05. Could Dodge Revive Its Small Pickup Program?
It's been a long time since Dodge played in the small truck segment, preferring for the past two decades to campaign behind the mid-size Dodge Dakota instead of directly taking on fading stalwarts like the Ford Ranger. A recent interview with Chrysler vice president Joe Veltri, conducted by the Detroit Free Press, indicates that this could change in the near future as the brand is looking into producing a unibody pickup that would be far more compact than anything Dodge has sold since the early 90's when it offered tiny, rebranded Mitsubishi imports as the Ram 50. Any new compact truck would have to be significantly cheaper, according to Veltri, than its full-size brethren in order to gather interest from economy-seeking buyers who need a useful, and affordable, work platform. The re-born mini-truck could bear the Dakota name.