Ram Dakota: the Dodge Dakota under a new badge

The Ram Dakota was the mid-size Dodge Dakota sold under the Ram name for the final two years of its production, 2010 and 2011. The truck behind the badge was a three-generation Chrysler design, built at Warren Truck Assembly in Michigan and remembered as the first mid-size pickup with an optional V8.

Ram Dakota at a glance

based on one source: the Wikipedia article covers the whole Dodge Dakota line, so this page uses its general description and the note that the truck was marketed as the Ram Dakota in 2010–2011. The free photos on Commons show earlier Dakotas, not the 2010–2011 Ram Dakota, so the record keeps its own picture.

History of the Ram Dakota

The Dakota before the Ram badge

The Dodge Dakota was Chrysler’s mid-size pickup, made at the Warren Truck Assembly plant in Michigan and sold by the Dodge Truck division for the 1987–2009 model years. It used body-on-frame construction with leaf springs and a live axle at the rear, and it was the first mid-size pickup with an optional V8 engine. The Dakota was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award for 2000.

The last two model years

For 2010 and 2011, when the truck was marketed by the newly separated Ram Truck division, the Dakota was sold as the Ram Dakota. Those two model years were the last of a line that had run through three generations; production ended in 2011, and the name stayed dormant for more than a decade.

The first-generation Dakota

The first generation was produced from 1986 through 1996 for the 1987–1996 model years. To keep investment low, many components were shared with existing Chrysler products and the plant was shared with the full-size Dodge D/W series. The Dakota was the first pickup with rack-and-pinion steering, on two-wheel-drive trucks only, and early years could be ordered without power steering. Inline-four, V6 and eventually V8 engines were offered with a five-speed manual or a three-speed automatic, and four-wheel drive came only with the V6. A convertible joined the range for 1989, with a fixed roll bar and a simple manual top, and about 2,482 were sold in its first year. That same year brought Carroll Shelby’s V8-powered Shelby Dakota, his first rear-wheel-drive vehicle in two decades, and an extended Club Cab followed for 1990.

Later changes and the return of the name

The 1991 trucks had a new grille and bonnet and could be ordered with a 170 hp 5.2 L V8; for 1992 the 3.9 L V6 and 5.2 L V8 were updated to Magnum specification, rated at 180 and 230 hp. A driver’s airbag became standard for 1994, and the base 2.5 L four was replaced by the AMC 2.5 L unit for 1996. Long after the Ram Dakota went out of production, the name returned: the new 2027 Ram Dakota for the South American market was unveiled in August 2025.

Design and features

• A badge, not a new truck: the Ram Dakota was the existing Dodge Dakota, renamed for the 2010 and 2011 model years.
• Body-on-frame construction: leaf springs and a live axle at the rear, as on a traditional pickup.
• First mid-size pickup with a V8: the Dakota offered a V8 long before its rivals.
• Built at Warren: every Dakota came from Chrysler’s Warren Truck Assembly in Michigan.
• A revived name: Ram brought the Dakota back in 2025 for South America.

Ram Dakota versions

• Dodge Dakota (1987–2009): the model under its original badge, in three generations.
• Ram Dakota (2010–2011): the same truck sold by the Ram Truck division.
• First-generation convertible (1989–1991): a manual-top convertible with a fixed roll bar.
• Shelby Dakota (1989): Carroll Shelby’s V8 version.
• Club Cab (from 1990): the extended-cab body with two doors.

The Dakota was the smaller stablemate of the full-size Ram trucks described in the Ram 1500 article. More pickups are in the Ram collection.

Sources

• Dodge Dakota, English Wikipedia: Ram Dakota years, construction, plant, first generation