Question: When was the first mid-size pickup truck from Chrysler's Ram division introduced which is the basis of Dodge Durango?

Context articles: Dodge Durango
Dodge Dakota
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas
Dodge MAXXcab
Mitsubishi Triton
Toyota Hilux
Ram Pickup
Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Camper shell
Chrysler PowerTech engine

The Dodge Durango is a sport utility vehicle (SUV) produced by Dodge.
 The first two generations were very similar in that both were based on the Dodge Dakota, both featured a body-on-frame construction and both were produced at the Newark Assembly plant in Newark, Delaware.
 However, they did differ in that the first generation was classified as a mid-sized SUV, while the second generation was classified as a full-sized SUV.
The Dodge Dakota, known as the Ram Dakota for the final two years of production, is a mid-size pickup truck from Chrysler's Ram (formerly Dodge Truck) division.
 From its introduction through 2009, it was marketed by Dodge.
 The first Dakota was introduced in 1986 as a 1987 model alongside the redesigned Dodge Ram 50.
 The Dakota was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award for 2000.
 The Dakota has always been sized above the compact Ford Ranger and Chevrolet S-10, but below the full-sized pickups such as Dodge's own Ram.
 It is a conventional design with body-on-frame construction and a leaf spring/live axle rear end.
 The Dakota is the first mid-size pickup with an optional V8 engine.
 One notable feature was the Dakota's rack and pinion steering, a first for work trucks.
 Dakotas have been used by police and fire departments, as off-road vehicles, patrol trucks, or even brush trucks.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, Inc (TMMTX) is an automobile production subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation based in San Antonio, Texas.
 It owns and operates a manufacturing and assembly facility for the parent company.
 The TMMTX assembly lines currently produce the Tundra full-size pickup truck and the Tacoma mid-size pickup truck.
The Dodge MAXXcab is a four-door sport utility pickup truck concept car developed by Dodge.
 Unveiled at the 2000 Detroit Auto Show, it was billed by Dodge as a "Passenger Priority Truck".
 It shares styling cues from other vehicles in the Dodge and Chrysler line up, and is based on a modified Dodge Dakota chassis.
 It features nimble, sedan-like handling, a shortened utility bed, and a minivan style interior with seating for five people, the rear bench having built in child seats.
 It is powered by Dodge's 4.7L Magnum V-8, mated to a multi-speed electronic automatic transmission.
 While not intended for production, the MAXXcab did showcase features that were to be found on subsequent Dodge products, such as the idea of making a pickup truck more centered on the passengers was utilized in the Dodge Ram Mega Cab, which was available starting in the 2006 model year.
The Mitsubishi Triton is a compact pickup truck produced by Mitsubishi.
 It was originally known as the Mitsubishi Forte in Japan from 1978 to 1986, when the name was discontinued as the pickup was not sold in its home market for a while.
 It returned to Japan in 1991 as the Strada.
 In the United States two captive imports of the Forte were sold by the Chrysler Corporation from 1979, as the Dodge Ram 50 and Plymouth Arrow Truck.
 Mitsubishi itself imported it as the Mighty Max when it began selling directly in the US from 1982 to 1996, at which point the Plymouth ceased to be available.
 In North America, after the Mighty Max was no longer offered, the Mitsubishi Raider was offered, sharing a platform with the Dodge Dakota.
 In Japan, it was sold at a specific retail chain called "Car Plaza".
The Toyota Hilux (also stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux) is a series of light commercial vehicles produced and marketed by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota.
 The majority of these vehicles were sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants although they could be configured in a variety of body styles.
 Most countries used the Hilux name for the entire life of the series but in North America, the Hilux name was retired in 1976 in favor of "Truck", "Pickup Truck", or "Compact Truck".
 In North America the popular option package, the SR5 (Sport Rally 5-Speed), was colloquially used as a model name for the truck, even though the option package was also used on other Toyota models like the 1972 to 1979 Corolla.
 In 1984, the Toyota Trekker, the camper version of the Hilux, was renamed as the 4Runner in Australia and North America, and as the Hilux Surf in Japan.
 In 1995, Toyota introduced a new pickup model, the Tacoma in North America, discontinuing the Hilux/Pickup there.
 The 4Runner is now a full SUV, and the more recent models do not resemble the Tacoma.
The Ram pickup (formerly the Dodge Ram pickup) is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by FCA US LLC (formerly Chrysler Group LLC) and marketed as of 2011 onwards under the Ram Trucks brand.
The Ford Explorer Sport Trac, sometimes referred to as simply the Ford Sport Trac, is a mid-size pickup truck sold mostly in North America produced by Ford from 2000 through 2010.
 The Sport Trac was based on the Ford Explorer SUV - not based on the compact Ford Ranger (North America) - because it was introduced when the Explorer and Ranger platforms diverged (Explorer's chassis was a heavy duty variant of the Ranger's).
 The Sport Trac fell between the Ranger and Ford F-Series in Ford's truck lineup, based on capability and price.
 It competed with other mid-size trucks and SUVs, such as the mid-size Honda Ridgeline and even the larger full-size Chevrolet Avalanche.
 During its first year on sale in the U.S., there was a waiting list of over 3 months.
 The Sport Trac was a Class 2 vehicle with a GVWR of 6250 lbs.
 and a maximum GCWR of 12,000 lbs.
 This made it one of the more and the then most capable mid-size pickups, having a greater GVWR and GCWR than the Dodge Dakota, GM's GMC Canyon/Chevrolet Colorado pickups and Toyota Tacoma.
A camper shell (also canopy, and sometimes topper, cap, bed cap, box cap, or simply shell) is a small housing or rigid canopy used as a pickup truck or coupe utility accessory.
 The housing is usually made of fiberglass or aluminum, but sometimes wood, and is mounted atop the pickup truck's rear bed.
 It usually covers the entire bed of the pickup truck, and is large enough to be used for camping purposes.
 Even though use for camping may have been its initial purpose, it now seems most often to be used for utility and storage purposes - particularly the protection of cargo from the elements and theft.
 Some camper shells are so large that they can overlap the top of the truck's cab, and some called soft-tops are made of canvas like convertibles.
The PowerTech was a new engine family for Chrysler that could not have been designed by Mercedes Benz because the take-over of Chrysler Corporation didn't happen until1998, and was not based on the Chrysler A engine as existing Chrysler V8s were.
 A 4.7 L V8 came first, fitted in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a 3.7 L V6 version debuted in 2002 for the Jeep Liberty.
 The PowerTech V6 and V8 were direct replacements for Chrysler's "LA" family in the early 2000s, and were also used in the Dodge Ram and started in the 2000 Dodge Durango .
 They were not used in any cars, but were reserved for truck and SUV use.
 They are also known as Next Generation Magnum in Dodge applications.The PowerTech V6 and V8 engines are produced at the Mack Avenue Engine Complex in Detroit, Michigan.
 E85 compatible versions of some PowerTech engines were developed and used in numerous Chrysler vehicles.
 On April 9, 2013 the last 4.7 L engine was built; ending 15 years of production with over 3 million examples built.