Yahoo Autos Two Flavors of 2019 Ram 1500: New New and Old New
It’s too early to wave goodbye to the Ram 1500 pickup that has been on sale since 2009, but not because dealers have stocked more than 42,000 of the 2018 trucks heading into the summer end-of-model-year sales season. Rather, Fiat Chrysler has just extended this outgoing generation, known internally as the DS, into the 2019 model year and renamed it the Ram 1500 Classic.
This new-old truck will be on sale this fall alongside the new-new 2019 Ram 1500, designated DT. This plan is not directly related to production delays affecting the launch of V-6 versions of the new Ram, but it does help assure that dealers have a full range of trucks to offer when shoppers come knocking. The V-8-powered 2019 DT version has been on sale since spring.
Of the 12 trim variants offered in 2018, only three lower-tier versions will carry over to the 2019 models wearing the Classic moniker. The Tradesman, Express, and Big Horn (also known as the Lone Star in Texas and a few other states) all will wear a Classic badge on the front fenders in either regular cab with a medium- or full-length bed, a quad cab with a medium bed, or a crew cab with short or medium bed lengths. All powertrain options-a 3.6-liter V-6, a 5.7-liter V-8, and a diesel 3.0-liter V-6 that will have late availability-remain on offer, paired with two- or four-wheel drive. A police SSV version, sold only to law-enforcement agencies, will also continue. Cushier, decked-out trims on the older DS platform, such as the Laramie Longhorn, Night, and Rebel, won’t stay past 2018. They’ve been fully supplanted by the new model.
Ram has bundled a couple of new option packages to help move these Classics. On the base Tradesman, a Chrome Plus package adds keyless entry, a body-color grille, chrome bumpers, 17-inch alloy wheels, and a carpeted floor; currently, these options are available in three separate packages. A new Tradesman SXT offers chrome bumpers, a 5.0-inch touchscreen radio, and never-before-seen-on-a-base-Ram fog lamps, dual exhaust, and 20-inch chrome rims. A new Black Accent package for the Express will darken the wheels, headlight surrounds, and badges. Pricing isn’t yet available, but considering that factory incentives on 2018 Ram 1500 trucks run as high as $5000, expect the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic to sell on the bargain end of the full-size spectrum.
Ram is following the tracks of Chevrolet, Nissan, and Volkswagen, which in the past few years have successfully rebranded older-gen vehicles as if they were finely aged cheese (using model designations such as Classic, Select, and Limited). FCA even has its own current example: Since Jeep ceased production of the JK Wrangler in April, shoppers have had the choice of either a brand-new 2018 JL Wrangler or one of the older 2018 JKs.
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Building older and newer versions of the same vehicle for the same market presents a win-win situation. Automakers continue to profit off the old model’s existing tooling as their plants gradually switch over, while buyers reap immediate discounts as long as they can avoid being confused by the distinctions between the redesigned and legacy editions.
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