We’ve got some bad news for those Dodge lovers looking forward to the next generation Dakota midsized pickup slated for 2016. According to Dodge brand CEO and President Reid Bigland, the new Dodge Dakota project has been cancelled.
It should be noted that Mr. Bigland is the boss at Dodge and his comments about the Dodge Dakota plans being cancelled could mean that there is no midsized pickup headed for the Dodge brand. His comments do not necessarily mean that there is not a new truck smaller than the Ram 1500 headed for the Ram brand lineup but it does not appear that there will be a new Dakota before 2016 or so.
While the Chrysler Group had never confirmed the existence of a new Dodge Dakota in or around 2016, rampant rumors reinforced by off-the-cuff comments by both people inside of the Chrysler Group management team and other company works at plants around North America lead many to believe that the next Dakota was only a few years away. There were even rumors that the company had picked a production location for the next Dakota, supposedly slated to be built alongside the Dodge Caravan family in Canada.
I had a chance to sit down with former Ram boss Feed Diaz at the Detroit Auto Show and while he didn’t actually confirm the future Dakota – he made it very clear that the company was looking very closely at a new midsized pickup that may or may not be called the Dakota. Sources who asked to remain unnamed went so far as to insist that the plans for the next generation Dakota were already drawn up with a smaller, lighter duty design that would allow it to differentiate itself from the Ram 1500.
With the demise of the Ford Ranger, there is a growing gap in the US market for buyers who want a pickup but would rather have something that is smaller and more efficient than the average half ton truck. This means that the opportunities for the new smaller Ram pickup is continuing to grow so while the Dakota might be dead – there could still be a truck that is quite a bit smaller than the Ram 1500 on the horizon for the Ram brand.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
