed was much too small to be useful (comparatively speaking), and Outback owners have never been shy about getting their cars dirty while hauling stuff anyway.
The naturally aspirated 1.8 liter Subaru engine had 73 hp. The 1.8 turbo BRAT had 95 hp and 123 ft/lbs of torque.
I like both of these sedan-pickups. Even the Rabbit Caddy had its charms. I must admit that I never put my money where my mouth is though. Neither did very many other people, which is why we didn’t have them on the market for long. If I ever do get around to buying one, I suspect it will be a BRAT. Maybe even one with a third headlight. I’ll put a Reagan bumper sticker on it.
The numbers DID seem off. I’ll fix it right away.
According to Wiki, Reagan DID own one. I wonder if he was actively making a statement or if he was just from California.
Just from california I believe the brat is still around and was recently restored
The pictures of the BRAT brings back some good memories of my little brother and I sitting in those jump seats riding around the countryside. God I miss that truck.
Just a reminder, I changed my username on Flickr, “LeSabretoothTiger” is better known as William Rubano. Just trying something new and creative.
Used to see more broken rampages than brats. I admit that stats are lacking in that statement but I would opt for the subaru.
My first choice would be a Ranchero and second an El Camino as they are actually useable as a truck with a reasonable sized bed and an actual payload.
If the last two vehicles left on the earth were a Rampage or a Brat the choice would be hard.
The Subaru has that nasty flat 4, which I would be hard pressed to live with even if it is durable, except for the constant need for a new rubber band. The rest of it isn’t that appealing either with less than durable CV joints and wheel bearings and an all around un-refiend driving experience and a bed that is only big enough to carry a lawn mower or two garbage cans. Its only redeeming values are the 4wd and to a much lesser extent the jump seats.
The Rampage has a more refined engine and an all around better driving experience along with a bed that is sort of useable. However wrong wheel drive seriously limits its usefulness as a truck.
Brats (unless subject to an engine swap with one from a later model) did not have timing belts. Both the EA-71 and later EA-81 engines used gear-driven timing; it wasn’t until the EA-82 that Subaru went to belts and spent the next two decades trying to figure out how to make that work.
Haven’t seen a BRAT in years and only seen 2 Rampages in recent memory (this millenium) I found this Hot Wheels Rampage the other day, though.
which one is easier to get parts for?
Wow! That Rampage with it’s gigantic 2.2L hood insignia and the Dodge Aries 13″ wheels looks mighty intimidating! LOL!
But is that a 59 Skyliner next to it?
I’ll take the Brumby to use its correct down under title, there arent many left in NZ so another would be welcome.
Rampage all the way! Weirdly, I like that bodystyle in the hatchback, and the truck bed makes it just that much crazier.
My brother-in-law in Pennsylvania, where cars inevitably become ugly piles of brown flakes, drove his Brat into the ground. Literally. One day, taking off from a PA Turnpike toll gate, the rear suspension tore out from the underbody where little but rust had been holding it. Curtains…
The Plymouth version was called the Scamp and seems even rarer. Just saw the 4 headlamp Rampage in daily use in Pennsylvania. Alas, no picture.
The Brat. 4WD is really useful if you have a decent load as front wheel drive and a heavy load in the back are a poor combination, especially in the rain starting off on a steep hill. That said, I once drove an 81 Rabbit Diesel 5 speed pu from Santa Maria to Big Bear and back, I could get it up to 85 or 90 MPH eventually (maybe downhill with a tailwind). It was great getting about 45 MPG on that trip. Probably the best MPG pu that was ever sold in the US. I believe it had about 46 HP, but felt much stronger then that.
I rode in the jump seats of my assistant scoutmaster’s BRAT in So Cal, circa 1980. The vertical grips on the armrests made you feel like a B-17 gunner!
Where around Lake Champlain, Perry?
Great article by the way. I have seen a few of each vehicle over the years. A friend of mine owns or at least owned several of the Brats.
I was going to say, I guess he didn’t see me riding up Flynn Avenue in Burlington from my grandmother’s house in my cousin Pam’s firstgen Brat. And then back from what was then Little Caesar’s (now the Subaru dealership of all things!) in the cab because I’d had all I could take. She later told me I was the only one ever to ride back there in the whole time she owned it.
I spent my childhood in Plattsburgh; all very vivid memories for me, and a great town for a young car enthusiast. But it gave me a fear of rust that far outdoes any midwesterner’s.
Good deal…I’ve taken the ferry over to Plattsburgh from Burlington a few times myself.
Back when the BRAT was available, my Father owned a Subaru DL which he bought from a dealer in Winooski (can’t remember where)…he had a ’76 DL, which of course back then was front-wheel drive (no 4WD) which I think started for Subaru with the BRAT (though I seem to recall they had a 4WD sedan kind of like the AMC Eagle sedans. I was going to school up there back in ’78 (though I don’t live there now, my niece still does) and the BRAT seemed pretty popular. The funny memory I have of the Subaru is that my brother-in-law didn’t much care for it, my sister later assumed it from my father, but then he found the US Ski team had some endorsement for Subaru, and after that he was more impressed with the Subaru (he was a big skier at the time..) My sister didn’t have the DL too long before rust made her get rid of it (probably 5-7 years later)…it was an OK car, but seemed a bit “tinny”…haven’t had a Subaru in the family since then (guess we had the one before they really became popular…with FWD only, it probably would have stayed a small manufacturer.
Awesome. I’ve been over to Plattsburgh a few times on the ferry. Subarus are very common BUT my mother owned several Horizons (not of the TC3 variety though) and they used to be more common further north of Burlington.
With my first car being an ’85 Shelby Charger, I’d like to say Rampage if I can Shelby-nize it. Otherwise, I’d have to admit that the Brat will be tougher.
Wow, that looks great. I’d love to have that
How about the Plymouth Scamp?
Those were ’83 only, were they not? Fun to imagine at a dealer next to an ’83 Imperial.
Is the rear light on the Rampage shared with the Ram? The Rampage is probably a better alternative unless you need the 4WD traction. Note there isn’t a center diff in a Brat, nor a 5 speed so highway fuel consumption is poor. Having said that I haven’t experienced a Rampage, and the later model Brumby is pretty good for overall refinement.
I have ridden in the back of a Brat (Brumby) quite a bit despite them not having the jump seats out here, it was around the farm. In a paddock sitting on the wheel arch was more usual, on the road sitting on the floor felt a bit safer and you could get out of the wind more.
I think there needs to be a bit of a reality check that a couple of commenters have touched on. The Baja is always criticised for the small bed yet how many people wouldn’t buy a ute without a rear seat? An Avalanche-style mid-gate setup would be ideal to address the compromise but then you compromise on cost (it will cost more!) and weight instead.
This was my favorite Stomper ever, and I think I’d rather have one of these in Stomper form than any form of Rampage.
Holy crap! I just remembered the Stomper I had!
Wow! That’s funny.
Rampage for me! Add a 5-speed, and the injected turbo 2.2 with a few select parts from the Mopar Performance / Direct Connection catalog, and you’ll have a fun little bomber that’s useful too.
Rampage of course I took a pick of one the other day at napa I need to find it on my phone.
I have an ad somewhere at home for the rampage saying it was the only pick truck sanctioned by the American sports car club (or some other similarly named organization.)
Rampage!
Somebody has both an ’84 Rampage and a ’79 El Camino sitting in the back of their used car lot around here. I don’t particularly like the El Camino (due to the rust and the strange body modifications), but I’d buy the Rampage if the guy ever sells them. Which he probably won’t, seeing as how they’re what he uses to get people in the lot to buy Jeep Compasses and Chevrolet Blazers. Still, I’d throw down two or three grand to take home the Rampage and swap out the funky front clip with one more… Suitable.
I am surpised about the amount of possitive comments in regard to the BRAT; I had heard that they were terrible cars.
By the way, the Michigan State Police apparently used Rampages for training purposes.
It’s nice to read/hear about that 🙂
I’m not sure these made more sense than an El Camino or Ranchero…at least those two could actually tow something.
I’ll take a BRAT though please. I’ll have to dip it in a vat of POR 15 after spending $10K getting rid of all the rot, but it will be fun all the same.
Make mine the Subaru, please. Soo many Subbies of that gen here in Vancouver still plying their trade… I haven’t seen a running Rampage in a decade.
I like the looks of the Rampage quite a bit, thought it needs to be one of these early ones. The “softer” quad-lamp nose borrowed from the Charger that the later ones got just doesn’t do it for me at all. Wish it wasn’t FWD but that would probably sitll be my pick.
The fact that both were available in Stomper form is *highly* amusing also! I only had one of the lame non-powered mini versions, but I had a friend who had quite a stable of them. Fun little guys.
I almost bought one of both of these vehicles (Rampage/BRAT) when they were just used cars. A couple friends of mine had Rancheros (one with a built-up 429 for drag racing, the other a rusty driver with a sheet of plywood covering the giant rust-hole in the bed) My parents had a 70’s OMni and a Chrysler Laser, so the Rampage felt and drove very familiarly. (And with the 2.2/5-speed felt twice as fast as our Omni with the VW engine and 4-speed). THe Rampage was 5 years old and already pretty rusty, the pillars around the windshield had holes in them and I was afraid to look under the rubber mat in the bed so I passed. I also looked at a BRAT, but it felt like driving a riding lawn mower encased in a tin can, dog slow, noisy and jouncy ride. Plus it was even rustier than the Rampage… These were both cool vehicles but they all dissolved years ago here in Wisconsin.
Id take either one, but all things being equal gimme that Rampage! + 1000 on boosting it….the light weight would make for a scary fast little trucklet. Ideally, a worked up SRT-4 drivetrain rescued out of the Neon variant. Those can be tweeked to 400 hp on the stock internals, and they have a limited slip differential.
For the record, I liked the Baja in turbo/5spd trim a LOT. No it isn’t a ‘real truck’ either…but with the flip out extender, you can do 2/3 of what a fullsize rig normally does. In other words, avoid it if youre a contractor but it makes a good all around daily grinder for someone who likes fun to drive vehicles that can make themselves useful too.
In the interests of full disclosure: I am a three-time Brat owner. Technically, the count is one Subaru MV (UK-spec, purchased while living in Scotland) and two Brats (US-Spec, purchased while living, in, well, America), but they’re fundamentally the same. There’s also been a Forester and an Outback in the family.
Without a doubt, I’d take the Brat – and I say this as someone for whom the Forester and Outback are the two vehicles that have managed to kill any possibility of me *ever* being a Subaru fanboi.
The Rampage is a nifty trucklet. I’ve looked at and driven a couple, and while they beat on the Brat (pardon the unavoidable Ramones reference) in some significant ways – notably power and load-carrying capability – they lack the overall utilitarianism of the Brat. That’s not to say that the Rampage can’t or doesn’t work well within its own niche, because it does. But the Brat is at least somewhat capable on the dirt as well as on pavement, and the Rampage is really only in its element on the latter.
Neither one is a full-sized truck, nor is it even most of the compact ones. That said, both drive well on the road (and this may be personal bias, but a Brat can be very comfortably hustled surprisingly quickly on a back road), have space for oversized and / or dirty cargo, and return acceptable fuel economy figures. But the Brat can go places and do things where the Rampage can’t, and, more importantly, make it back again. They were just incredibly useful, if misunderstood by everyone who thought that they needed more truck than they really did on a day-to-day basis.
Now, if Fiat would just offer the Strada Adventure Locker in the US with the extended (not crew) cab, real four-wheel-drive (but retaining the locker options), and a diesel… We’d have what a modern Brat should be. I’d also be first in line for one.
Not so long ago…when travelling through Budapest capitol city of Hungary…I saw a possibly retired old man, returned from the U.S. to drive an Omni Charger with original U.S. reg. plate!