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D8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, December 8, 1999 BARGAIN-RATE CAR INSURANCE W ITH BARGAINRATE SERVICE IS NO BARGAIN. Hal Mayer 2861 Sherwood Heights D i 829-5200 An Oakville Beaver Advertising Feature To advertise in this section call 845-3824 D o n 't tru st ju st anyone to insure your car, see me: « *. Dodge Dakota Quad C abredefines image of compact pickup truck By Rob Beintema SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER I don't know what to make of pickup trucks anymore. Every time I think I've got a handle on them, somebody ups and changes the rules on me. It used to be so simple. Pickup trucks had two doors and steel floors. A bench seat, a bucket in back and enough horses under the hood to haul butt and booty from Point "A" to Point "B" with no fuss, no muss, no extras. Fast forward to the present and the 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab, a compact pickup truck with 4 doors and seating for up to 6 passengers. The new Quad Cab first debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in early '99, promising the perfect combination of power, passen ger room and payload poten tial. To satisfy all those com peting criteria, you'd expect some sort of cobbled-together, in-between vehicle making more compromises than a showgirl at a casting call, wouldn't you? But the Dakota Quad Cab has stayed true to its Raminspired image, maintaining the utility, cargo-carrying capability, truck-like tough ness and even the spirit of a pickup while delivering the seating, space and modem amenities and comforts of a family sedan. "We've maximized the util ity of a compact pickup," said Jim Julow, VP of Dodge Car & Truck Division. "By com bining the power and capabili ty of a Dodge Dakota with sixpassenger sealing in a full four-door configuration, we've developed a pickup that can fit any need - whether it's power, passengers or payload." The Dodge Dakota Quad Cab Comes in two trim levels - the base Sport and the upscale SLT. Both versions come with a choice of three Magnum engines. The base motor for all Dakota models is a 3.9 L V6 that makes 175 hp @ 4800 tpm and 225 Ib-ft of torque @3200. You can't help but notice the large percentage of pickups that spend most of their lime running around empty. This is a good engine for all those commuter pick ups that are posing as trucks rather than working as trucks. The V6 comes mated to an improved, standard 5-speed manual transmission. Optional automatics arc available for all engine choices. For a little more punch 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab under the hood, consider a step up the power ladder to Chrysler' s new 4.7 L V8. This engine recently replaced the 5.2 L and 5.9L motors in the Grand Cherokee. As tested in my SLT, the 16-valve SOHC engine harnesses 235 horses @ 4800 rpm and 295 Ib-ft of torque @ 3200 rpm. Even though the Quad Cab is ham pered by 500 lb more mass than the Grand Cherokee, the motor moves the Dakota smartly and quietly with a just a muted hum and discreet intake whistle from under the hood. But consider your power needs carefully. V8 power means V8 fuel con sumption. And much as I love that instant-on acceleration, I rue the pump penalty that almost doubles my weekly fuel bill. "There's no replacement for displacement," the trailerhauling crowd will tell you. If you're regularly hauling the family yacht or summer home over hill and dale, the top of the Magnum engine lineup peaks the power with a 5.9 L overhead-valve V8 making 245 hp @ 4400 and a stump pulling torque rating of 335 Ibft @ 3200 rpm. Inside, the Dakota Quad Cab feels roomy. Chrysler may call this a compact truck but the Dodge Dakota really became more of a mid-size offering when they increased the dimensions for the '97 model year. With the addition al space added to the 4-door version, Quad Cab interior volumes match up well against those of many mid-size cars. Access is aided by grab handles in front and rear. All four doors are front hinged. The rear doors are smaller than the front doors but they swing open almost 90 degrees for easy entry and exit. Sealing is fine for four, squeezable for six. In front, a large console with storage space, cassette, coin and pen slots, flips up to provide a short seat back for a middle passenger. There's also room for a third person in the back row. Uh, better make that a skinny third person. The Dakota's interior is a very com fortable place to spend time. Everything from ergonomics to instrumentation to ride and handling shows a level of refine ment unheard of in pickups of the past. The payload story of the Dakota Quad Cab actually begins inside the truck. Flip up either or both of the 60/40 rear seats and the increased passenger room con verts into 736 L (26 cu.ft) of secure, staydry, in-cab storage space. Out back, the shortened 1602 mm (63") box keeps the Quad Cab a garageable length (about the same length as the extended cab ver sion) while still offering tie down hooks, load-divider slots and 658 kg (1450 lb) of payload capacity. The shorter box length doesn't seem to bother most customers but you can gain back the lost fifteen inch es with the tailgate down and an optional bed extender. The Dodge Dakota Quad Cab can be tow-rated up to 2880 kg (6350 lb). The Dodge Dakota Quad Cab is one of the few options available right now for cus tomers looking for greater ver satility in their vehicles. Nissan offers a smaller 4-door pickup and other manufactures arc approaching the same solution from different angles - with the Nissan concept SUT and the future Lincoln Blackwood and Ford Explorer Sport Trac. But trust Chrysler to be an early innovator. After all, weren't they first with the 4door minivan and 4-door fullsize Ram pickup? The Dodge Dakota Quad Cab offers a new option for customers looking for multi purpose value in a single vehi cle. And it docs so with a unique mixture of both utility and civility. You can Bubba-thump this bruiser through the back forty and then hose it off and ele gantly pure your parly to Fifi's for champagne and scampi. Or load a passlc of kids enroute to a little league game. The Dakota seems equally at home in any setting, the exterior character and strength well matched with enough interior space and civility to equal the offerings of any well-appointed midsize sedan. WINTER SAVINGS AT MORE THAN JUST MUFFLERS % meineke 0 WINTER CHECK-UP · Lube, oil & fitter 10W30 · Check · Check · Check · Check anti-freeze & levels brakes & adjust exhaust for leaks tires & front end · · · · · Check all lights * . Check bells & hoses · Rotate Urea P * Service balteiy terminals Check tune-up New Car Warranty approved E xp«« Dec tarn Annual SAVINGS The denis have never been this good! 1997 ;28 95 COOLING SY ST E M FLUSH · Pressure test cooling system · Check heater operation & flush & fill cooling system with up to 8 litres anti-treeze. ^ ^ $4995 Must present coupon Expires Dec. 18/99 MOST CARS Fully loaded. Leather, sunroof, CD changer, one owner. Stk. (0(6639 $31,995 1999 Pontiac, _ From _ _ _ FRONT d is c s MOST CARS n e $7795 From / / SKTms Includes new shoes or pads, rspack wheel beanngs resurface drums S rotors and inspact antire system Metallic pads included Must present empon Expires Dec 18/99 NO BU LL! 1996 G M C · ] 3 .............. ' t u 6 cyt. *69.95 8 cyl- *79.95 Includes new spark plugs, check el tune-up components, set up & adjust engine. & service banery -u p 9 5 $ £ -Q f SOME VANS EXTRA Must present coupon at time of estimate. Expires Dec. 1&99 Fully loaded. 4 dr. extended remote entry, only 27,500 kms. Stk. #X6S35 MUFFLER SALE ^ $ 3 Q 9 5 LU B E, O IL8 FILTER View* ·Change your ol (to to 5 toes o il 0W30 D a te I State) ____.utreate 8 Set ·lu t tort' end air pressure - al levels under hood - filecs | Must present coupon. Expires Dec 18/99 $24,995 s a _ I Fits many cars. Pipes, clamps & hangers extra. Expires Dec ia/99 $ 1 JL95 | " e rV S a fa * SAFETY CHECKS ( $ 0 0 9 5 MOST CARS & UGHTTRUCKS [O nB hoG o vern m e n t Inspector. A n ywort required lor safetych e ckover tie valueel 11501 axes, pelormei) I tyties kxaB on,safety checkenod»ge MusumeN co u p o nal S ued puittase Expkes D ec. 18/99 DOLLARS OF NT SALE PRICED! ON EXHAUST WORK Meineke will pay the taxes on most cars 8 light trucks Warranty work excluded. Expires Dec 18/99 Must present coupon at time ol estimate Not lo he computed with any other coupon. NO TAX AWD, leather. TV. VCR. dutch doors, one owner. Stk. #X6585 $21,995 CADILLAC Discount Mufflers ? Quality Undercar Specialists Oakville " 501 Speers R d . U n it #2 ... ( N c x t ^ o B u ^ J d ^ J lm £ o r lc d ^ a ^ 8 4 2 - 9 9 7 7 m eineke O P f N M O N . FRI. 8 A M -6 PM SATURDAY 8 A M -4 PM PONTIAC BUCK ^=SE 410S. SERVICE Rl)., W., jc H j OAKVILLE Accredited lest & Repair Facility FREE (J ndercar I nspection & Estimate N ationwide Lifetime G uarantees 845-1681 M U S T P R E S E N T C O U P O N FO R A L L S P E C IA L S N O T T O BE C O M B IN E D W IT H A N Y O T H E R O FFE R L O C K W O O D CHRYSLER $ 5 ,0 0 0 G IV E A W A Y · L O C K W O O D CHRYSLER $ 5 ,0 0 0 G IVEA W A Y 04 STANDARD EQUIPMENT (220) · 2.0 litre 16 valve 132HP engine · automatic transmission · air conditioning · AM/FM stereo cassette and six speakers · 4-wheel fully independent suspension · tilt steering · full console with centre armrest · 60/40 split-folding rear seats · dual exterior mirrors with dirver's side manual remote · front & rear floor mats · tinted glass · child protection rear door locks · "NextGeneration" dual airbags *48 month lease. Kilometres limited lo 25,200ktm pet year, lease excludes freight, license, insurance, registration i taxes. O i.C YOUR CHOICE $0 DOWN $O C777 $1000 DOWN $ 0 7 ^ 1 1 UP TO 60 MONTHS i *** 1 $2000 DOWN $ 2 1 4 0 0 jS > * ,. Pleasedropoff your unwryped (hnslmas (jfts for ^ -- ^ l2 J HALTON WOMEN'S PtAG Vehicles must be sold and delivered by January 6th, 2000 175 WYECROFT RD., OAKVILLE C H R Y S L ER N O CREDIT? N O PROBLEM. CALL PAT AT www.lockwoodchrysler.com (BETWEEN KERR & DORVAL) 845-6653 845-6653 .