The Ram Dakota, the oft-forgotten, slow-selling smaller stablemate to the Ram 1500, will cease production on Tuesday, The Detroit News is reporting. The unsurprising news means there will be one less midsize pickup on the market, leaving the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma as the segment’s sole holdouts. The future for GM’s Canyon/Colorado twins looks equally ominous in the U.S. market, as there has been no official confirmation that the recently-unveiled new overseas model will make its way stateside.
The Warren Truck Plant where the Dakota is built also builds the Ram 1500. So far 39 temporary workers have been let go due to the end of Dakota production. The UAW expects the number could reach 150 or more.
As we reported last year, Chrysler has been mulling over the Dakotas replacement for some time now. The consensus seems to be that the slow-selling Dakota will eventually be replaced by a unibody compact pickup truck, aimed more at customers who buy trucks for their looks, not their utility. Think Dodge M-80 concept, or Rampage concept, as the Dakota’s replacement will be more show than go when it debuts within the next few years.
No decision has yet been made about where to build the Dakota’s replacement. What would you like to see replace the Dakota?