Ram Quietly Ends Production of the 1500 Classic Pickup Truck

Ram overhauled the full-size 1500 pickup truck for the 2019 model year, making it one of the most compelling models in its class, but it didn’t kill off its predecessor. The automaker continued selling the prior-generation pickup alongside the new model under the Ram 1500 name. Its absurdly long run on the market has come to an end, however, as keen internet forum users found an image of the last Classic to roll off Ram’s production line.

The truck’s end came without fanfare, as the story broke after a Warren Truck Assembly Plant employee posted a photo of the red Ram 1500 Classic Tradesman sporting a commemorative banner on its hood. Ram previously said the truck would remain on sale into 2025, but those sales will come from existing stock instead of new production models.

Ram started selling the truck that would become the Classic way back in 2009, and it was already aging by the time the fifth-generation 1500s hit the market in 2019. However, despite its shortcomings, the Classic’s lower price and reasonable specs kept it alive among a long list of competitors.

The long-lived Classic’s demise is due to a few factors, including Ram’s upcoming electrified trucks. Cutting the older gas model gives the automaker additional production capacity to get the trucks off the ground. Additionally, the company has moved away from V8s in its most recent trucks, and fitting the new Hurricane V6 into the older platform could become an expensive and time-consuming endeavor.

[Images: Ram/Stellantis]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.