You know, for a truck that is supposed to sell so poorly that it is in constant danger of being discontinued, there are a TON of Dakotas near me. At first I just assumed it was the same as any car, you start seeing lots of them after you buy it. But the other day I realized there are 5 Dakotas on the tiny little side street I live on (3 gen 3's, 1 gen 2 and 1 gen one.)
I even looked around for something different after the end of lease on my 2007 (wanted a diesel engine), but after thinking about it alot, there is really nothing out there even close to our trucks. Nearly full size hauling ability, decent bed size and relatively easy to park (although the darn things sure have a huge turning radius.)
You guys want to try something fun, grab a couple of those new-style folding chairs (the ones with the cupholder and criss-cross tube frame) and hit your local drive-in. My wife and I found that they fit just fine side by side in the back of the bed (the arm rests kind of overlap, but that's fine with me) with room for our son in front of us. Sitting-up in the bed gives you a great view and its a real blast on a nice summer night. Just be sure to bring a portable radio along (can't seem to get decent volume even with the windows rolled-down and the back slider open) and some blankets in case it cools down more than you expected.
For holding the stuff down on the drive over, I use this bungee cord thing that looks vaguely like a spider web that my family gave me a couple of years ago (don't have to worry about the folding chairs catching wind and taking flight on my trip over that new $1billion bridge they built across I280 that I hit right before I get there!)

 

i wish we had a drive in around here....they seem to have gone the way of tail fins....i had a blast going to them growing up. Kids these days don't know what they are missing.

 

I don't own a Dakota....yet. I do like its size, capabilities, and styling. But Chrysler does nothing to promote it. When was the last time anyone has seen a Dakota commercial, magazine advertising, or even dealer brochures?

 

pretty much since the R/T with the 2nd gen

 

lol when I went ion to look at my 08 they didn't even have a specs sheet on it lol wtf chrysler no wonder we get no aftermarket support

 

I think they are doing to the Dakota what GM did for the Camaro. Nothing.

 

to bad cause compared to the canyon, ranger ect my dakota is awsome. I looked on line and went to dealerships before I bought. and bought a dakota.

 

I see a lot of them on the road as well. It could be due to the fact that some of the Dodge dealers were liquidated and they dumped everything cheap and quick. Either way, it is good to see them on the roads.

 

Dodge's last big push for the Dakota was the introduction of the 08 Dakota

and the 06 Dakota R/T
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...26tbs%3Disch:1

 

To get things going again, how about a Dakota SRT-10?
I think that would sell like hotcakes.