Classic made out of left overs parts?

[farout75]

Does anyone wonder if ram still making the classic is just to get rid of spare parts? With the few flaws I found in mine getting taken care of by warranty and the dealer is being very nice, made me wonder because they didn’t clean my truck out that well & found a parts bin sheet from what year and bin my parts were taken from ranging from yearssss ago. Just wondering others thoughts! Nothings perfect these days regardless though!

The older style is less expensive yes. But for me I am not sure the new old RAM is really worth what you don't get. You get the old 3G radio, the 5 lug tires and none of the improvements. Perhaps the new RAM is a better choice, or maybe not, it all depends on the desire of the buyer.

 

[BuschLatte420]

The older style is less expensive yes. But for me I am not sure the new old RAM is really worth what you don't get. You get the old 3G radio, the 5 lug tires and none of the improvements. Perhaps the new RAM is a better choice, or maybe not, it all depends on the desire of the buyer.

Even my 4 runner had 6 lugs so I find that funny about the ram. I probably would have ended up with the 5th gen if I was able to order a non E torque, but missed the order date for 2022’s. I figured might have better luck with the classic as they made them for so long so *hopefully* more tried and true

 

[Bryce Kircheis]

Does anyone wonder if ram still making the classic is just to get rid of spare parts? With the few flaws I found in mine getting taken care of by warranty and the dealer is being very nice, made me wonder because they didn’t clean my truck out that well & found a parts bin sheet from what year and bin my parts were taken from ranging from yearssss ago. Just wondering others thoughts! Nothings perfect these days regardless though!

Classic's are made in Mex and the tooling is not quite as crisp as it was 5 years ago, your going to find more defects. This is common in the auto industry, they run the equipment until it is not economical to do so and as long as there is a market. The classic fits the commercial market needs, and they are not generally as picky as a retail customer. It's a win win in most cases.

 

[BuschLatte420]

Classic's are made in Mex and the tooling is not quite as crisp as it was 5 years ago, your going to find more defects. This is common in the auto industry, they run the equipment until it is not economical to do so and as long as there is a market. The classic fits the commercial market needs, and they are not generally as picky as a retail customer. It's a win win in most cases.

Mine was made in Warren, MI, only the 2 doors are made in Mexico and 2500s and up

 

[Heatheroo]

my 2019 Classic was made in Warren. What is the advantage of 6 lugs vs. 5? My old C10 had 5 and my Colorado had 6. I see no advantage to either configuration.

 

[BuschLatte420]

my 2019 Classic was made in Warren. What is the advantage of 6 lugs vs. 5? My old C10 had 5 and my Colorado had 6. I see no advantage to either configuration.

Looks cooler

 

[drmoreau]

I think it was a combination of factors... the biggest one? Ram is the only one of the Big Three that does not have a midsize or compact pickup (GM has the Colorado/Canyon, Ford has the Ranger and Maverick...)

Instead, FCA/Stellantis positioned the Ram Classic at a midsize price-point, which gets you into a half-ton truck for a midsize price. I'm willing to wager that they stole a TON of midsize buyers from GM (then Ford) by doing that, since a lot of midsize truck buyers only buy a midsize because they can't/won't afford the full-size trucks.

Next up, I believe that they already had the tooling, all the ugly bugs shaken-out (or at least somewhat mitigated), and it costs way less to just keep running a few 4th-Gen production lines than retool everything just to resurrect the Dakota. I mean, look at the logistical nightmare that Ford is dealing with just to keep up with relatively low-level demands for Rangers and Mavericks...

I had a 2021 Classic Warlock gasser but traded it within a year for a used 1500 with the Ecodiesel. The Warlock mileage was disappointing, and when I towed a 4000 Airstream the engine flailed like a rat with its tail in a trap. The 6 cyl gasser engine does not make enough torque at the bottom end to be useful for me. The Ecodiesel is working fine so far. There are reports of fuel pump failure that are troubling...

 

[Dusty]

That's true. However, I'm sticking to my Corporate Champion theory. They [Chrysler & car companies in general] could have (and often do) ship all that 4th gen tooling down to Mexico, Brazil, Chile, or Australia and continue producing legacy products in other markets. And tooling doesn't last forever. Stamping dies, molds, etc have a lifespan which need to be replaced.

Anyway, by getting rid of the 4th gen a very strong argument is (and has always been the case ...so we know that's how it usually goes) would be that by streamlining parts & costs ...expanding all models under the 5th gen model family. It would reduce workforce, combine supply-chain componentry, reduce plant costs, maintenance of old tooling, robots, etc, put all production under a single umbrella. That would reduce overall 5th gen production costs, help pay back product development [which includes tooling] sooner (i.e. making more models using the same 90% basic parts & tooling). It would also allow them to show higher new-product sales and give a boost to overall 5th gen profit numbers ...on paper (which is everything when releasing corporate figures to investors, every quarter).

Because it's such an odd and rare decision, there's got to be a high-up corporate Senior-VP who, for whatever reason, likes and/or wants to see the 4th gen Rams continue. At the marketing level you can create a argument just about any way using whatever production/cost/profit numbers you cherry-pick to justify a case. They do it all the time at the top levels. That's how you get your decision through. In absence of that, the case could be made tomorrow that it costs too much and eats into our 5th gen profits by continuing to produce two of the same basic products. But someone is saying, "Now hold on ...we're also capturing marketshare by ....blah-blah-blah". And that argument seems to be winning.

Or possibly, 4th gen production has just been a place-holder all along, until the compact pick-up can be produced at the same plant. But due to Covid and supply chain issues, the can has been kicked down the road longer than even Chrysler planned. But due to steady sales, they haven't tinkered with the formula (yet).

Part of the equation in these types of decisions is to keep employees working under the union contract. It is sometimes cheaper to keep a factory in production than furloughing employees with sub pay. In the case of 4th gen Ram 1500s, there still a lot of interest in the market for them anyway.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 3 June 2018. Now at 85233 miles

 

[Morey]

Does anyone wonder if ram still making the classic is just to get rid of spare parts? With the few flaws I found in mine getting taken care of by warranty and the dealer is being very nice, made me wonder because they didn’t clean my truck out that well & found a parts bin sheet from what year and bin my parts were taken from ranging from yearssss ago. Just wondering others thoughts! Nothings perfect these days regardless though!

Am I to understand there’s a classic being marketed?
This is the first I’ve heard and have found nothing more about it online.

 

[Random_Walk]

I had a 2021 Classic Warlock gasser but traded it within a year for a used 1500 with the Ecodiesel. The Warlock mileage was disappointing, and when I towed a 4000 Airstream the engine flailed like a rat with its tail in a trap. The 6 cyl gasser engine does not make enough torque at the bottom end to be useful for me. The Ecodiesel is working fine so far. There are reports of fuel pump failure that are troubling..

That is strange... I just bought a 2022 Forest River NoBo travel trailer, and had to drag it home w/o a WDH (because I hadn't bought one yet.) It weighed in at 3600lbs, every road in my 'neighborhood' is a twisty and oft-steep mountain road... but I barely knew it was back there. The RPMs were a bit higher than normal, but rarely above 2500 rpm. Mostly it was a matter of keeping the speeds ~5mph slower than normal (because no WDH also meant I had to keep an eye out for sway), so I only did 50-55mph on the straights.

It should be noted that the v6, unlike the Hemi and diesels, will actually make its peak hp in the higher rpm ranges; it's not uncommon to hang around the 3k-4k rpm ranges while towing above 5,000lbs (Note that I'm stuck at a max of 4400 because of the 3.21 ratio gearset I'm cursed with, so I likely won't see that like you might at 5k-7k lbs.)

 

[quickster2]

This is what I am referring to, seems like different years for different parts that’s why I was curious.

That is not a plant build or travel sheet nor a pick list for the Logistics folks. That seems to me to be a dealer parts bin list. The trucks are not made with "old" parts. JIT solved that years ago. Total inventory $$$ and inventory turns are one of the many metrics or KPI's that are managed aggressively both at the plant and throughout the supply chain.

 

[BuschLatte420]

Am I to understand there’s a classic being marketed?
This is the first I’ve heard and have found nothing more about it online.

For the last 4 years or so yes the ram classic…you must see them everywhere

 

[Heatheroo]

Looks cooler

Its gonna take more than a truck to make me look cool.

In my case,when I went shopping to replace my rusted out Colorado (thanks PennDOT), I didn't even understand the difference between a new 5th Gen and a Classic. All I knew was that, I had zero interest in a bigger display or E-torque. The price of the used classic I found sold me (it's still a whole friggin' lot of money for a pickup truck though....)

 

[BuschLatte420]

Its gonna take more than a truck to make me look cool.

In my case,when I went shopping to replace my rusted out Colorado (thanks PennDOT), I didn't even understand the difference between a new 5th Gen and a Classic. All I knew was that, I had zero interest in a bigger display or E-torque. The price of the used classic I found sold me (it's still a whole friggin' lot of money for a pickup truck though....)

What I got for $50 grand with my classic would have been 65,000 with the other 2 company’s probably. I didn’t want the huge display or E torque either, and I like the looks of the classic more. I hear you on the salt, WNY is terrible with how much they lay down. I try to keep the new truck out of it, at least for now.