Dakota going to lighter chassis

With the Dakota bumping up against the Ram in weight, capacity, size, and gas mileage, sales have fallen with the current generation. We reported two years ago that the Dakota would be made into more of a “lifestyle vehicle” — lighter, more agile, and smaller. Other news outlets have now caught up and have reported that the Dakota would be “car based,” which could mean that they will finally use the rear-drive LX platform for something other than a car, or that it will share the Grand Cherokee/Durango platform. (We have not heard any specifics on how the Dakota is being engineered, but the Dakota will have to be run on the same line as other vehicles, and Chrysler is unlikely to create an “all new” Dakota when they have existing platforms to adapt).