I got some great responses from all you Dakota owners out there and from a
few Mustang and Firebird owners. Please let me finish this up by clarifing
something.
1. I love my V8 Dakota. I know it is not as fast as the light Mustang, or
the high horsepower Firebird, but it does have the potential to be
competitive with few modifications.
2. Not all cars (and trucks) are built alike. What I mean on this is
sometimes cars can be quicker (and slower) than the "average" of that
model. The truck they tested in the article that beat the Mustang and
Firebird obviously was not one of the "average" Dakota's, but there are
others out there that are as quick.
On the same note, not all 5.0 stock Mustangs and LT1 Camaro's and Firebirds
and built the same. There are gearing differences, tire differences, model
years, and driver differences that all factor in to how fast a car performs
on a given day. Luckly in the 90's they get faster every year! (unlike the
70-80's).
3. Dragstrips have better times than street. This is because of traction
compounds, tire pressures, no fear of cops, and concentration. Therefore
any car (or truck) have the possiblity to have an advantage due to given
conditions. Remember that at stoplights, you do not the opportunity to do
a burnout or start on sticky pavement. Therefore a car with alot more
horsepower may go up in smoke on a street compared to a car with less
horsepower. (Don't believe me, pull up beside a front wheel drive vehicle
in the rain and see which of you get away first.) Torque can kill a good
start due to traction problems- and it has been proven that Mustangs have a
BIG problem with this.
4. Money is a BIG issue. Like I said before, I would rather invest in
$15,000 for a new Dakota, put $1,000 worth of modifications in it and still
come out with more "bang for the buck" than the $23,000 Mustang GT or
Firehawk. Geez if I put $23,000 into a V8 2wd Dakota, nothing would be
able to touch it! I refer to my truck as the "Poor Man's Mustang." Plus,
compare the insurance rates. Heck, my Dakota is cheaper than my wifes '96
Contour. I save a bunch of $$$$ right there.
5. You have to remember, why you bought the vehicle. I bought mine first
for the hauling capability and second for the performance. If I had wan't
performance first, I probably would be driving one of the other vehicles.
6. All this is for fun. I enjoy teasing pony car owners. They have the
money, I don't, so I have to do the best I can with what I have. Dreaming
never hurt anyone. That is how we get the ideas that make our world great!
I bet it was a dream of some engineer that got picked on for his ideas
that allowed us to be able to drive the only Midsize truck available with a
V8. Be careful whose bubble you try to burst, they may burst yours first.
Thanks again, and If you see a Red shortbed pull up beside you, be careful,
I may be dreaming again!:-)
*******************************Rob Robinson ********************
Red 96 Dakota Sport V8 3.55 Burgundy 68 Barracuda Fastback
Shortbed, Standard Cab 318-904 8 3/4 rear3.23 sure-grip
K&N filterpack-clone Moser cut van axles w 11" drums
Rhino performance muffler Duals with Formula S exhaust tips
w/dual exhaust Power steering/Dealer installed
airconditioning
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:59 EDT