I wish it was available now. I’d likely be on board for it as my next vehicle. But I wish they’d keep the Dakota name.

 

If they don't call it a Dakota, then thank Timmy K. It's all on him. Flush another well known name, unless the idiots before left the trademark expire.

 

I have zero inside knowledge, but I keep getting the feeling we will end up seeing 2 new trucks. Truck one will be the Dakota replacement. It will be the one on a modified gladiator frame. Truck 2 will come later and be the Rampage to compete with Maverick. Rampage will be built on the same Large variant as Cherokee. Belvidere will reopen to produce Rampage, Cherokee, and maybe one other. My reasoning behind my thoughts are a lot of the recent rumors seem to contradict each other but would make sense as two separate vehicles. Also Filosa said Cherokee would be built in Mexico "at least to start". That lead me to believe they are working to move at least some of the production to the US.

 

Yes, this seems logical.

Again, I would consider dropping the Durango or moving it over to join the Grand Cherokee in Former Mack, updating Jefferson Avenue, and moving the Cherokee there along with a Chrysler counterpart to replace the Wagoneer S, fixing two problems at once and making the Recon in Jeff from the start. 'Course if Cherokee ends up a smash hit that would backfire a little, sharing the line with too many other vehicles...

These plants were engineered to be flexible. Let ’em flex for once.

 

The Ram Banshee!

 

"Ramshee"

 

Ra-bam-shee. That sounded better in my head.

 

We're so used to Dodge Dakota, it's not a fair comparison.

 

"Ramota"

 

After 2 years of owning a Jeep Gladiator, I realize I do enjoy owning a midsize pickup.

Other than the necessary 3-point turns, the cringy MPG, and the steep MSRPs on these things, I do enjoy the smooth ride, the stability on the freeway, the quiet cabin, the ruggedness of body-on-frame construction, and the utility of a cargo bed.

Given how Stellantis overprices things and screws customers with poor resale values, chances are a new Dakota will depreciate like a rock. If I were to do it all over again, I'd look for a low-miles used truck to keep for a long time.

 

I have looked at a few Gladiators and now you have me thinking about that again, what stopped me was worry about the intake cam and valve lash adjuster issue (remember the TSB that was circulating around for a while)....
I think decent ones can be found in the mid 30s....

 

It may be a good deal for me, because I only drive about 6,000 miles a year now, and I've been splitting that between my ancienct '98 ZJ 4.0 and the somewhat less ancient '07 5.7 WK1, I'd probably still keep one but can't decide which lol.

 

GM and Toyota do often make their powertrains less satisfying than one would like, to try to get higher mileage ratings they try to stay in top gears.

 

Yeah. The automatic transmission in my Tacoma had got to be the only transmission explicitly designed to NOT shift gears!

It was especially frustrating on two-lane country roads: you'd press the throttle to pass...and nothing. Press some more...and still nothing. Running out of room and out of time, you had to mash the pedal all the way to the floor to shake the transmission out of its stupor, at which point it'd downshift all the way to 2nd gear and send the engine wailing! There was no gradual, natural progression whatsoever. Ugh! It was a stressing driving experience.

 

Bizarre programming. I always liked the Mopar "one third throttle" downshift.

 

I don't want to give away my age but I remember being very apprehensive when Chrysler abandoned their to the floor kickdown and changed it to part throttle.

 

I would expect as much, considering they had design figured out in 2021 in the STLA product plans. However like the Cherokee, these plans might have changed, like transposing the Recon front end onto the Cherokee STLA Large body.

 

Adjusting Kickdown

by Bob Lincoln

You will need two tools, an inch-pound torque wrench (Stanley has a good, consistent feel and click to the setting; I paid about $60, some cost far more) and an 8-sided 5/16" socket, which looks like a square with the corners radiused (NAPA part number NB810).

If the band adjustment is too tight, it shifts hard and late. Too loose, and it slips. A little gray clutch mud in the pan is normal. Adjust the kickdown rod/linkage as well as the band; if the rod is too long, it downshifts early and upshifts late; if the rod is too short, it downshifts late and upshifts early. It's a sensitive adjustment with which a turn or two of the threaded rod can make a big difference.

 

I think a hybrid would sell in the mid-size world, unlike the full size world.
Different dynamics, also artices says it was postponeed once before. ONCE? since about 2008, we have been told a mid-size was going to be built, then not built Numerous times.
Hopefully they have American designers, design this mid-size truck, unlike the last Dakota that lasted 4 years.

4 years ago, Stellantis said they were going to build one, even told the union during negotiations. Then the next year, Stellantis said they would have to do a "Case Study" to see if they would sell enough to invest in it. I could not wait any longer as I had 175.000 miles on my Colorado ZR2, so I bought a 24 Canyon AT4...

Meanwhile, Toyota and the GM twins cannot build them fast enough to keep up with demand
fyi: the Taco is coming out as a hybrid for 2026 along with the 4Runner

bad thing about the Gladiator as a truck, is the bed is not very deep or I would have bought one when they first came out.

Prior to them being on dealers lot, they had a dealer demo obstacle course and classroom set up near me. They let me look and sit in several of them, pulled the tape measure out and just what it looked like, shallow bed.

 

fyi: the Taco is coming out as a hybrid for 2026 along with the 4Runner

Tacoma's been available as hybrid since the current generation started? Same with the 4Runner?