On Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:58:35 -0400, B A R R Y
wrote:



I doubt the Dakota would have changed my final results, but I thought it
silly that a serious truck buyer wasn't aware the truck existed. What a
marketing plan...


I doubt it would have. I had a '98 Dakota extended cab with V-6,
really liked it, but found myself needing the bigger back seat and
somewhat more tow capacity. Looked at a new Dakota with a full crew
cab, but found that in order to get the tow capacity I needed, I would
have to go to a V-8 and have dismal MPG, both in town and highway. So
looked at all those you mentioned, ended up with a '07 Tacoma, best
fuel efficiency and tow capacity in the class (for a V-6). That was
when gas was $2.50 or so. Sure glad I chose what I did.

But you're right, Dakotas get very few ad dollars. May go back to the
time when they truly had a monopoly in that size range. And the
Dakota had no service issues the whole time I owned it just over eight
years. It was a good truck. Sold it to a friend and he is very
satisfied also, still no major maintenance. Too bad they didn't keep
up with what was predictably going to be a hot spot, that is MPG.

Frank