I drove the 1998 Dodge Dakota R/T home this weekend, and I hate to say it, but I may like it more than the 911 I bought recently. It has finally opened my eyes to the joy of a sport truck with lots of torque.
The other thing is the 911 is fragile. It's a car you can't really ever enjoy fully knowing full well you're one repair bill away from a terminal expense. The Dakota? Not really a concern. Yes, it's not big on luxury. But in some ways, therein lies the joy of it. You can drive it with far less concern for catastrophic failure, which is a nice change of pace from the European cars I typically drive.
The cold startup is a joy. It just booms when you hit the starter, leaving no question about what's under the hood. The 5.9L "Magnum" V8 is a long-standing member of the Mopar family of V8s, and it is a torque monster. The automatic transmission is surprisingly responsive and it seems to enjoy cracking off shifts under more aggressive pulls.
And a lowered, 4x2, V8-powered sport truck is, quite honestly, pretty mean. The 911 is not mean. People usually call a car like that sublime, or linear. All true. But it looks like the Sally character from Cars. The Dakota R/T fills a void in my life I didn't know existed, and I'm feeling super pumped about this purchase.