18. Shelby Dakota
The Dakota was a compact pickup truck from Dodge they sold between 1987 and 1996. It was dependable and tough-looking and came with a wide arrange of engines and trim levels. But Dodge wanted more and in the late ’80s, so the company envisioned a performance version. They enlisted Carroll Shelby to help since he was working with Chrysler Corporation at the time.
Shelby took a regular production Dakota and installed a 5.2-liter V8 engine with 175 HP. But even though the power output was relatively small, the Dakota was light and had lots of torque. That meant this compact truck delivered a convincing performance. Better yet, Shelby dressed up the Dakota with a special paint job, trim, rollbar, and wheels, which made this little truck stand out on the street.