286

480

 

Gotta love the numbers for the Patriot.

 

This needs a little cleaning up...280,000 viperssold in 472,000 days?Not to mention 5 pages of empty space for a page of data...

If -43% is really true for the Dakota...yeouch. It's offically the lost boy of the truck market...

On a side note...these volumes are interesting...I work for a major lawn tractor manufacturer, and we put out 5,000 tractors a day in peak season...we match Chrysler's annual production volume from one facility

 

The Dak has been the lost boy for a long time, hell it is outsold by the frontier which would have been outrageous just a few years ago. Its not suprising really, in most ways the Dak is an inferior product. Asbestos flame suit on.

 

Dakota production was shut down for all of January. Very little stock was sitting on dealers lots until the end of March. Dodge is putting all the marketing effort and support toward the Ram so disappointing sales for the dakota should be expected. Plus when you can buy a Ram cheaper than a dakota with the same mileage most people will buy the Ram.

 

Hahaha he said it! He said it! Inferior product!

In some ways, I agree...the 3.7 has to be the most overworked engine in history...every vehicle it's gone into has weighed close to 4,000 LBS or more...and for every improvement they make to the Hemi and 4.7, they can't help the poor V6. OK Whatever I guess..but to then roll out the '09 Ram with the 3.7?! An "All New Ram" shouldn't have the 1999 vintage 3.7L in it.

But our trucks have seriously massive boxed frames and big rear axles (For those with the 9.25 ). With the 6 speed, I'm confident in my truck's ability to pull as much sht around as I would ever need.TheV6 does like to rev, and I wouldn't hesistateto drive a few hundred milesin 4th gearat 3,500 RPM, ifI had a big load and a big fuel budget. The running gear on our trucks will out haul, outpull,and out lastany Taco or Frontier.

To me,minea truck in the purest sense... jouncy,noisy,bare bones,scratched and dented, andkinda slow (but again...I pity the fool with a 4 speed automatic)...in other words...its just-a-truck.She starts every morning and goeswherever I need to.But nowadays truck marketing is all about who wins a drag race, or who has the most cupholders. For comfort, fit and finish, ride quality, etc...I'd go with VW all the way; but I can't throw 800 LBS of lumber in a Jetta and rip down a dirt road at 40 MPH.

Just for perspective...I saw something on TruckTrend today that mentioned the 1961 F-250 came with a 140HP 6 cyl. Only recently have trucks become the new sports cars...

 

aint that the truth, i have friends at school that think because my truck has a v8 in it that it should be fast, i have to explain that for its size, its fast, but its not a sports car and that it was designed to haul **** and take a beating they still dont get it, guess they never will

 

cramerica, i like your thinking. nowadays trucks are becomming something a soccer mom would drive. When it comes to real uses of a truck, the main thing you want to look at is strength of the frame, axles, and suspension, and especially low end torque. it doesnt have to be some fancy interior with 40 cupholders. to me, the epitome of what a truck should be is my 1988 dak. It looks like **** on the inside and outside, does not having power steering, powerlocks, power seats or power anything for that matter. basically all it has is:
a 3.9 premag
ax-5 manual trans.
8.25 rear
a frame, body, and box. and some windows. and 2 cupholders
it also has over 250,000 miles on it, starts right up EVERY TIME, even after sitting for weeks, and runs just fine.
my 2001 seems to have good mix of comfort features and real world capability, and it's nice. but its really more than what you need.
basically what im saying is, dodge needs to go back to its roots and start designing good looking trucks with enough power and capability to outperform the competition, plain and simple.

 

Reflecting the overall market in which 21 of 23 companies had a decrease in sales, Chrysler on Tuesday posted U.S. sales of 166,386 units for March, down 19 percent from the same period a year earlier.

“The market is tough right now for certain vehicles, especially pickup trucks, and we have reduced our daily rental fleet sales, which make our sales numbers lower,” said Steven Landry, Executive Vice President – North American Sales. “However, cutting daily rental sales keeps the residual values on our vehicles higher, and that’s added value that our customers appreciate.”

“The overall economic situation is causing many consumers, at all manufacturers,to either delay purchases, or shift to a differentvehicle segment, but to one where we have new products,” Landry said. “That segment shift is especially true with pickups. But we’re pleased with the consumer response to our many new vehicles, especially our new minivans, compact vehicles and mid-size sedans.”

The compact vehicle trio of Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot posted it highest sales ever. Combined the three vehicles reached 21,909 buyers in March, up 51 percent from March 2007. The new long wheel base Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans combined for a 18 percent sales gain. And the new mid-size cars, the Chrysler Sebring Sedan/Convertible and the Dodge Avenger, combined for a 15 percent increase in sales.

For April, when the spring selling season gets into full swing, Chrysler will have in the market a typical Chrysler strong spring incentive program, Landry said. The company will offer great financing and owner loyalty incentives of up to $2,000 cash back for buyers of pickups and minivans. In addition, the company will launch advertising for the all-new 2009 Dodge Journey.

“We are relieving credit pressures on customers by offering great deals on financing, including helping so-called Tier B consumers get the credit they deserve,” Landry said. "And from a dealer perspective, we are keeping inventories down, despite the slowing market, which greatly relieves pressure on their businesses. Watch for killer deals on Rams & Daks in April thru June

 

at the beginning of last year my grandfather told me that the one dealer by my house had a hole line full of 06 rams brand new with the hemi in the 26k-30k price range. if i just had the money that is one hell of a deal imo. this was when the 07's were only out for a few months.