Ram 1500 Classic Ending Production This Year

Stellantis has officially confirmed that 2024 will be the very last model year of the Ram 1500 Classic. But it had quite the run, entering production way back in 2008 as the “Dodge Ram 1500.”

As a holdover model dating back from when Ram denoted full-size pickups sold under the Dodge banner, the 1500 Classic was never going to last. However, Stellantis may have been able to squeeze out a couple more years of production were it not for the company dumping the 5.7-liter HEMI V8. Losing that engine has meant a lot of venerable, and iconically American, vehicles would be lost with it.

While we didn’t really need confirmation from the automaker, as it has already been killed off in Canada, we’ve gotten it again. After being asked by numerous outlets. Stellantis has officially stated that 2024 will be the very last year the truck will be on sale.

"The Ram 1500 Classic has been a great entry point pickup for Ram and the Tradesman model has certainly represented the needs of our commercial truck customers," a Ram spokesperson explained to Motor1. "With the introduction of the Tradesman trim on the new Ram 1500 for the 2024 model year, we bid farewell to the previous generation and remind customers that the Hemi-powered Ram 1500 Classic will sell into 2025."

The company likewise told Automotive News that the “Ram 1500 Classic has been a great entry point pickup for Ram, and the Tradesman model has certainly represented the needs of our commercial truck customers.”

With the company now offering a Tradesman trim (pictured in white) on the modern version of the pickup, it has created a new “entry-level” for Ram’s full-size trucks. This also makes a convenient excuse for eliminating a model it can no longer build without the requisite powertrains.

The downside to this is that the Classic was so old and ubiquitous that it became one of those vehicles you could basically keep running indefinitely with junkyard parts and a little mechanical know-how. Losing it likewise makes getting into a full-sized Ram a little under $2,000 more expensive.

Ram actually stated that the model was about to be discontinued, but would see another year inside the United States, in January. This follow-up is basically the brand verifying that nothing has changed. Production will end in 2024, with the company selling them until the last examples leave dealer lots in 2025.

From Motor1:

Really, Ram had no choice but to end Classic production. The 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 was the only engine available in the Classic 1500 Tradesman, and retooling a 15-year-old platform to accept the new Hurricane inline-six likely would've been cost-prohibitive. As it stands now, there's only a $1,500 difference between the 2024 Classic Tradesman and the 2025 model.

You have to go back to the early 1950s to find a time when a Ram (or Dodge) half-ton truck didn't have a V-8 option. The twin-turbocharged I-6 engine makes either 420 or 540 horsepower for the 2025 Ram 1500, so the modern lineup certainly isn't lacking for power. Whether Hemi loyalists are willing to give up two cylinders for turbo, however, remains to be seen.

Your author absolutely adores long-lived, high-volume models and typically tries to keep one in his fleet as a backup vehicle. The parts are typically cheap, maintenance/repairs are always well documented, and any work you need to have someone else do tends to cost far less than a model featuring more modern hardware. The Ram 1500 Classic certainly checks those boxes and was similarly available without many of the electronic annoyances associated with its modernized brethren.

However, the current Ram 1500 is decidedly more luxurious inside and that matters in a world where full-size pickups have effectively supplanted luxury vehicles on the domestic market. Hopping into the cab of the 1500 Classic does feel like you’ve traveled back in time a few years. Although, that’s not necessarily going to be a bad thing for everyone — as modern vehicles remain comically expensive and come with features some drivers absolutely despise.

Losing the V8 is another problem for Stellantis, which doesn’t always seem like it has the best handle on the U.S. market. While six-cylinder pickups aren’t anything new, Americans have an almost patriotic attachment to the V8. I’ll also go to my grave arguing with Europeans that the V8 sounds infinitely better than the trumpety I6 in most applications. Sadly, it looks like I might not have many modern, domestic examples to point to in the coming years.

AutoForecast Solutions has reported that Stellantis plans to end production of the 1500 Classic at Michigan’s Warren Truck Plant this September. Jeep will continue to use the facility for its Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer models, however. The facility is slated for layoffs and so are a few suppliers which are referencing the truck’s discontinuation as the primary cause.

[Images: Stellantis]

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