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.

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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.

  • KOKing I owned a Paul Bracq-penned BMW E24 some time ago, and I recently started considering getting Sacco's contemporary, the W124 coupe.
  • Bob The answer is partially that stupid manufacturers stopped producing desirable PHEVs.I bought my older kid a beautiful 2011 Volt, #584 off the assembly line and #000007 for HOV exemption in MD. We love the car. It was clearly an old guy's car, and his kids took away his license.It's a perfect car for a high school kid, really. 35 miles battery range gets her to high school, job, practice, and all her friend's houses with a trickle charge from the 120V outlet. In one year (~7k miles), I have put about 10 gallons of gas in her car, and most of that was for the required VA emissions check minimum engine runtime.But -- most importantly -- that gas tank will let her make the 300-mile trip to college in one shot so that when she is allowed to bring her car on campus, she will actually get there!I'm so impressed with the drivetrain that I have active price alerts for the Cadillac CT6 2.0e PHEV on about 12 different marketplaces to replace my BMW. Would I actually trade in my 3GT for a CT6? Well, it depends on what broke in German that week....
  • ToolGuy Different vehicle of mine: A truck. 'Example' driving pattern: 3/3/4 miles. 9/12/12/9 miles. 1/1/3/3 miles. 5/5 miles. Call that a 'typical' week. Would I ever replace the ICE powertrain in that truck? No, not now. Would I ever convert that truck to EV? Yes, very possibly. Would I ever convert it to a hybrid or PHEV? No, that would be goofy and pointless. 🙂
  • ChristianWimmer Took my ‘89 500SL R129 out for a spin in his honor (not a recent photo).Other great Mercedes’ designers were Friedrich Geiger, who styled the 1930s 500K/540K Roadsters and my favorite S-Class - the W116 - among others. Paul Bracq is also a legend.RIP, Bruno.
  • ToolGuy Currently my drives tend to be either extra short or fairly long. (We'll pick that vehicle over there and figure in the last month, 5 miles round trip 3 times a week, plus 1,000 miles round trip once.) The short trips are torture for the internal combustion powertrain, the long trips are (relative) torture for my wallet. There is no possible way that the math works to justify an 'upgrade' to a more efficient ICE, or an EV, or a hybrid, or a PHEV. Plus my long trips tend to include (very) out of the way places. One day the math will work and the range will work and the infrastructure will work (if the range works) and it will work in favor of a straight EV (purchased used). At that point the short trips won't be torture for the EV components and the long trips shouldn't hurt my wallet. What we will have at that point is the steady drip-drip-drip of long-term battery degradation. (I always pictured myself buying generic modular replacement cells at Harbor Freight or its future equivalent, but who knows if that will be possible). The other option that would almost possibly work math-wise would be to lease a new EV at some future point (but the payment would need to be really right). TL;DR: ICE now, EV later, Hybrid maybe, PHEV probably never.
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