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I love my 57 Plymouth(Forwardlook content). I also agree with Marv. $5000
into a mid 80's Toyota truck? I don't know where you live but all that is left
of them around here is iron oxide along the side of the road and whats left in
the recycling yards. I have had several Dakotas since they came out in 87
and all have been excellent. Latest is a 2005 SLT Club Cab with 6 cyl. 6
speed Getrag manual and Posi 355 axle. 26 mpg highway and 20 city all
the time totally trouble free and a pleasure to drive. Has a real truck bed that
you can put a real load in unlike those mini trucks and I include S10 and Ranger
in that catagory as well as the foreigners. Previous Dakota was a 97 that
served equally well and had absolutely no rust after 8 salty New York winters.
Its only drawback was the Japanese sourced 5 speed was not up to the quality of
the rest of the truck. We don't buy new cars ( my wife drives a 1995 Grand
Cherokee that has been a remarkable vehicle, and won't part with it)so I can ony
say that in the truck area Dodge has it nailed.
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We're missing the point here.
My $5000 no rust, high desert Toyota investment is just
a reliable, economical truck for the job I need it for. Your new Dakota
isn't too far off this mark, except for paying probably 3 times what that Toyota
cost.
But THAT isn't the point !
The point is : Chrysler is once again on the
ropes. They may "have it nailed" with Dodge trucks, but last I heard,
Daimler is looking to sell or part the company because overall it is
a losing proposition. Spelled out, Chrysler, even with its "good"
designs, is still not enough to pull enough market share to be a good business
proposition.
You can argue that you own the greatest Mopars ever
made. It make not one iota of difference if the company is still in
peril.
I will argue that Mopar never made a better car than my
58 Fireflite. To the bottom line at Chrysler, this is no more important
than any other old car they made that is already sold and accounted for. A
2000 Stratus or a 2005 Durango might be outstanding cars in your opinion, but if
the public at this very moment is no more flocking to the dealerships to
see these than they are 58 DeSotos, it has zero effect on the bottom
line. Chrysler needs to find a game plan that turns heads and opens
wallets like the can of whoop ass that Ma Mopar opened on the world in
1957. It has nothing to do with cars already sold, be they Mopars or
Toyotas. All that counts at the bottom line is massive quantities of
Mopars moving out the door to cash wielding buyers. And the only way to do
that is to excite them with something more than just a "good product". You
need an exceptional product. In my opinion, Chrysler has going down hill
on this since 1960. A 1970 Chrysler is half the car a 1960 Chrysler
is. A 1980 is half the car a 1970 is, and so on. If looks and
performance are what you are paying for, then I want LOOKS - and - PERFORMANCE,
or I'll just go back to my FL cars and Chrysler can go forward without any of my
support.
Dammit ..... all I want is fins and chrome.
Is that too much to ask ? ;-D
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