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 Automobile classifications arise from various sources. Tax
structures, legislation, half-plastered automotive journalists, and
automakers filling a gap in the lineup can result in cars and trucks
given compartmentalized monikers like crossover, or formal coupe. In
1987, Dodge already had the full-size and compact ends of the pickup
truck lineup covered. What they needed was the middle ground. The
solution? The Dodge Dakota.
With the rebadged Mitsubishi Ram 50 already in place on the compact
slot, and the Ram holding full-size ground, the Dodge Dakota wedged in
between the two with either the Chrysler 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine
rejiggered to fit in a longitudinal configuration or a 3.9-liter V-6
which was more (or less) a 318-cu.in. V-8 missing the rear two
cylinders. While the V-6 did not possess the smoothness of its
318-cu.in. cousin, the V-8 eventually made its way into the Dakota in
1991 after the 1988 Dodge Dakota Sport V-8 concept.
The 2.2-liter engine combined with rear-wheel drive seems to predict
turbo potential for the Dakota, but the 1989 Shelby Dakota instead
featured a fuel-injected version of the 318. The Dakota had a good run,
with over 2.7 million of them built from 1986 until the last Dakota
rolled out the door at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant in 2011.
Seemingly all compact pickup trucks grew to mid-size before themselves
being driven over by the modern crop of Iowa-class full-size pickup
trucks.
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