On the subject of the best generation Dakota, here's my opinion based on my ownership of 2 of the beasts and driving many others. My brother had an 88 Dak V6 and manual tranny. It was a pretty good little truck, 20+ mpg and very reliable. Even with the manual trans the V6 was anything but a powerhouse but could pull a trailer with a B body on it for short distances. My first ownership experience was with my 89 Shelby Dakota. I loved the way it looked and drove. Even gas mileage wasn't bad 14+ in town and 18 on the road. The 318 was bulletproof and in the Chrysler tradition responded well to mods. I had the heads ported, dual exhausts, cam, and other mods. My complaints with it were even with the Shelby mod kit from MP the redline on the computer was way too low and the A500 trans had to be rebuilt twice. Plus the light bar was good looking but made too flimsy and broke. My other brother had a white Shelby and never had a bit of trouble with it. I ordered a 00 Dakota R/T CC new; with the rare Am
ber Fire paint. It is a muscular looking truck and has good space utilization and more creature comforts than the Shelby. With the Hotchkiss suspension it handles like a slot car. The 360 again responds well to mods; which I have made many. My dislikes are the tranny went out with under 40k on it and both heads cracked with less than 60k and no factory warranty, plus mediocre gas mileage and brakes. The 05 and later versions are an unfortunate collection of body curves, bumps, and angles that must have been designed by the same people who brought out the Pontiac Aztek. The single most over-designed, focus grouped, cluster of rolling dog poo of the last century. If Dodge wants to keep the Dakota nameplate here are my suggestions. Make the styling attractive again, disdain the latest fads and make the exterior simple. Remember a clean palette leaves the artist room to work. Make a performance version again with some exclusivity to it. Dakota SRT8 with Hemi anyone? Make it lighter. Fuel eco!
nomy and
performance will be improved and nimbleness returned. Make it cheaper than the Ram. When my brother bought his Ram in 06 there wasn't $1500 difference between a Ram 4x4 and a Dak 4x4, despite the Daks smaller size and lower resale value. Of course this is my opinion, I could be wrong.
_________________________________________________________________
Shed those extra pounds with MSN and The Biggest Loser!
http://biggestloser.msn.com/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Mar 02 2008 - 02:10:10 EST