I love my 2nd generations body lines, the truck just flows.
The new ones have kinda grown on me but DMX need a better bumper department.
I agruee the 05's bumpers are kinda wierd and could be better but even with the second generations
my SLT came with the chorme grill and chrome bumper top and an ugly gray bottom?
Unless you ordered the sport you got the ugly gray that doesn't match anything on the truck.
I ended up ordering it with the two-tone paint just to make it fit in better.

 

I owned basically two sport models....no fugly gray for me!

 

Keep in mind that I own a Gen. 1 and my brother owns a Gen. 2 so I am using our trucks as examples for the most part.
The Gen. 1 has a squared style that just blends in a bit with other vehicles of the era. It is a bit of a plain jane, but it is a workhorse and will do most anything you ask of her.
The Gen 2, on the other hand has a very aggressive stance right out of the box. With the rear lifted up a bit higher than the front, it looks meaner and more ballsy. The curves make it a bit 'prettier' but that doesn't keep it from looking mean.
Neither my brother nor I have done any lifting or lowering and he has a good 6 inches in height on the front and about a foot on the rear.
It is all in the styling.
I have the 5.2. He has the 2.5 (for now.)
If I had a choice of which one to race by looks alone, I would choose to race the Gen. 1 just because it doesn't look as agressive. It looks too plain to have much in the way of power.

 

My favorite look of all of them is the old ram power wagon. Thats a friggin sweet truck and if I ever come across a clean one fairly well maintained, I will own it. Other than that the gen II is the way to go. I dont know what the hell they were thinking when they made the 05's. The designer on that one should be fired.

 

I have a 04 Gen III, and yes there is a difference between the older two generations, even though they are minor. When you put them side by side you can see it. It's also little known that in 1989 the 318 cubic inch (5.2 liter) fuel injected Shelby Dakota, boasts 175 hp and 2701bs.-ft. of torque,
http://www.allpar.com/model/ram/dodg...by-dakota.html
http://www.xmission.com/~dempsey/shelby/sheldod8.htm
As with all the true Shelby vehicles, this was a one-year production. 1500 were built; the split was roughly 900-600 red-white. List price was $15,813 plus freight.