So you’re shopping for a pickup and your only requirement is that it have a V8 engine and is as cheap as possible, what do you buy? The V8 pickup truck is a staple of the American automotive landscape and may not be around forever, so it’s understandable that you’d want to buy one while you still can. Whether it’s for the towing capacity, the passing power on the highway, or just the sound (i imagine a bald eagle’s fart sounds just like a straight-piped small block), there are some things a V6 engine just won’t suffice for, no matter how high tech.

Below are the rankings for the cheapest V8 pickup truck on sale right now in America, according to the manufacturer’s web sites. Ram and Nissan are the only two brands offering pricing on 2012 models, so the results for these two may be a bit higher than the competition, as the pricing on a new vehicle usually increases each year.

1. The 2012 Ram 1500 ST is the cheapest V8 at $22,030 from the brand formerly known as Dodge, and comes with a 310-hp, 4.7-liter V8 with 330 lb-ft of torque. The better deal from the Ram brand is the Ram 1500 Tradesman, which comes with the 390-hp, 407 lb-ft 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine for just $22,835.

2. Chevrolet’s cheapest V8 truck is the 2WD 2011 Chevy Silverado WT, which is $23,175 with the 4.8-liter V8 engine. The 4.8-liter V8 makes 302-hp and 305 lb-ft of torque, but for $800 more you can select the 5.3-liter V8 with 315-hp and 335 lb-ft of torque.

3. The 2011 Ford F-150 XL 2WD with an upgrade to the 5.0-liter V8 engine will cost $23,790. The F-150’s 5.0-liter V8 makes 360-hp and 380 lb-ft of torque.

The Big Three (can we call them that again?) are pretty evenly matched in the pricing of their V8 trucks. The Hemi-powered Ram Tradesman is definitely the winner in the bang-for-the-buck battle, but the Ford F-150 with the Coyote 5.0 V8 is a close contender.

4. The 2011 Toyota Tundra 2WD Regular Cab with the 310-hp, 327 lb-ft 4.6-liter V8 starts at $26,560.

5. The 2012 Nissan Titan, which is hamstrung in the price war because of the fact that it isn’t available in a single-cab configuration, starts at $28,385 for a two wheel-drive model with the 5.6-liter, 317-hp V8 engine.

The Japanese pickup trucks are relegated to also-ran status in the pricing competition, due to the fact that neither Tundra nor the Titan is available in a bare-bones work truck variant.

Chevrolet and Ram both offer V8 engines in their smaller pickups, but the Colorado V8 is only available on the top-of-the-line 3LT model with the 5.3-liter V8 which starts at $27,740 and the Ram Durango comes in at $25,885 with the 4.7-liter V8.