awfully stuck in the past, but at least they are trying.

bigger engine!!!!!

you know i had no idea thet the hemi had 16 spark plugs in it. not too bad, i will stick with my frontier for now, but all in all i could drive this, the rear passenger head rests are kind of in the way of the view but ill have to actually have to sit in one to be sure. good job dodge this does look better.

What happened to the well styled 5.9L Dakota R/T’s of a few years ago? This thing looks terrible inside and out. I even put in a bid of saying the Dakota finally looks worse than even the outdated Ranger…

if I remember correctly- the rear seats fold down and away and the headrest hinges down and flat with the rear wall. Chrysler has done a good job of their wheels on past vehicles but these look cheap.

U-G-L-Y

They took one of the best looking trucks on the market and brought it down a notch (IMO). It looks more like a toy…more plastic-y. Could just be the way it was photographed, though.

does dodoge know how to do anything thats not as ugly as your in-laws?

Dodge is over-using its current theme. This dakota, the new magnum, and the avenger sized car they have coming out all look exactly the same in the front.

Side note - has anyone seen the mitsubishi version in person? Its ugly as sin too.

what a joke. anyway, for increased madness there should be an SRT version. i will like it

Same old ****.

A nice step backwards in design, good job Chrysler with your attempt to match Ford in sales success. You’ll be there soon. Keep it up.

Andre I agree. They made an already unattractive truck truly ugly. The “bold” Dodge styling is looking tired and dated not fresh and and aggressive. This redesign is a definite step backwards.

The worst piece of junk to come out of Detroit in years. Reminds me of the Pontiac Aztec because both cars were extremely ugly. This truck is absolute garbage (Design only). More of the same.

Agreed, its FUGLY. If you want a good looking and performing smaller truck stick w/ a tacoma, or fronteer. What horrible design. Whoever is responsible for this should hang their head in shame. Its ass ugly. And not the good kind either.

THIS JUST IN!!!
Pictures just released of the 2010 Dodge pickup concept…
http://www.rodfathers.com/126%20DODGE%20PICKUP.JPG

Looking good, but where’s the Diesel engine? A smaller I-6 than the Ram (maybe around 4 liters or so) should be a force to be reckoned with.

Wow. Just when I thought the Dakota couldn’t get any worse. People keep mentioning the Aztek. I wish there was some way to find out if the ‘designers’ that GM used to have (Aztez, Malibu, prior Impala) are all working at Chrysler now…the stuff coming from Chrysler is amazingly bad. And the one-style-fits-all interior approach is not helping either. Andre Neves said it best a couple of posts back. Maybe Chrysler is doing it on purpose to get the concessions from the UAW.

I actually feel that Dodge took the ugliest truck on the market and improved it greatly inside and out. Look at what it gained also: a more powerful and fuel efficient engine, improved aerodynamics and some nice interior features. I feel that Dodge is keeping up just fine in the market.

I do think they could use a new interior design scheme though.

My eyes. MY EYES!!!!!!!!!!!! Good grief its ugly. I mean this is hideous. Are they aware that its 2007 not 1989?

The engine upgrade is nice tho. Interior isn’t awful I guess. But ugly is an understatement for this. Dodge’s current design theme is the opposite of modern. For some reason the Magnum looked sharp, and pretty modern. Everything after that is a joke.

Has anyone noticed the interior of the truck? I understand Chrysler is slowly coming around, but come on, my mid 90’s toyota camry has more interior quality than this truck! So much cheap plastic!! ew

*whimpers* I DONT GET IT! i mean, i like the front end angle… but the rest, i dont know… to meh it has incorporations from the early 2000’s chevy silverado on the front courter panels

How about, CHANGING THE INTERIOR, sorry but the interior on this heap is god AWFUL, not to mention the new front end is circa 1985. Now please folks, lets not get on my ass for not liking this car, it seems like every time I dislike something I’m barraged with morons insulting me for having an opinion, but lets be real, this interior blows and the front end design is a step backward, plus everyone who has ever driven a compact pickup or read a thing or two about trucks should know that the Tacoma and Frontier are easily the best in this segment, there’s no question about that. Hahaha I wish GM#1 would come in here talking about the Colorado/Canyon twins, then i’d REALLY have a good laugh!

Thats almost more HP than the F150. ford need a more powerful engine.

Ford needs a lot of things. They need to release the Mustang Bullit asap before they go out of business.

But back on topic….this is the most outdated looking truck on the market today. Followed closely by the Mitsubishi Raider.

an improvement.

Does anyone else think Dodge is going backwards in their recent design? They killed the Magnum and now the Dakota… I hope the Charger isn’t next.

The exterior could easily pass for a 1998 truck. The front end is very disappointing –the front bumper casing is too thick and the grille is too narrow — the aggressive front end styling Dodge used to incorporate in their trucks seems to be going away and that’s not a good thing. The dashboard materials look cheap and that piece of metallic plastic they snapped on the center of the dash looks like a desperate afterthought. What a disappointment.

Dodge interiors are a joke

I get a kick out of how everybody on here can look at a picture and suddenly they think they are experts on design. Pictures never tell the whole story. I always wait to see the vehicle in person before I pass judgement.

What in the world is Chrysler doing with their styling? It’s as though they’re TRYING to not sell cars. They just keep getting uglier and uglier, especially the interiors. Wow this is ugly.

What’s up with the LEGO-styled front end??!!! Come on, if it comes down on the road from far away, i wouldn’t know if its this truck or the new updated Magnum!

Yo, Chrysler—- Knock this blocky headlamps treatment crap off!!!! Fire all of ur 8 years old designers! Hire 25 years old fresh from art college!

What’s with ALL domestic makers NOT painting mirror cups? Too cheap?!

Tppp,
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to identify hard plastics in a car’s interior. The only leather I see from the driver’s point of view picture, is the rim of the steering wheel, armrest, & seats(partially). C’mon man, since when has ANY Dodge has had someone rave about the interior? None. Not even their most expensive(viper). 90% of what I see in those interior pics is plastic. Even that aluminum looking center piece looks like painted plastic.
Maybe if they put some effort(clearly can see they didn’t by the exterior shots) into the little creature comforts they would be doing better. Is it so hard to wrap that plastic, like the dashboard & doors for example in some thin vinyl/leather? When I look at Dodge’s new lineup, I see the same ‘ol stuff they’ve been cranking out for years. Trust me, my last car was a Dodge SRT-4…a fast piece of plastic. Not too different from this.
BTW, That center console looks like a mess. I see some cup holders and some block-shaped holes that look like they’re missing pieces.

tppp,
Hey you want to see an expert in design? Check the picture with the closeup of the ipod. Look at the fitment of the plastics under the armrest. Good job Dodge, you could’ve atleast have photoshoped that out if you guys put any effort into it.

awsome looking truck…the current gen is just too ugly…and finally an engine to outdo the toyotas

better than the privous one but i still wouldn’t want one

The previous Durango shared taillights with the minivans.. so why does the new Dakota have to share headlights with the new Magnum? Very disappointing.

I’ve always liked the size of Dakotas, but could never get past the Ugly. My parents had a new ‘97 when it came out with the “baby ram” look. It was a v8 4×4, and kinda fun to do do-nuts with. But it was ugly, with a crap interior. This is “less ugly”. I’d like to sit in one, and check out the interior up close and personal like. It HAS to be better than the ‘97. But I’d probably buy a Tacoma first.

“better fit and gap management”

Are they saying the current 1/4 gaps between panels isn’t good enough???

Better. Not the best. But better.

Now that you mention the iPod photo, Andrea, notice that the iPod itself is about 2 years old–there’s obviously a huge time warp somewhere at the Dodge factory. Either that or things are SO TOUGH at Chrysler now that they can’t even afford to prop their photos with a NEW iPod!

^ ^ lol, yeah! But maybe they are trying to show that it can hold from the oldest Ipod to the newest one in that holder???

Oh god….. The “LETS MAKE EVERY VEHICLE WE HAVE SHARE THE SAME GRILL” idea has gone one way to long at Dodge. First everything had to look like it shared its nose with the Ram…. It seems someone decided they’ll shift over to everything looking like the Nitro now. And concerning this particular truck. Looks like they took the Nitro and a 1999 Dakota someone left in the parking lot and molded the two together. Yet another strike out if you ask me.

I hope that grille looks better on the road because I really do not like it in the pictures.

If they offer optional leather seats on the Sport trim level (not the leather-and-cloth stuff in the images), I’ll take a look.

“Oh god….. The “LETS MAKE EVERY VEHICLE WE HAVE SHARE THE SAME GRILL” idea has gone one way to long at Dodge. First everything had to look like it shared its nose with the Ram…. It seems someone decided they’ll shift over to everything looking like the Nitro now. And concerning this particular truck. Looks like they took the Nitro and a 1999 Dakota someone left in the parking lot and molded the two together. Yet another strike out if you ask me.
Comment by TheNewOldSchool,”

Well, i dont want to diss them because they make a good car, but BMW for example, never has really changed their front end look, the grille and head light style is virtually the same… look at their cars from the mid 80’s, and watch what they did every couple years thereafter, just all they did was minor adjustments on top of minor adjustments untill they got to where they got now… thats why ive always admired mercedes benz to atleast completly change up their look of each of their cars every few years. And Dodge has done the same thing pretty much.

But honestly, everyone here knows, Chrysler is in a rebuilding stage, so honestly if its going to be cheaper, and the hardware (chassis/engine brakes etc etc) is all built up propperly, honestly the car wont be that bad down the road like Chrysler was always known for. Hence why i said it will be cheaper for them to keep the similar looks, that way when they manufacture things, they dont have to change up the manf. process up too much when they build each different car.

I think this car looks a lot better then the pre facelift model. The 06 version was too square and ugly. This one is more butch but they should have taken out the ugly wheel arches

Being a Dodge person, I like the truck. Unlike Ford and Chevy/GMC this truck is unique, unlike the boring Ranger which needs to rebuild from the ground up, Ford should focus on the Ranger since all they ever ever focus on is the F-Series. And as for the Colorado/Canyon, well I refuse to buy a truck that doesn’t even offer a V-6. While the Ranger takes a lot of its styling ques form the F-150 and the Colorado/Canyon from the Silverado Classic/Sierra Classic, this truck’s only similarity with there Ram is the fact that its got a bed and a cab. And lets not forget the 4.7L V-8. Its good to have a truck that isn’t as big as a half ton, but has a V-8 (even if the Ram gets about the same gas milage).

With products like these, no wonder Chrysler sales are floundering right now. The sister car Mitsubishi Raider look miles ahead of this ugly truck.

I think its a great truck but like Carnut4ever said above, the Mitsubishi Raider looks 100 times better, and id argue that its the best looking truck in its class… theres just one problem… dodge took away their V8 for this model year and i doubt itll be back.

A4: the V8 in the Dakota wasn’t even that great, Dodge loved to boast about how it was “the only V8 in it’s class”, and yet the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma’s V6’s are more powerful and get better mileage, and those two trucks are also faster. Hmm…sounds like a bunch of marketing bull**** to me!

Waat: strange, in your post you omit the 2 best trucks in that class, the Frontier and Tacoma. The Ridgeline is great too, won truck of the year, highly innovative, etc, but most truck people are too narrow minded to even accept it. But how could you leave off the Frontier and Tacoma, they’re stomping all of the other trucks in this class, Dakota included

HEY ANOTHER UGLY DODGE!!!! YES

DIESEL…WE NEED A DIESEL. The 3.0L Benz would slide nicely into the engine bay. Come on Dodge!

Yet another bottom rung attempt.

I don’t like the current model..but this one look pretty good

The 2008 model looks like the original 1988
Dakota truck. I am disappointed and miffed
that the design department let the ball drop
on another Chrysler product. First, the it
was the strange-looking Dodge nose morphed
onto a Jeep Liberty (instead of lowering the
headlights to fit above the grill and the
grille to stand out prominantly as it did on
the 1994 Dodge Ram). Then, it was the porpoise-
like Chrysler Sebring redesign (which should
have been a scaled-down 300 just like the
Avenger was a scaled-down Charger). Then, it
was the passionless 2008 minivans (which look
more bland then even the Siena or Oddity).
Lately, Chrysler has been showing off the
Chrysler Nassau…scaring us with the prospect
of the car that best belongs in a Renault
store. I hope someone at Chrysler asks the
buying public if they would want a Nassau
before they attampt to build one…

I havent seen so much **** flying around since I drove past a gay bar in west Hollywood =P Everyones a car critic now at least it looks better then the Frontier and Titan, not to mention the bloated Tundra (I know they are in a different class so keep your mouth shut) 290hp in a midsize is more then what any other midsize has out there as well.

I’ve been an owner of 2000 Dakota’s for 8 years now. I now have a R/T. I was very disappointed with the styling change. I still like the earlier versions of the Dakota (2000). Chrysler needs some help! I don’t know anyone that likes the newer version of the Dakota. It STINKS!