Excellent truck

In April of 2001 I ordered a 2001 Dodge Dakota SLT Club Cab 2WD V8. I absolutely love this vehicle. A few years prior I worked at Warren Truck Assembly in Michigan (temp hire) where the Dakotas and Rams are made and was fascinated by the truck (I had never given pickups a second glance before.) I saved up and ordered one with the top notch sound system, power everything and bed liner.

It only took a month for production and delivery, but that is a perk of living in the motor city. It drives very smooth. It is very roomy unlike some other small pickups. But it is not huge or hard to manuever like some full size pickups. Everything works great. The engine still looks brand new with just over 30,000 miles now. Having just moved into my own home from an apartment with no garage, I have not had the opportunity to do any maintainence myself, but I have heard the oil filter is a real pain to change. After two and a half years of pot-hole paradise driving in the Detroit area, it still handles great and has good suspension. Changing the tire is pretty simple since I've had to do that twice. The seats are very comfortable, though adults and older kids aren't too comfortable in the back seat. If you plan on having teens and/or adults in the back often, I'd suggest going with the 4 door quad cab. The bed has come in handy more often than I could have imagined. And finally, it has held up great with two trips to Arkansas and one trip to Massachusetts.

The only negative thing I can think of is the gas mileage, but on the flip side, any vehicle could have better mileage. If it averages 20 mpg, that's good.