Stellantis Cancels Ram 1500 Classic in Canada, America Next?

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

The burly Ram brand has officially announced what alert Canadian gearheads have known for a spell – the old-school Ram 1500 Classic pickup truck has been cancelled in that country.

Why have alert Canucks been wise to this development prior to Friday’s announcement? For starters, mention of the truck for a 2024 model year has never been part of the brand’s build-and-price tool in that country, despite dealers in the area having the things parked cheek-to-jowl on their lots. Meanwhile, both sides of the border sat up and took notice when the full-fat Ram 1500 earned a Warlock trim for 2024, a name formerly reserved for the Classic.


Per a short statement, the company said inventory in the Canadian market will sell through the 2024 calendar year, so presumably what ya see is what ya get in showrooms north of the border (unless someone’s willing to do a dealer trade; given the level of inventory on lots around here, that may be an option like it was in the pre-pandemic years). Notably, the same statement went on to say Ram 1500 Classic production will continue for the United States and Mexico.


Selling both the ‘old’ and ‘new’ trucks side-by-each wasn’t a wholly fresh idea when the current-gen Ram 1500 popped up about five years ago. After all, Ford did something similar with the F-150 way back in 2004 when that model was extensively redesigned. What is unique about the situation at Ram is how long the arrangement has lasted – to the point where the ‘new’ truck has received numerous minor changes and even a mild refresh on the front fascia of some trims.


Readers with a clue will have long identified that the Ram 1500 Classic is powered by either the 3.6-liter Pentastar or 5.7L Hemi, the latter of which isn’t long for this world. Continuing to offer the Classic with just the V6 would limit the truck’s towing prowess to less than 8,000 pounds. We feel the chances of Ram engineering the new straight-six turbo for use in a truck which first appeared over fifteen long years ago hovers somewhere between slim and none.


Our advice if you want a Ram 1500 Classic? Hop on that train before Stellantis makes a last call for the thing in America, too.


[Image: Ram]


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Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

More by Matthew Guy

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  • Irvingklaws Irvingklaws on Apr 30, 2024

    I still prefer the looks of this generation to the new truck. If I were to buy new, it would be one of these.

  • Nathan Nathan on May 03, 2024

    The Ram is the most boring looking of the full size trucks, kind of like a Tundra.

    If they cancel the Ram Classic, I hope a full resign makes the Ram at least look interesting.

  • Varezhka I have still yet to see a Malibu on the road that didn't have a rental sticker. So yeah, GM probably lost money on every one they sold but kept it to boost their CAFE numbers.I'm personally happy that I no longer have to dread being "upgraded" to a Maxima or a Malibu anymore. And thankfully Altima is also on its way out.
  • Tassos Under incompetent, affirmative action hire Mary Barra, GM has been shooting itself in the foot on a daily basis.Whether the Malibu cancellation has been one of these shootings is NOT obvious at all.GM should be run as a PROFITABLE BUSINESS and NOT as an outfit that satisfies everybody and his mother in law's pet preferences.IF the Malibu was UNPROFITABLE, it SHOULD be canceled.More generally, if its SEGMENT is Unprofitable, and HALF the makers cancel their midsize sedans, not only will it lead to the SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ones, but the survivors will obviously be more profitable if the LOSERS were kept being produced and the SMALL PIE of midsize sedans would yield slim pickings for every participant.SO NO, I APPROVE of the demise of the unprofitable Malibu, and hope Nissan does the same to the Altima, Hyundai with the SOnata, Mazda with the Mazda 6, and as many others as it takes to make the REMAINING players, like the Excellent, sporty Accord and the Bulletproof Reliable, cheap to maintain CAMRY, more profitable and affordable.
  • GregLocock Car companies can only really sell cars that people who are new car buyers will pay a profitable price for. As it turns out fewer and fewer new car buyers want sedans. Large sedans can be nice to drive, certainly, but the number of new car buyers (the only ones that matter in this discussion) are prepared to sacrifice steering and handling for more obvious things like passenger and cargo space, or even some attempt at off roading. We know US new car buyers don't really care about handling because they fell for FWD in large cars.
  • Slavuta Why is everybody sweating? Like sedans? - go buy one. Better - 2. Let CRV/RAV rust on the dealer lot. I have 3 sedans on the driveway. My neighbor - 2. Neighbors on each of our other side - 8 SUVs.
  • Theflyersfan With sedans, especially, I wonder how many of those sales are to rental fleets. With the exception of the Civic and Accord, there are still rows of sedans mixed in with the RAV4s at every airport rental lot. I doubt the breakdown in sales is publicly published, so who knows... GM isn't out of the sedan business - Cadillac exists and I can't believe I'm typing this but they are actually decent - and I think they are making a huge mistake, especially if there's an extended oil price hike (cough...Iran...cough) and people want smaller and hybrids. But if one is only tied to the quarterly shareholder reports and not trends and the big picture, bad decisions like this get made.
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