Does amid-sized SUV really need a 420hp engine? It doesn't either, but it sure helps. The Dakota's styling is part of the problem. The other problem is their competition is offering a V6 that has similar acceleration and better fuel economy. They need to offer a V6 that is actually competitive and a V8 that stands out.

 

I being an 05 Dakota owner since July, 2005; I would have to say I would love it if I had a Hemi in my dakota. I actually have money saved up for a HEMI conversion in the next 2 years (locked in the bank to earn interest). Overall the truck is great, I love the design myself. Just I do agree, if you're going to have a V8 in a truck tha tis competing with other's V6 engines, it needs to be upgraded. If Dodge advertised a Dakota with say 8500-9000lb towing capacity in a midsized truck package, I think this truck would be much more popular! Nonetheless, I love my dakota.

 

It needs it for the same reason a full size station wagon needs a 425hp engine, because people want it. The 4.7 which you are stuck with in the Dakota is a PoS, it mangages to get worse fuel economy than the 5.7 while producing75-105 less hp and 80-100 less lb-ft of torque, all whilebeing more expensive to build, that engine needs to be scrapped, true all the other mid/compact pickups don't have a V8 but that's because they don't need it, their V6's are more or less as good power and get better fuel economy. There's simply no real incentive to buy a Dakota, it's gotten even bigger so it's damn near a full size now, but it's gone down a notch on engines from the previous gen dakota andreally no betterfuel economy than the full size, at least the 5.7 would give some incentive to buy it. I know I wouldn't even consider the current Dakota right now, but with the 5.7 I would.

 

The dakota will never have the 5.7. DCX would be stupid to offer the same engine in both the dakota and the ram, so maybe they aren't as backwards as we assume they are sometimes. Why wouldn't you just buy a ram if you really want the 5.7? The ram is always THE pickup. looks better too. And stop with the reg. cab thing. the club cab is basically the same thing, you just get a little more room to adjust your front seat. back seat is useless anway.

 

It would be no different than the previous gen models if they did, before both the Ram and the Dakota got the 5.9L, and the Dakota actualy sold then, now they can hardlygive them away, and Ram sales aren't any better because of it.

 

From what I have read there is going to be a new 3-valve 4.7L coming out in 2008. Its supposed to debut in the commander. Not sure what the numbers are going to be but it should be interesting. Not sure if it will find its way into a Dak though...

 

i have the 4.7 and dont think its a POS. just because it doesnt have lots of power doesnt mean that its not a good engine.its actually alot more reliable than the 5.7 hemi from what i hear. now nothing against the hemi, if i could id trade in for a hemi in a heartbeat, but from what i hear from service techsthe number of hemis going in for service is a considerable amount more than the 4.7 even though there are more 4.7s out there than thereare hemis. (the percentage of hemis sold in the first year offered, 2003, was 45% of the totalamount of rams sold, and when the gas pricesstarted goin up, the amount of hemis sold went down)fuel economy is what i expected and i dont think its too low for a full size pickup. and the 4.7 HO in the dakota has 260 hp which is the same hp as the 5.4 in the f150s.

 

If you want 340 hp, get a Ram...

 

Exactly right!
Why does any vehicle need any specific motor? People got along fine with big, tank-like carswith V8's that made as much power as some stock 4 bangers/V6's make now days. The "does this vehicle need that much power" is pretty useless IMO.

But thats true about the 4.7L. It's smaller, less powerful, yet uses more fuel. It's been brough up many times that many competitors 4.0L V6's make close to the same numbers as the 4.7L V8. Some people provide excuses for the 4.7L, I, on the other hand, know the motor needs to be scrapped, or at least get a big power boost.

Like was stated before, the same 5.9L found in the Rams was put in the Dakota, people bought them, and, yet, people also still bought the Ram. I'm sure that if the 5.7L made its way in the Dakota (maybe as an R/T model, like the 5.9Ls were in the Dakota), it would sell.

As for the regular cab... that was done away with because it wasn't selling very well. That's also why they did away with 4 banger Dakotas, as well. Companies aren't in business to make products that don't sell (I know, it might suprize us sometimes).

 

I agree! The fact is it is dumb not put out your best effort in a competitive market like this. If you don't, someone else will. What they need to do is they need to up the power in the Ram due to the updates from the updated competition the Silverado and Tundra (sounds odd to say that). They need to add newer tech to the HEMI (VVT &/or Direct Injection) to compete. The Dakota could receive the current one so then it doesn't compete against the Ram.

The Dakota needs to match the Tacoma and the Frontier with a V6, not a V8. The reason why they should use a V6 is the V6s get better mileage than a V8 and they are just as fast. My friends have bought the Tacoma and the Frontier instead. I asked them why they didn’t get Dakotas, and they told me “why should I get a V8 when I can get a V6 that has the same acceleration, with better fuel mileage.” It really doesn’t make any sense when you think about it.

The 4.7L needs to either be updated or replaced. The 4.0L produces practically the same hp as the H.O. version of the 4.7L. This would match the Japanese competition nicely by out powering the Tacoma and be right behind the Frontier, while offering similar mileage to both. The 5.7L with MDS would really take the market back since it would have similar mileage to the V6s, while providing class leading hp & tq. The ones that succeed are the ones who set the benchmark, not the followers.

At one time, having the only V8 in its class was a trump card, not anymore. Now that Dodge has to compete against someone other than GM and Ford, they need to fight against their competition the way their competition is beating them. They used to get away with having the weakest V6 output, but now they can’t get away with it. They have a history of using their weakest V6 in their trucks. When they decided to switch over to the AMC I4, they passed up on using the more powerful and torque AMC I6 that would have been a better competitor than the 3.9L. They should have switched over to that as soon as they acquired the engine.

Then in 2004, when they finally decided to retire the 3.9L, which engine did they chose. They chose the weaker of their 2 V6s, the 3.7L SOHC instead of the 3.8L OHV. The 3.8L produced 5 more hp & 10 ft-lbs of tq. Even then they should have made a new V6 for new model.

The 4.7L was competitive back in 2000 when they first used it in the Dakota, but it isn’t anymore because they haven’t done any updates to it since. They should have updated in 2004. The H.O. doesn’t count as an update because that is only an optional level. Also why did they weaken it from the GC? It was stronger in there than it is in the Dakota.

Excuses don’t sell cars & trucks. Offering what the customer wants sells excellently, just ask the Japanese.

Chase, I want you to think about this for a minuet. What if you wanted an option on a car that you knew the company had it in another model, but the other model was too big or expensive that you didn’t want the other model, and you ask the salesman about it and he responds “you don’t need it, get the other model…”? You’d be ticked just as many of us are that they didn’t offer the HEMI in the Dakota. It is stupid not to give the customers what they want, because that is where the Japanese are getting the Big Three.

Actually, I have heard the opposite. The 4.7L appears as though it has the occasional oil sludge problem. Remember the more abusive crowd is going to get the 5.7L because of its name and market segment. Also, the sources who don’t like Dodge have given the Ram a better rating in engine reliability since the HEMI was added. As far as are there more HEMI than 4.7L, that might be true but the ratio is changing thanks to the expanded use of the HEMI.

That’s exactly the problem. This truck is a MID-SIZED, not a full-sized. It should be comparable with other mid-sized not full-sized. The 5.3L powered Silverado gets the same fuel mileage while producing around 58 more hp & 15 more ft-lbs of tq. I guarantee it can tow more as well.

No offense but LOL!!! That was replaced in 2004 by the 3 valve head version. A little piece of advice, don’t use the Ford as a bench marker in the categories of engine output, fuel mileage, or reliability. They are normally dead last (unless Shelby helps them). The GM 4.8L produced more hp back in 2000 than the H.O. 4.7L produces

I'm glad you like your Dakota, but the fact is many other people aren't that loyal. They need to beat the Japanese at their own game.

The Dakota should offer the following. A economy V6 for price pentration (perhaps the 3.8L), the 4.0L instead of the 4.7L L.O. & 3.7L, the 5.7L with MDS from the Durango instead of the 4.7L H.O., and a diesel model maybe the Bluetech diesel to provide both economy and good acceleration.