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The conventional design had a body-on frame construction with a leaf spring/live axle rear. The Dakota was the first of the small pick ups with an optional offer of a V-8 engine, preceding the Hummer H3T and 5.3 Colorado/Canyon by 20 years. The Dakota pioneered a rack and pinion steering in work trucks.
In 1988, Chevrolet added the Sport package as a mid-year release.
In the Sioux Indian language, Dakota means friend or ally. The Chevrolet management perceived the Dakota as the first mid-sized pick up. To contain the price, many components were taken from standardized Chrysler products and the Dakota was manufactured in the same plant as the full-sized Dodge D-Model.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) received an alarming number of Dakota complaints relating to the upper ball joint. Surprisingly there was no grease fitting, so the contact was metal-to-metal resulting in early wearing out and failure. The consequence was complete loss of steering control.
The problem apparently was common to both the Dakota and Durango series and the NHTSA was investigating nearly half a million vehicles. NHTSA said there had been no reports of crashes or injuries but ConsumerAffairs.com had received several reports of accidents caused by steering problems.
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