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X Dakota Man
Dodge Dakota
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11/19/2007
14:33:18
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 Subject: Oh my God they ruined it
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I just saw the 2008 Dakota at my local dealership. What a fugly POS. Good God, what were they thinking? I sold my 97 Dak long ago and regretted it right away. I sold my 01 because I needed a Cummins for towing. I still miss my 97 to this day. I ordered it and it was beautiful.
This fugly '08 thing? The 05 was just starting to grow on me and they went and did this. It looks God awful nasty. Maybe it's just me but the new front end looks like C R A P!
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Blakdak
Dodge Dakota
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11/19/2007
16:45:18
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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I dunno, I have to say it seems to be an improvement to the 05-07's. I have seen plenty of pics of the '08s, but not one in person yet. So I guess I'll reserve judgement until then.
When it's up for a full model change (2010??), I believe they will either A) kill the model or B) redefine what this "midsize truck" really is. That will mean getting back to smaller proportions, vastly improved looks, and trimming the purchase cost. Too similar to the ram right now in dimensions and cost with substantially less in the looks department.
I still love my '02 though.
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01Motorsport
Dodge Dakota
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11/22/2007
15:42:41
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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The saddest thing that could happen to the Dakota is if a V-8 won't fit in the next design.
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X Dakota Man
Dodge Dakota
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11/22/2007
16:08:02
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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Just to make sure I wasn't bening too hard on it I went back and had a long second look. Sorry but the front end looks ridiculous. Some Dodge Nitro engineer definitely penned the new Dakota skin. It just looks ugly, nasty, cheap and poor fitting.
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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11/23/2007
18:30:04
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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I saw my first 08 dakota in person today. It was parking as I was leaving lowes. It was a company truck, siemens. The driver had no clue what he was doing as he sat off the alarm when he opened the door to exit the vehicle after parking. LOL
The front is different. Then again I didn't like change in 97 on the 2wd vehicles, at the time I thought it looked better on 4x4s. It grew on me.
- Dan M
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searay245se
Dodge Dakota
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11/23/2007
20:00:50
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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i have to agree with xdakotaman i think they fudged it up i liked the rounder look alot better.and it does look like the same FINE DODGE ENGINEER done the front end on it and the nitro they look alot alike.just my 3 cents worth.
jeff searay245se S&S MOTORSPORTS
99 dak slt cc 3.9 auto 4x4 60k
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Joe.C
Dodge Dakota
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12/03/2007
17:52:51
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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well best thing they did was upgrade the power. But they seem to have ripped off the Honda Ridgeline!!
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Alec
Dodge Dakota
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12/03/2007
23:03:54
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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The looks of the 05's have not grown on me, but only gotten WORSE....I don't believe I'll ever like the looks of these two redesigns :(
I don't really enjoy many of the new Dodge designs, but that's my opinion.
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Willie
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2007
00:03:41
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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Wonder if the Mitsubishi version will look any better.
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dakota2112
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2007
09:09:10
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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Are you people actually saying you like the 2005-2007 front end better than the new one? The 05-07 front end looks like an anteater, with that ramp for a hood. At least the 2008 front end looks like a truck. That's just my opinion of course ;)
I think the 97-04 overal design was incredibly good looking, although at first I absolutely hated it. I bought a 97 Dakota off the showroom floor, even though I didn't care for the design at first. It grew on me over the months and years though. Now, when I see those older trucks, the front end does look very dated. The thing I don't like about these new Dakotas though is the way the front fender curves begin at a sharp crease on the door, instead of smoothly blending into the body.
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ChuckECheese
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2007
09:18:32
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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Hell no! We like the 1997 - 2004 better.
The 2005-2007 ones look like äss, too.
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GB2000
GenIII
12/04/2007
10:02:59
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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Yeah, I just looked it up...that's pretty fugly. Not sure which one looks worse though...
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Crewcut
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2007
19:03:38
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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I seen a couple 08 Dakotas on the road already. Man they look stupid ugly.
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Hairball
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2007
23:34:11
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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Dakota2112 said "The thing I don't like about these new Dakotas though is the way the front fender curves begin at a sharp crease on the door, instead of smoothly blending into the body."
That's because Dodge hired the designer of the Pontiac Aztec away from GM, and turned him loose to "improve" the looks of the Dakota. That's why, since 2005, as ChuckECheese so well put it, so many new Dodges now "look like äss".
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Super bee
GenI
12/05/2007
10:36:44
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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i think tis lame how little ground clearance the 4x4s have, they look like a 2wd
the newer rams are the same way, they look like they sit much much lower than the 2nd gen ram
in fact
my 3500 with 33" tires has the same ground clearance as my little brother 2000 ram 1500
but thats what you get when you make the body taller
because as it is right now it will barely fit into a 7 foot door
1990 sport RC SB, 1995 318drivetrain, 3.92 gears (came with truck) Powertrax "traction system", 95 dash/steering wheel, hearthrob exhaust, headers, cutout after y-pipe, necessary electric fan add-a-leafs, 30x9.5 mud tires, cranked T-bars, AR 39 15x8 rims, grill guard, roll bars
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brianj
Dodge Dakota
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12/05/2007
11:56:47
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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they make the newer trucks lower to the ground for fuel economy and aerodynamics. as a result less emissions. just look at gms fords too. its like a big car. i know, it does look dumb.
new daks.... i like them a lot better than the 05-07 model.
but thats the beautiful thing about dodge... they are very bold in there design decisions. you love it or hate it. but just wait, in 2 years, people will be writing on this website and telling all of us how much they love them.
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Joe.C
Dodge Dakota
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12/05/2007
16:12:50
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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Well take a look at the Expoditions FX4! The still have great ground clearnce and wheel travel because they haven't been lowerd much at all.
So why don't make a Dakota with a simular time of package??
Of course if you reall want a idea that make work; ever thought of a Air Matic suspension as a option for the Dakota?? Why not?! Just raise it up when you it the washed out dirt trails:)
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dakota2112
Dodge Dakota
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12/06/2007
08:17:33
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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I can't vouch for the 4x4 ground clearance, but my 2WD 2008 Dakota sits significantly higher than my old '97 did - several inches higher in fact. And technically speaking, the new trucks supposedly have the same ride height in 2WD and 4WD configuration, so I'd be hard pressed to say the 4WD sits "low". Maybe it could stand to have a moderately lifted offroad package, but the body certainly does not sit low as-is. None of this really impacts clearance between axle and ground of course.
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Blakdak
Dodge Dakota
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12/06/2007
09:02:09
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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Wasn't there some regulations on bumper height that went into effect sometime in the early to mid '00's? I seem to remember that being one of the reasons that trucks got a lower stance (Doge and Chevy especially).
I do wish the 4x4 could at least be offered with a lifted package (TRX4??). Take a look at the 2008 Dakota MX warrier. Someone did a custom job and the truck looks great IMO. A 4" lift is a little much for a factory option, but even a mild 2" lift with some meaty tires would do wonders for the look of the Dakota.
The Gen III's looked like completely different trucks between the 2wd and 4x4's.
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STS
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2007
15:55:03
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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Hairball,
You said that Dodge hired the designer of the Pontiac Aztec away from GM? You got to be kidding me!
If thats the case then why not hire someone that draws cartoons all day?
Now of course, me being a off-roader. I've really liked the idea of having at least 10" of ground clearnce. Something thats deffently has been a lag the 4x4 Dakota/Durango has had for so time.
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Jim
Dodge Dakota
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12/16/2007
08:05:00
| RE: Oh my God they ruined it
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I like the front end much better than the 05-07 version. Haven't seen one in person yet. I'll reserve final judgement till I see one in person.
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