Future Sibling: Ram Dakota Pickup First Look!

[ChrisNLA]

Maybe I am stuck in the old fart demographic, but that thing is pretty ugly.

Not the old fart demographic here.

It's still kinda ugly

Though I also thought Gladiators were pretty ugly in the beginning....and they still have some less than flattering angles....but I've grown to love my weird little truck.

Sponsored

 

[ChrisNLA]

We have a '92 Dakota SLE reg cab short bed 4x4 here as a farm truck that has 68k miles on it. All original with window sticker showing msrp of less than 17k. 3:92 gears. Cold air. Needs a new front driver side brake caliper is all. It did shred the distributor gear drive and the top of the oil pump for some unknown reason. First year of the Magnum V6.

I almost bought one of these 20 years ago. It was extended cab 2WD with a 318, and it was mint.

We borrowed it from a local dealer and went on a little test drive and found out it could absolutely SHRED a tire. A 318 wasn't much but in a small truck with an open diff it was hilarious. You could matt it to the floor at low speed and it would just fry that one tire.

Kinda wish I would have bought it

 

[Rahkmalla]

I get it. ~90%+ of midsize truck buyers want something more carlike to drive

I'm not sure i agree with that assertion. If that was truly accurate, the Honda Ridgeline would be the best-selling midsize truck by a country mile, but instead it's the lowest selling midsize truck (if you combine the GM twins)

 

[Rahkmalla]

Though I also thought Gladiators were pretty ugly in the beginning....and they still have some less than flattering angles....but I've grown to love my weird little truck.

I used to HATE gladiators. When i told my wife i was getting one she thought i was joking because i used to say things like "Finally! People who don't use their Jeep for Jeep stuff and people who don't use their truck for truck stuff can buy just one vehicle."

I'm not going to say the specific configurations and wheel colors i still find ugly so as not to offend anyone... but there are still plenty of ugly gladiators out there. Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but i quite like the looks of mine, and many others owned by people on this forum.

 

[Janster]

Why do the windows look so short? That’s a lot of ‘body’ with little short windows.
Or is it just the photo?

SPECS PLEASE!!

I can’t imagine this thing will have anything special or ‘mind blowingly’ different from everything else that’s out there. As already mentioned…. probably a 4cyl turbo. <yawn>

I was hoping there’d be a roll reversal….. They’d give the Gladdy the V8 option and they’d give the Dakota an all-electric option. but, you know….that’ll never happen.

 

[Sandman 4x4]

If they build this on a Gladiator platform, but use IFS, then it will be sweet. I bought a 2003 Dakota reg cab 4x4 Sport, 4.7/5speed, 3:92 gears HD suspension and tow package plus wheel/ handling package. That mid/little, 4,200 lbs truck with 6,200 lb GVWR was a beast, especially on the beach.

 

[Supazuk]

 

[Supazuk]

Maybe I am stuck in the old fart demographic, but that thing is pretty ugly.

there is nothing pretty about it and I want to know why that ugly tree has so many branches,

 

[ericw.]

Guaranteed failure point once out of warranty.

Turbos don't instantly mean failure anymore. Maybe in the 80s and early 90s but now days, they're just as reliable as any other mechanical engine part.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Turbos don't instantly mean failure anymore. Maybe in the 80s and early 90s but now days, they're just as reliable as any other mechanical engine part.

I, for one, do not miss turbo timers.

 

[BillyP]

To me it’s Fugly. It reminds of a larger Hyundai Sante Fe

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I guess no one does actual front bumpers anymore huh? Lines almost look similar to the last generation Colorado.

Sorry, I want a bumper out there. DEER country. Critters. I want to replace bolt on parts, not big chunks of plastic.

From what I can see. It's got IFS.

Count on it, considering the platforms it's likely REALLY based on.

 

[ericw.]

I think it's safe to say that, even if it does come out of the same factory as a JL/JT, it won't have many similarities based on what we've been shown so far.

Whoever wrote that it would in the PR dept was wrong.

 

[biodiesel]

I'm super excited about the Dakota. It will be better equipped to compete with the Ranger and Canyon/Colorado. The Gladiator is a niche midsize truck. Even though I absolutely love the Gladiator as a utilitarian truck, I would also like to have a luxury midsize truck.

 

[Mr Miami]

I just hope they do away with the chrome stuff. Never liked it even back in the day when chrome was "cool" to have on cars. Even Harleys now have models that are just flat black without all the shiny chrome shit. To me, chrome = unnecessary work to keep clean and polished if you have a lot of extra time on your hands.

Sponsored