For the past few years, drivers have been tormented by increasing truck prices. The Ram 1500 is no exception to the rule and could be viewed as one of the worst offenders. You can’t get one of these trucks for under $40,000. 

There isn’t a new Ram 1500 for under $40,000 

The good old days of cheaper beater trucks and affordable pickups are gone. You can’t build a Ram 1500 for under $40,000 and Ram CEO, Tim Kuniskis is pretty blunt about the matter. 

According to Mopar Insiders, he explained that drivers should stop comparing every vehicle to the pre-covid era. He shared that getting back to a $40,000 price point average is impossible. 

But what were the good old days? To Kuniskis it was when you could get a Ram 1500 Classic for about $36,000. It was a great bargain for a bare-bones truck despite being the same since 2011. 

Kuniskis shared that if a Ram truck only covered the basics it still wouldn’t magically drop below $40,000. This would involve removing the power windows, touchscreen, and electronic locks. Reportedly stripping a Tradesman model down would only save about $1,000. 

The Tradesman currently starts at about $40,275 without the destination fee. Plus, even Ford dropped the entry-level F-150 years ago. 

Reportedly, the real culprit is a growing list of federally mandated safety and emissions features. Basic trucks require a backup camera, airbags, LATCH child seat anchors, tire pressure monitoring systems, and rear seatbelt reminders. 

Plus, emission standards keep increasing which is great for the environment but painful for the wallet. The equipment to monitor emissions to control them is pretty expensive.