In 1954, Dodge was forced to updated their trucks again because of stiff competition. functional design era trucks retained all advancements from the pilot-house trucks. However they also added advancements to the list, lower load height, lower hood height, lower running boards, and lower cab floor were just a few. the entire front sheet metal was new, but had the same resemblance. the grille resembled a pyramid shape with two grille large bars in it. This was also the first time a V-8 could be opted for in a Dodge Truck. The cab was also new for '54. The exterior was streamlined and smoothed, while the interior was designed for comfort, safety, and durability. Total amount of glass was increased from 1,773 square inches of glass to 2,115 square inches. this was achieved by making a curved windshield and enlarging the side windows.
1955
In '55 Dodge introduced wrap-around glass for the front and rear of the cabs on pickups. thanks to the V-8 the speedometer read all the way to 110 mph. the body remained the same as in 1954.
For 195 a new pickup was introduced, the C-3-BL6. This truck was only available with a 6 cyl. engine. This truck was the lightest truck in the line-up. A new transmission was introduced for 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, called the Power-Flite.
1956
In 1956 barely anything changed, but over the model year Dodge added mechanical advancements to make the truck a tougher competitor. Some of these advancements were a change to a 12 volt system, tubeless tires, and all models except for Power Wagons got ignition-switch starting.