Toyota owns the midsize truck segment. Nothing can touch the Tacoma in terms of sales volume, as people bought nearly 275,000 of ’em last year. Still, Ram believes it stands a chance of competing once it finally launches its new Dakota, with promises of making it a “real truck” for $40,000. The truckmaker gave dealers a glimpse of the new rig at this week’s NADA Show in Las Vegas, and apparently, they liked what they saw—some may even say they loved it.

 

Now, I don’t want to put too much stock into what dealers say about the vehicles they plan to sell because obviously, they need to hype them up. But Adrian Gonzalez, general manager of Payne Edinburg Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Texas, shared some high praise for the Dakota with Automotive News. “It really did look nice,” he explained. “Toyota better be careful—we’re going to start competing with them when it comes to the Tacoma. That says a lot.”