Bold, Powerful Design Defines All-New 2005 Dodge Dakota as One Tough Truck

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 4, 2004 -- The all-new 2005 Dodge Dakota boasts a bigger, beefier and more refined design. The confident, powerful and modern design distinguishes the new Dakota from the smaller compact and mid-size competitors.

"With the new Dodge Dakota, we have created a new design language that instantly identifies the Dakota as a new Dodge pickup," said Trevor Creed, Senior Vice President, Chrysler Group Design. "We have refined the pickup styling elements without losing any of the boldness and power that defines the Dodge Ram and new Dodge Durango. Viewed from the side, the Dakota has a more aggressive attitude and a taller bodyside in keeping with current design trends."

The bold new design reinforces the Dakota's size and power advantages over the competition with full-size styling cues. The grille conveys a powerful and prominent brand statement with the signature Dodge cross-hair as the focal point. The more sharply defined and larger hood mounted grille descends into the front bumper for more visual impact. An air dam below the front fascia successfully completes the look while reducing airflow under the vehicle to lower drag.

"The design of the new Dakota is more directly connected to the evolution of the Ram than to the new Durango, as was the case on the previous Dakota," added Creed. "It defines the look for its segment, just as the Ram does for full-size trucks."

A massive front bumper fascia creates a protective image. The new front fascia features a bright, ingot-like grille surround. Larger, more technical looking headlamps provide a contemporary look. In combination with the large, circular, park and turn-signal lamps, the overall impression is that of quad headlamps.

Muscular Definition, Taut Lines

"The Dakota is immediately recognizable from a distance as a Dodge pickup, but without repeating the design of the Dodge Ram," said Rick Aneiros, Vice President, Truck Design. "With the new Dodge Dakota, we evolved the design to one that is more angular and refined than the previous Dakota, while retaining the unmistakable Dodge muscularity."

The sharply defined fender forms continue the powerful imagery of the grille into the side view. To increase the proportion of body to glass in keeping with the new design paradigm, a body-color sill applique with integrated front wheel-opening stone protection visually adds 2-3 inches to the lower body depth.

The effect of the highly sculptured, precise, wheel arch forms is to create a taut, controlled look. Above the sharply defined character line, side panels have a more refined shape than in the past. Cab sides have much more tension than the previous Dakota which was softer and more fluid. The muscular fender forms are angular in shape, precisely intersecting the body, and gestured to enhance the overall bold stance.

The side appearance of the 2005 Dodge Dakota is uninterrupted by wheel flares. A road blast/mud deflector is now integrated into the sheet metal of the front fender, just aft of the wheel opening. The Dodge Truck broad shouldered front and rear fender forms employ a modified drop fender design that is more subtle when compared with the new Durango. The fenders accentuate the truck's track width and wheel to body relationship. The look is along the box sides.

New mirrors are shared with the new 2004 Dodge Durango. Aerodynamic refinement of the mirror housings alone reduced the drag coefficient of the entire vehicle over one percent. This refinement process eliminated much of the wind noise caused by external mirrors. Low mounting arms are a key enabler in achieving the aerodynamic benefit.

The rear of the 2005 Dodge Dakota features a more Ram-like robustness. The muscular bumper assembly is complemented by distinctive dual barrel taillamps inspired by the Power Wagon concept.

Style, Flexibility, and Comfort

The design philosophy behind the interior of the 2005 Dodge Dakota is a surface language defined by pure geometry. Surface sections are made up of more constant radii, delivering a cleaner and simpler overall form. The functional and elegant instrument panel is all-new, and delivers information in a clean, well-organized manner. Crisp, taut lines, maximize the sense of high-quality craftsmanship, while organizing the interior in a logical manner.

"A more refined look was needed for the new Dodge Dakota interior," said Creed. "The goal was to accomplish this with a clean and precise design; simple yet elegant and upscale. We have moved to very large, clear instruments and a more tailored look for materials, including the seat cloth and leather surfaces."

The new instrument panel cluster features a large, centrally located speedometer and white-faced gauges that provide a connection to other Dodge performance vehicles. The steering wheel features a new four-spoke design shared with the Dodge truck family. The central brow crowns the prominent center stack to divide the driver and passenger seating areas. "Venetian Blind" style air vents close flush and provide a clean appearance.

The design incorporates a new line of radios with larger knobs and simpler graphics. The new sound systems are now available with satellite radio, six- disc in-dash CD systems and an integrated U-Connect BlueTooth(TM) phone system.

The new interior features more refined seat designs and heated cloth and leather seats. Heated cloth seats are a segment first on a mid-size pickup.

The new Dakota is available in three trim levels, ST, SLT and Laramie. The Laramie has Satin Silver accents on the center stack bezel, the instrument cluster rings and the interior door handles. On SLT the instrument cluster rings are also Satin Silver.

"We have developed a design that evokes all the qualities of toughness and durability expected of our light trucks," added Aneiros. "It's all Dodge!"

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