What will replace the Dodge Dakota midsize pickup?

[Scott B.]

Not suprised they sold so few, the new styling was terrible.

They've talked about stopping the Ranger before. I hope they don't, I love mine, wife loves it. Everyone who's ever driven mine loves it. As to your comment about mpg and size Eaglefreek, I don't know about where you are etc, but here in WA fullsize trucks don't fit on all the trails. We've got a lot of trees.

I love both of mine, too, but production ends in December.

[Hilldweller]

I love both of mine, too, but production ends in December.

I had a '99 Ranger 4-banger. I traded it for an F-150 after about 6 months with it. I got tired of hitting my knees on the shifter and steering wheel.
It was just too danged cramped for me.

The F-150 was perfect though. It got great gas mileage and never needed attention.
My favorite p'up so far.

[Crazy Al]

I don't mind the Exploder Sport Tracs, just wish they had a 6' bed. Wish they would have just made the Ranger crew cab like the rest of the world got instead though.

[bfdiesel]

i think hilldweller is talking width wise, in which case i agree.

besides the only reason your 2wd f100 went places the dakota couldn't was because of the dakotas operator.

It has enough metal to squeeze the trees out of the way.

[Nick02]

I love my dakota, i'll take on any ram.

It's amazingly nimble, tight turning radius; navigated through the sedona trails without hitting any trees.



I would love to see chrys make a new dakota, just put it on a jk frame and throw the 4.7 or hemi in it.
thing would sell like hotcakes

[colodak]

I have 120K on my 2000 Dakota Quad Cab, properly equipped they can tow as much or more than a simlar Ram 1500. My Dakota has the 360, 46RE trans, HD cooling and towing, and a factory class IV hitch. My buddy has a 2000 Ram 1500 with the 318, 5spd, HD cooling and towing, yet my Dakota has a 1,000 lb better towing capacity. There is an elderly couple in my area who tow a 27' 5th trailer with a Dakota quad cab, they have 240,000 + miles, the trans and rear-end have both been rebuilt and the rear springs have been upgraded, I've seen this doing 75 mph pulling that trailer on the interstate many times. Last time I talked to them, they were happy as clams with it. Personally, this news of the Dakota being cancelled is even more reason for me to keep mine as long as it will last, anything, to prove Dodge wrong discontinuing it.

Someone else mentioned the styling, that was the biggest mistake Dodge made. The '97 thru '04 Dakota had an aggressive styling and appearance, they ruined it from '05 til '09 by softening the styling and look, made it too bland, now that they tried to go with a more aggressive style again it was too late. It's really a shame.

[wyojoe]

I think the biggest reason for the decline of the "mid-size" truck segment has a lot more to do with the manufacturers than with the buyers. The manufacturers have been developing and improving their full-size line ups regularly for most of the last decade while allowing development of the mid-size segment has languished. Promotions and special offers have been given generously on their full-size offerings, while those on the mid-size offerings have been limited and less frequent. None of the "Big 3" automakers have put any effort into sales of their mid-size trucks, and now all are considering or have already announced discontinuation of them.

I have a Chevy Colorado Z-71 Crew Cab 4x4 and I love it. It gets about the same mileage as the Silverado 4x2 does, while offering an easier to drive and easier to park (IMO) four wheel drive platform that meets my needs quite well. While a full-size truck can tow or carry more, I don't need that capability, and the few times I've needed to use all six seats in my truck, I've been able to do so, even though it was a bit tight. For my day-to-day use, the mid-size truck just makes more sense than a full-size.

One thing I wish the Big 3 would have done is to offer diesel engines in the mid-size category. These trucks would have sold like hotcakes if they were offered with diesel engines and were able to achieve 30 mpg or better, which is very realistic, as that is not uncommon in the rest of the world where such a truck is available. Again, I blame the manufacturers for not supporting or promoting this segment of the market, and for not developing the segment in such a way as to improve sales. Toyota has seen a decline in sales of its Tacoma, but nowhere near the rate of the decline of the rest of the segment. This indicates to me that the market is there for these vehicles, but the manufacturers aren't producing what the market wants.

[Tahoe Diesel]

I love my dakota, i'll take on any ram.

With all due respect (I've read your build thread), but your truck is far removed from the Dakota that rolled off the production line - No fair fight

It's probably almost as wide as a Ram, with those flared out fenders...

[cwsqbm]

The one problem with the Dakota is that its not (and was never intended to be) a mini pickup truck. My '05 wasn't that much narrower than my last Ram, but was hindered for use as a work truck by the less-than-48" space between the wheel wells. Add in a suspension that no one seems to know how to lift and many quality problems and I'm glad mine is gone.

[Hilldweller]

I would love to see chrys make a new dakota, just put it on a jk frame and throw the 4.7 or hemi in it.
thing would sell like hotcakes

Comanche or Gladiator. Cab and a half, short bed, lockers, live axles, swaybar disco, aftermarket support, diesel...