At 01:11 PM 11/18/96 -0400, you wrote:
>I travel to Maine quite often so the price just didn't seem quite right.
>In Maine regular is ~$1.20/gal which is a $10 CDN savings compared to NB.
>If I could fill up for $30 rather than $40 I would getting rid of the
>diesel jetta and get a second Dakota, especially if they come out with a
>SUV version.
>
>Do you see a big improvement in the 97 over last years model? What would
>say sets it apart from pervious Dakota models? Does it throw decent heat?
>I have had a heat problem with mine since day one.
>
>----------
Mark:
I formerly had a 1978 3/4 ton 2wd clubcab powered by propane, but I have
spent some time and a friend's '93 Dakota SLT and test drove a similar '96 SLT.
The immediate big difference is the looks. They also advertise lots of
engineering improvements along with it, I guess time will tell. My first
tank full gave me 15 mpg (miles/canadian gallon), about 40 miles of that was
on the highway, the rest around town. I hope it will rise a bit as the
engine breaks in.
It goes like stink! With the V8, even climbing steeper hills on the highway
the tranmission doesn't 'hunt' between gears (3.55 rear end).
It throws lots of heat and warms up quickly, it was slighly below freezing
this morning. It also has a clutch fan. I'm still unsure regarding the
octane debate. I won't be running 87 octane, but with exception of the
'personal opinion' of the service manager at the local Dodge dealer, the
advice I get is the 89 octane will do just fine with injector cleaner thrown
in once in a while.
I'm 6'1" and weight 225 lbs. I find the bench seat somewhat uncomfortable,
but I found the buckets in the '93 feeling about the same. We have an '89
Sundance and the seats became a bit more comfortable over time. The
standard bench seat (actually formed like buckets), has a fold down arm rest
that opens up. Has space for small items such as a log book or cell phone.
Has seat belts for three.
I'm not sure how computerized the earlier models were, but this one does
everything but wipe your nose. It has a full guage package and a light the
comes on if any of the guages move out of the normal range. According to
the dealer, it checks for 'knock' and adjusts accordingly.
If fuel costs are a issue for you, think about a conversion to propane. The
duel conversion (ie. can switch between propane and gas) works well. All
you need to do is to remember to keep fresh gasoline in your tank. My
mechanic has been doing Dakotas for many years. The price of propane is
$.34/litre here. I'm going to wait awhile, the price has been slowly
creeping up and the cash-strapped BC provincial governement is talking about
adding road tax to propane ($.10/litre).
Hope this helps.
Robert P. Agnew
ragnew@islandnet.com
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:27 EDT