Everything To Know About The Dodge Rumble Bee
The Dodge Rumble Bee swarmed across American roads during the 2004 and 2005 model years. The stylish retooling of the Dodge Ram pickup may only have lasted two years, but the automaker sold over 8,700 bright yellow Rumble Bees. The color scheme featured a vivid yellow body with contrasting black trim, a black band around the sides of the truck bed near the tailgate, and a stylized bumble bee emblem within the band.
Don't confuse the Dodge Rumble Bee name with the name Hollywood gave to a certain giant space robot that transforms into a Camaro. The Rumble Bee name is a throwback to the Dodge Super Bee from the late 1960s to early 1970s muscle car era.
While the Super Bee was a well-timed response to the Plymouth Road Runner's success, the Rumble Bee's competition had nearly vanished by 2004. The 1990s saw the heyday of the V8-powered high-performance special edition sport truck, with models like the Ford SVT Lightning and Chevy 454SS. The Rumble Bee's 345-horsepower 5.7-liter HEMI could give either truck a run for its money.
What happened to the Rumble Bee?
Dodge discontinued the distinctive Rumble Bee going into the 2006 model year, leaving the Dodge Ram SRT-10 as its top-rated performance truck. Then, in 2007, Dodge clipped the SRT-10 from the catalog and focused on more practical pickup trucks.
In 2013, Ram — now charting its own course after spinning off from Dodge in 2010 — set the sport truck community abuzz again with a new Rumble Bee concept truck unveiled at the Motor City's Woodward Dream Cruise. Marking the 10th anniversary of the original Rumble Bee introduction, the concept Bee also featured a 5.7-liter HEMI V8. Ram coaxed an extra 50 horsepower out of the 5.7-liter HEMI, bringing the total to 395. Engine torque also increased by 32 lb-ft over 2004 values, bringing total torque to 407 lb-ft. These performance increases are due, in part, to Mopar's cold-air intake system and cat-back dual exhaust.
The dual exhaust system cut-out is another feature that improves upon the original. Overshadowed by the honeycomb-inspired interior graphics and the faux-amber-incased honeybee in the shifter knob are two push-button-style selectors for exhaust cut-outs labeled "RUMBLE." The choices provided indicate an option for a slight rumble or full rumble as the soundtrack for your drive.
Ultimately, thoughts of future Rumble Bee production faded as automakers turned to performance off-road pickup trucks.