Auto News 5

Westlake Village, California – We can't help thinking of the Dodge Durango as a crude beast. First, in 1998, it was hardly more than a Dakota pickup stuck under a shed. Adding a third-row bench on top of the rear axle caused the marketing people to come up with the euphemistic phrase "theater-style seating" (only buttered popcorn would have alleviated the sitters' suffering). In 2004, the second-generation Durango was embarrassingly decontented and atrociously styled. But with the third generation, in 2011, the Durango took obvious steps forward, reflecting the sagacity at play during the Sergio Marchionne era at Chrysler Corporation.