Dodge 50 Series
Encyclopedia
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Chrysler Europe
Chrysler Europe
Chrysler Europe was a division of the Chrysler Corporation that operated between 1967 and 1979.-Formation:In the 1960s, Chrysler sought to become a world producer of automobiles. The company had never had much success outside North America, contrasting with Ford's worldwide reach and General...
and later Renault Véhicules Industriels (at that time part of Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, now Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
) between 1979 and 1993.
The 50 series included a wide range of chassis and body configurations, including two distinctly different cab designs, and spanned the 3500–7500 kg (7,716.2–16,534.7 lb) revenue weight range. Various engines were offered, including the Perkins Phaser, and there was a four-wheel-drive version. Bodybuilding companies converted many into various configurations from tipper trucks to buses.
Many were built as "chassis cabs" to have box bodies fitted; these were widely used by utility companies in the UK. They often came fitted with compressors and generators. Gradually this kind of vehicle fell out of favour, partly due to reliability issues relating to combining plant equipment with the vehicle drivetrain. The vehicle is otherwise toughly built. The utility companies today favour smaller vans with towed generators. The four-wheel-drive version saw some use with the British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
since it was one of very few British-built trucks of the class, and it could carry considerably more stores and equipment than even the largest Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
models.
Chrysler received financial assistance from the British Government which was desperate to support the ailing British motor industry
British motor industry
The automotive industry in the United Kingdom is now best known for premium and sports car marques including Aston Martin, Bentley, Daimler, Jaguar, Lagonda, Land Rover, Lotus, McLaren, MG, Mini, Morgan and Rolls-Royce. Volume car manufacturers with a major presence in the UK include Ford, Honda,...
. However, having inherited various struggling car and commercial vehicle marques (and factories) from the Rootes Group, notably the commercial marques Commer
Commer
Commer became known in later years as a maker of vans for the British Post Office—particularly the Commer FC which was introduced in 1960 with many body styles, including a 1500 cc van. After engine and interior upgrades it was renamed the PB in 1967 and the SpaceVan in 1974...
and Karrier
Karrier
Karrier is a marque of car and commercial vehicle, the origins of which can be traced back to Clayton and Company, a 1904 company from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK. In 1908, they started making Karrier cars and in 1920 changed the company name to Karrier Motors Ltd.In 1929, Karrier started...
, in addition to various French concerns, Chrysler Europe struggled to return a profit. In 1978, Chrysler pulled out of their European operations altogether, selling them to Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
. The cars and small vans became known as Talbot
Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...
s.
However, Peugeot had little interest in commercial vehicles and the factory for the heavier models was run in partnership with Renault Véhicules Industriels, who sought a UK production site for engines for their existing Renault-branded models. They continued to manufacture the 50 Series, along with the small Dodge (formerly Commer
Commer
Commer became known in later years as a maker of vans for the British Post Office—particularly the Commer FC which was introduced in 1960 with many body styles, including a 1500 cc van. After engine and interior upgrades it was renamed the PB in 1967 and the SpaceVan in 1974...
) Spacevan, and the large Dodge 100 / Commando 2 Series of 7500–23000 kg (16,534.7–50,706.3 lb) trucks. The transition to Renault branding was slightly muddied by some vehicles bearing both a Dodge name and a Renault-diamond badge.
By 1987, the 50 Series had been updated and was badged solely as the Renault 50 Series; the UK incarnation of the Dodge marque ceased to be used for new vehicles. (Chrysler maintained an entirely separate Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
brand in the U.S., and in 2006 began re-introducing Dodge car models from the USA into the UK market.) Renault continued to manufacture the 50 Series until 1993, but it was never a great sales success, even being forced to compete with other Renault products, in the form of the Master
Renault Master
Renault Master is the name used by French vehicle manufacturer Renault for its upper-medium size van — similar in size to the largest models of the more common Ford Transit....
van, which Renault favoured in its export markets.
In 1994, Renault — keen to clear the factory for large-scale engine production — sold the production tooling to a Chinese manufacturer.
The vehicle is still a common sight on British roads, having become a popular choice for conversion to live-in vehicles (not campers) and workshops. There are also a number still in service as horseboxes, and a few remain in active service with the army. There is a friendly community amongst the owners and users of these vehicles (see external links).