The Ford Maverick is a FWD 4cyl based vehicle and they're selling very well, but so does the Chevy Canyon, which is a real body on frame truck. A new Dakota has to be body on frame, but there is also a market for a maverick competitor

I agree on the Maverick styling. And I didn't think anyone would make a truck less appealing to me than the Ridgeline.

I LOVE my PMC for what I do. Currently about 195k on it, and though I can't afford to bank a brand new one, I'm watching COPART for a low-mileage wreck so I've got a drivetrain in stock when this one has issues.

For a small utility vehicle, check out this Fiat Doblo ( the PMC in the rest of the world) from the UK:

As far as I'm concerned, that is not a truck. This is the 2004 Dakota I used to own. This was a truck.

I have a '98 version of that. Agreed. One of the better trucks in the last few years.

Odd as it seems, Chevrolet and Ford were way ahead of the curve with the El Camino and Ranchero models. The Honda Ridgeline, Ford Maverick "truck" and this Fiat turd all share the same one piece body/bed construction.
It reminds me of the AMC Eagle cars and station wagons of the 80s. THEY had all wheel drive much like today's crossover SUVs.

A potential dakota will be privately shown to dealers this month and it'll be up to them. Keep in mind it was the ram 1500 that helped kill the last dakota, it was just more truck for similar money so I doubt they go that route again. But who knows

The problem with the 2005-2011 Dakota is that you could get a Ram 1500 for about the same money. The 3rd gen Dakota was a disappointment IMO.

The new Dakota needs to be priced lower than a Ram 1500 or it won't sell.

Dodge did that to themselves on purpose. The earlier Dakotas were so popular and selling so well that they perceived the Dakota was stealing sales from the 1500 Ram. So they kept raising the MSRP up and up in an attempt to drive people to buy the Ram instead. All they did was alienate buyers who did not want or need a full-sized truck and send them over to the Ford or Chevy dealer to buy a Ranger or S-10. Dumb.

Then the final generation of Dakota they beat it so badly with the "ugly" stick that even die-hard Dakota-buyers wouldn't drive it. It went from one of the best-looking trucks on the road to one of the worst in one model-year. That was the end.

Now "full size" pickups have gotten ridiculously huge to the point where there is hopefully a market for smaller trucks again. (maybe)

It seems to me if the Dakota was cannibalizing sales from the big Ram they'd figure out the Dakota had gotten to big and the strategy should've been to go back to the original idea of the mid-size truck, not raise msrp closer to big Ram!

I'd present a modern / retro 98 dakota. Full frame, real 4x4, nice interior, , 300hp turbo 4 base engine and 410hp I6 RX model, lifted, flares, nice shocks/rims/tires ect. Sell an R/T club cab with the same 410hp I6 but RWD and lowered like the old R/T. They could then do both SRT versions SRT low and TRX off road with the 510hp I6. If they dont do that, they are dumb, it would sell like hot cakes.

This is a logical idea. In the past what really set the Dakota apart was the available V8, but that's no longer feasible I'm afraid.