>
>Hi:
>
>I'm pretty sure that my truck was full when it left the dealer's lot last week.
> I've put on 220 miles so far. Today I added 17 gallons of fuel. That comes
>out to around 13 miles/gallon. Yes, I have been riding her hard when the
>opportunity presents itself. I've been trying to avoid red-line launches in
>first gear but I've hit it hard in second and third when the traffic is light.
Yep, that sounds pretty much about what I was getting when my '96 was
new. I got it sometime in late October, and it was beginning to get cold.
I got about 13-14 mpg for a while. I haven't changed my driving patterns
at all and I'm getting about 17-18 now. I'm sure I could get over
20 if I were to shift when that little orange light tells me to. :)
I'm not sure where you live, or how cold it gets, but I've noticed
that the gas mileage for my Dakota drops off in cold weather. When that
first spring came around, my gas mileage jumped up, and on a recent
trip to Texas, I was getting 9mpg around Cleveland in snow and cold, but
by the time I got to Kentucky or thereabouts it was up to 11mpg. (I
should probably mention that I was pulling a 4,000lb trailer at the time,
hence the really low numbers.) :)
>
>Here's my main bitch for my new Dakota: WHY DIDN'T I GET A DECENT CUPHOLDER?
>I paid a buttload of money for this baby and I still don't have a place to set
>my soda when I'm driving. I *hate* holding a cold soda in my crotch when I'm
>driving. Every once in a while, a soda will spill a little and then I look
>like I pee'd myself. I want a holder for my soda!!!
>
>The bucket-seat setup has really cool drink holders. The trucks with no floor
>console (automatics and non-4wd) have really cool drink holders. Trucks that
>have floor consoles (like my 4wd with 5spd) get a really crappy drink holder
>that doesn't work for squat. I got a medium soda today at lunch, put it in the
>holder on the floor and the damn stick keeps crushing the top of the glass in
>second and fourth.
>
Hmmm, I was just reading an ad for the new Dakota in a recent Car and
Driver. The ad said that it had 6 cupholders. I guess some of those
cupholders are optional, eh? :)
I love my pull out cupholder on the passenger side. Its not quite
big enough for a super-size drink, but those I put in the center
console between the bucket seats, in that little square hole that
has the coin holder built into it.
Does the '97 have dual airbags? Maybe that's why the did away with
the trademark Dakota cupholder?
-Jon-
.-------------------------------------------------------------------.
| Jon Steiger | '96 Dodge Dakota SLT V8 |
| stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu | '96 Kolb FireFly 447 |
| http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ | '91 Yamaha FZR600R * |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
| DoD# 1038, EAA# 518210, NMA# 117376, USUA# A46209, KotWitDoDFAQ |
`-------------------------------------------------------------------'
* == For Sale!
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