It’s a hard goodbye. This is not only apparent in Last Call editions for Dodge’s iconic muscle cars, but in other ways, like when you glance over at the Ram Trucks division. The fifth generation of the 1500 debuted in 2018, with the Heavy Duty variants arriving soon after. A meaningful update is coming for the 2025 model year, when the anticipated Ramcharger and REV electrified pickups join the rest of the 1500 lineup in a mid-cycle refresh that includes visual and mechanical updates. Among this, the Hemi V8 will bow out to make room for the new 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six. It’s sad, but until then, there are still the 2024 models to reckon. And somewhere in the Ram arsenal is a surprise offering that gets another lease of life for this year. It’s not a long-awaited midsize pickup replacement, nor pertains to its van fleet — no, I’m referring to the Ram 1500 Classic.
A truck that debuted four presidents ago midst of a Great Recession in 2008, the Ram 1500 was a Dodge from its incarnation before transitioning into a standalone brand for the new decade. It rode on the bones of the DS platform that lasted through Chrysler’s merger with Fiat. With new cashflow, the truck would receive a refreshed cabin with higher quality materials, updated Uconnect infotainment, and a slew of visual changes to keep it competitive. By the time a new generation Ram came a long, the company decided that this now-archaic platform could still be put to good use.
It’s worn ‘Classic’ badges since 2019, and according to Motor1, it will return for 2024:
Yes, the fourth-generation Dodge Ram that debuted at the show that year is still available as a new truck today. The Ram 1500 Classic will live for the 2024 model year, a Ram spokesperson confirmed to Motor1. You won’t find it on the automaker’s website just yet, but we’ve been assured that details are being sussed out before the 2024 configurator goes live.
But before you rejoice, there’s this from Car and Driver:
The Classic will be offered in two trim levels and features a starting price that has risen considerably compared to the 2023 model. The cheaper Tradesman now starts at $40,700 while the Warlock carries a starting price of $45,430. That’s a $6460 increase compared to the $34,240 starting price of the 2023 1500 Classic, and it only represents $415 in savings compared to the new-generation 2024 model.
An over $6,000 price hike for the Tradesman? [Ed Note/update: As commenters have pointed out, this much higher price would make sense if it were for a Quad Cab. It’s unclear what Ram’s plans are for cab configurations for 2024, by my lord do I hope the standard cab sticks around! -DT].  That’s absurd. We’ve reached out to Ram, and sadly we haven’t been able to confirm details on the Ram 1500 Classic’s 2024 plans. We want the cheap V8, and just as importantly, we want the 2023 colors back!:
Look at all those awesome colors! It’s like picking from a Crayon Box! You can paint your new truck in Detonator Yellow or Timberline Green or Republic Blue or any one of the fun shades available. It’s well worth it the few hundred bucks to give it some flare. I’m hopeful these will all return for 2024.
Honestly, we maybe should have appreciated the Ram 1500 Classic earlier.
All Photos: Chrysler
Well, you can always get the 2024 RAM 1500 Laramie (fourth generation DS) with V8 engine in Argentina. They even have the taillamps with separate amber-coloured turn signal indicators!
The DS hasn’t died yet, but the tooling is so sloppy and worn out, and the facility was always on the verge of shutting down for good from what I heard, yet they gave them the DT based Wagoneer frame along side their oldest product, that doesn’t seem well thought out, especially as they chose to move the DT to Sterling Heights Assembly instead of Warren.
I don’t know why they haven’t killed off the 1500 Classic yet, it seems like the market, in Canada at least, is oversaturated and they’re going to have to put a lot of cash on the hood to move these trucks. Hell, 2023 models are offered with at least $7000 in discounts on the configurator and some dealerships are advertising over $15000 off MSRP.
Canadian inventory of brand new trucks, according to Autotrader.ca
Ram 1500 = 8750
Ram 1500 Classic = 10024
Ford F-150 = 8328
Chevy Silverado 1500 = 4518
GMC Sierra 1500 = 4582
Toyota Tundra = 587
Of the 36789 brand new trucks listed for sale, 51% are Rams, 23% are Fords, 25% are from GM and the remaining 1% are from Toyota.
Not only that, the ratio of new to used units for each model tends to be around 50-60% new, while the Ram Classic’s listing are 78% brand new models.
This is a gimmick. I also suspect that the ‘interior refresh’ is all the stupid touch screen garbage that no working jobber wants anyway.
Say it with me gang, “Physical controls. Standard cab. Long bed.”
I own one of these, they are the best budget truck offering right now. It really makes sense from an environmental prospective to keep old designs around for longer, it gives manufacturers a chance to streamline the process as much as possible and we get better cars for it. I also like buying vehicles that are thoroughly vetted, being around for nearly 20 years is pretty thorough haha
does not compute
When compared to the other full size offerings…. thought that was obvious
Yeah, I’m being needlessly snarky, but it’s not directed at you, I apologize. There’s nothing “budget” about any of the full size trucks out there. The fact that a $40k truck is considered the cheap option is insane.
It’s strange to see that a legacy model truck has five times as many color options as a brand new model car or SUV.
Maybe it’s just the expected fleet use and color based branding (I see US Forest Service green in the list), but it just makes me disappointed in vehicle manufacturers whose color choices are: silver, different silver, grey, black, white, and grey metallic.
I truly don’t know how to reconcile with the fact that grey, silver, black, white, etc. cars apparently retain resale value better than more “exotic” colors.
Hell, I’d rock a hot pink car if one was given to me, but if I knew I’d take a wash reselling it (if the need ever arose–not that I’d plan to resell it, but who knows), I’d be wary.
Buy a red one, and just leave it in the Texas sun. Presto. You got pink.
Is this still fact? On even somewhat-interesting cars, I would think colors would demand a premium, or, if not, trade for even money with the “boring” colors. I’d pay a few hundred extra on a ho-hum daily just to have it be a bit more interesting.
I found a 2022 Forbes article which referenced a “study” of over 650,000 sales by iSeeCars.com, here:
https://www.iseecars.com/car-color-study
The results are a little more mixed than I remembered/thought. Some “exotic” colors do better than average; some do worse; and it varies by vehicle segment.
Thanks for doing the legwork, friend. I mostly am tuned in to 4x4s which have higher than average personalizations/aftermarket mods so uncommon colors are certainly noticed more and seem to be higher in demand. Especially Toyotas with their TRD Pro Exclusive colors.
I’ve got the palate for that palette.
No intro for Tyler?
As long as power is abundant for the task and delivered eagerly from a powerplant that lasts a very long time with minimal maintenance, I’m happy. I’ve driven almost every configuration of engine ever made and more than anything, I want strong and durable.
I’ll probably like the I6 Hurricane better than any truck’s V8, because truck and large SUV V8s always felt like you had to dig the spurs in a bit before they actually got moving. Truck V8 engines have always had a sort of lumbering quality to them that I6 engines seldom have. Although adequate in power, the GM Vortec V6s also felt this way to me.
Another strike against nostalgia for the old V8s is that I expect the Ramcharger PHEV to be better for most uses than any prior Mopar truck.
I actually like this thing. I think the styling has aged really well and it’s not pretending to be something it isn’t. It’s just a simple, barebones truck to do truck stuff with and it’s still available with the correct amount of cylinders. The 5.7 also takes well to modifications if you want a little more powaaa.
My understanding was that the Classic was the only 1500 you could get a regular cab on. Does this mean regular cabs are just gone?
A 15% price increase in one year seems steep. Every co-worker that bought Ram bought it based on price I wonder how much this might cut into sales.
Edit: configurated a F150 with a V8 at $36,890 destination included, with the Ram going to be thousands more maybe they are trying to kill it off?
Based on the way truck incentives work, it’s likely they did that so they could advertise $10000 off or something. Almost nobody pays anywhere near MSRP for full-size trucks (or at least they didn’t in the before times, which seem to be coming back somewhat).
RAM is really alienating the fundamentalist truck buyer with that Warlock moniker. Witchcraft! Avert thy eyes
A 15-20% base price increase on a model whose tooling was paid off when Obama was president makes me think choices are being limited/combined and some absolute stripper model is no longer available. Perhaps 2wd or regular cabs are no longer offered or something?
If I’m wrong and that’s just a like-for-like increase, it’s one of the more egregious examples of greed I can remember.
I read a different article that said that the regular cab is gone. It stated that the 2023 and 2024 prices for the quad cab are identical. So basically, there is no price change for the same model.
That makes way more sense.