Ram Boss says taking away Hemi V8 is ‘anti-American’

Tim Kuniskis seems open to Hemi powered 1500, but has bigger fish to fry

A lot has changed for Strantis over the past few months with the departure of Carlos Tavares and the return of Tim Kuniskis. Now, Ram’s boss has publicly criticized the decision to ditch the Hemi V8.

While you can still find the 6.4-liter V8 in the recently launched 2025 Ram 2500 and 3500, the 5.7-liter and 6-2-liter Hemis are persona non grata in the 1500. There, they have been replaced by twin-cylinder engines. Turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six engine developing 540 hp (403 kW / 548 PS) and 521 lb-ft (706 Nm) of torque.

More: 2025 Ram 1500 debuts with fancy tungsten twin-turbo City Slicker

Although the inline-six engine was a performance upgrade, the move was controversial. The old 5.7-liter V8 produced 395 hp (295 kW / 400 PS) and 410 lb-ft (555 Nm) of torque, while the base Hurricane engine produced 420 hp (313 kW / 426 PS) and 460 lb-ft (623 nanometer).

That’s a big improvement over the Hemi, but Kuniskis recently called the elimination un-American. “What Americans love most is freedom of choice,” the executive told Road & Track. “When you take away their freedom of choice and tell them, ‘You have to accept this,’ they rebel. Whether it makes sense or not, None of it matters.”

This isn’t just hyperbole, as Americans are outraged by attempts to ban incandescent light bulbs. What’s certain, however, is that people care more about their trucks than their kitchen lights.

While Kuniskis knows people are upset about the lack of a Hemi V8 engine, he doesn’t think that’s the reason for the lackluster sales. As we previously reported, Ram truck sales fell 16% last year to 373,120 units. It’s a disappointing result, and the Ram isn’t too far ahead of the GMC Sierra, which had 324,734 buyers.

Instead, Kuniskis blamed production issues and a focus on simple cosmetics to get some trucks out of the factory. As he explained, “I don’t actually have any trucks that are the trim that they should be on the market.”

Given this, Kuniskis reportedly said it’s too early to talk about the Hemi V8 returning to the lineup. However, the publication noted that he didn’t categorically deny the possibility either. Instead, he wanted to fix the production issues first and see what happened.

If sales rebound, there may be no need to reintroduce the Hemi. However, if they continue to underperform, V8s could make a comeback.