The death of the minivan (and Chrysler?)

[b4z]

Most of these current car lines would survive if diesels were offered.
In Europe, italy especially many cars are diesels.
Diesel costs the SAME as gas iin Europe.
Why not here???

Here in America it's 70 cents more expensive!

[triadecho]

Originally Posted by BerettaZ

Your friend is has been drinking too much of that Honda Kool-Aid.. My Ody, 70% highway driving, gets 20 MPG...

I agree. Mini vans are not economy cars.

My rented Caravan got 19 mph highway on a 1,500 mile road trip.
Our old "gas guzzler" Suburban got 18.5 on the same trip.
I didn't see any gas savings to amount to much.

[Hotspur]

Originally Posted by kenman923

I can see it like this. Goodbye minivan, hello crossover. Like the minivans were en vogue in the 80s and 90s, the crossovers will be the new family haulers of the 21st century.

I don't see the death of the minivan. For it's size, mileage easily beats a similar sized crossover, it's cheaper to buy and cheaper to maintain, and young families buy them because they NEED them.

Minivan sales are down because young families we hit by rising costs and economic worries earlier than others. Now all segment sales have followed. Minivans will also be one of the first segments to return.

My '03 Odyssey is getting 25 mpg highway. And as the article says, I'm holding on to it - sorry Chrysler. Even at 5 years old it is better than Chrysler's offerings in every way.

[dindak]

I would not be surprised to see some movement back to vans from SUVs as they are better on gas, have substantially lower insurance and are much cheaper to buy.

The death of the van declaration may be premature.

Our Montana SV6 with a 3.9 gets about 26mpg on the highway, a lot better than almost any SUV and more room than a Tahoe.

[kenman923]

Originally Posted by Hotspur

I don't see the death of the minivan. For it's size, mileage easily beats a similar sized crossover, it's cheaper to buy and cheaper to maintain, and young families buy them because they NEED them.

Minivan sales are down because young families we hit by rising costs and economic worries earlier than others. Now all segment sales have followed. Minivans will also be one of the first segments to return.

My '03 Odyssey is getting 25 mpg highway. And as the article says, I'm holding on to it - sorry Chrysler. Even at 5 years old it is better than Chrysler's offerings in every way.

If minivans reignite their sales, I'll be the first to say I was wrong.

[CobaltSScrazy]

Originally Posted by Hotspur

I don't see the death of the minivan. For it's size, mileage easily beats a similar sized crossover, it's cheaper to buy and cheaper to maintain, and young families buy them because they NEED them.

Minivan sales are down because young families we hit by rising costs and economic worries earlier than others. Now all segment sales have followed. Minivans will also be one of the first segments to return.

My '03 Odyssey is getting 25 mpg highway. And as the article says, I'm holding on to it - sorry Chrysler. Even at 5 years old it is better than Chrysler's offerings in every way.

Explain...

Really, I'm waiting to hear some great spins and lies

what a bunch of garbage comment I don't like Chrysler at all from a product standpoint but guess what the LLC minivans are TOP NOTCH. AS good or better than Ody or Sienna.

CobaltSS

[kodos78]

I beg to differ -- the Odyssey is not superior to the Chrysler vans in "every way". Where's your six speed transmission? Where's your Stow and Go seating? Where's your Swivel and Go seating?

You have your glass jaw transmission (I've read the horror stories about towing with it). Where's your manumatic?

Three row entertainment?

Lifetime powertrain warranty?

Come on now, the Odyssey is a fine vehicle, and I think one of the very best minivans. But the Chryslers are fine vehicles too.

My big gripe with the Chrysler vans is that you can only get the 4.0L in Limited trim. But they could change that easily should they wish to.

Originally Posted by Hotspur

I don't see the death of the minivan. For it's size, mileage easily beats a similar sized crossover, it's cheaper to buy and cheaper to maintain, and young families buy them because they NEED them.

Minivan sales are down because young families we hit by rising costs and economic worries earlier than others. Now all segment sales have followed. Minivans will also be one of the first segments to return.

My '03 Odyssey is getting 25 mpg highway. And as the article says, I'm holding on to it - sorry Chrysler. Even at 5 years old it is better than Chrysler's offerings in every way.

[01sunfire01]

the Chrysler vans have been the number one selling van for a long time. they are everywheres. i dont like the Odyssey it looks fat and cheap. the toyota looks just as ugly as everything else toyota makes. a girl i work with has 4 kids and she wants the town and country so bad but her b/f wont let her because he loves toyota so she has to get the toyota van.

[GMfan1111]

Also Chrysler has tons of surplus vehicles that remain unsold. At the trailer yard where our camper is stored there are literally hundreds of cherokees, liberties, etc that sit there unsold. when we go get our trailer in a few weeks I'll bring my camera along and I'll shoot pics. But anyway Chrysler should focus on revamping there car lineups. The LX cars are ok but they are starting to look a bit dated and in need of a mid cycle refresh. but their entry level sedans (sebring and avenger) completely fail to compete against their competition and need to be revamped ASAP. The quality, interior design, and overall performance of these vehicles is inferior when compared to the rest of their competition.

[t-rex]

The Dodge Journey effectively replaced the SWB Chrysler minivan.

[SierraGS]

Originally Posted by dindak

I would not be surprised to see some movement back to vans from SUVs as they are better on gas, have substantially lower insurance and are much cheaper to buy.

The death of the van declaration may be premature.

Our Montana SV6 with a 3.9 gets about 26mpg on the highway, a lot better than almost any SUV and more room than a Tahoe.

I agree that the death of the minivan is premature.

Look at the numbers

Chrysler (June 2008)
Caravan UP 52%
Journey (replaced SWB Caravan) 5,162
Combined Caravan/Journey 14,214 + 5,162 = 19,376 vs 9,342 = 107% INCREASE
Town & Country UP 21%
Pacifica (Dropped)

Chrysler YTD
Caravan Down 27% - not good until you add Journey sales in.
Journey (replaced SWB Caravan) 22,731
Combined Caravan/Journey 75,805 + 22,731 = 19,376 vs 103,562 = Down 5%
Town & Country Down 10%
Pacifica (Dropped)

Honda
Pilot Down 21%
Odyssey Down 8.6%

Toyota
Highlander Down 12.9%
Sienna Down 8.6%

Overall Minivan sales are at worst "in-line" with sales in general and would argue that compared to 7 passenger alternatives Minvan sales are UP not down.

Note that Chrysler Minivan sales (including Journey) were UP substantially in June and down only 5% for the year and the Journey is an all new model in a new market so sales will increase. It will be interesting to see how the Ford Flex does in sales since it is close to the Journey in concept.

Minvans offer the most room for the size and GM needs to get a new one into the market instead of adding more Lambda models. Put some sliding doors on the Enclave and sell it in U.S. and China as the new Terazza. The old GM minivans sell well in China so a new Lambda based one should do well there.

[HoosierRon]

This thread is hysterical. For the past two years, everyone at GMi has been screaming that GM was dumb to get out of the minivan market, and how GM NEEDED to make a Lambda minimvan, and how GM was just giving business to Honda and Toyota, blah, blah, blah.

Now, gas hits $4, sales tank, and everyone here is saying "goodbye minivan", "good riddance" and the death of the minivan is "common knowledge".

[ghughes]

" I have three friends that also have Odyssey's, and I asked one out of curiosity what kind of mileage he got. His response was that he wasn't sure, but he thought around 30mpg. " doesnt that say it all - duuh- honda is american, i think. my minivan never breaks down and i think(duuuhh) gets 40 mpg because its honda and my wife said consumer reporting told me it was good- duuhhh-

[ColoradoZQ8]

Originally Posted by triadecho

I agree. Mini vans are not economy cars.

My rented Caravan got 19 mph highway on a 1,500 mile road trip.
Our old "gas guzzler" Suburban got 18.5 on the same trip.
I didn't see any gas savings to amount to much.

True -- its a shame really.
If they didn't grow so bloated -- they'd be perfect.
I remember averaging 25 mpg in the city and regularly hitting 30 on the highway in a 1996 Caravan powered by the 2.4 I4..... That was back when it was still a "mini" van. Chrysler has lost their way with the long-wheelbase only "mini" vans and V6 only powertrains.

[goblue]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

This thread is hysterical. For the past two years, everyone at GMi has been screaming that GM was dumb to get out of the minivan market, and how GM NEEDED to make a Lambda minimvan, and how GM was just giving business to Honda and Toyota, blah, blah, blah.

Now, gas hits $4, sales tank, and everyone here is saying "goodbye minivan", "good riddance" and the death of the minivan is "common knowledge".

Well, I wasn't saying GM should make a minivan over a crossover. I saw the minivan market ending years ago when I saw a Chrysler commercial with a woman standing there pressing buttons on the keyfob and the doors + hatch were closing automatically while making that beeping noise like a big truck backing up.

Women don't want to be portrayed as a delivery man. Thats what that commercial did. No matter how functional they are, sliding door = cargo mom. There will always be some that look past the stereotype, but the market is eroding fast.

GM's mistake was not launching the Traverse first - if they had, GM would have the best selling crossover and minivan sales would be even lower. Its almost as functional, more fuel efficient that some minivans, looks infinitely better than all of them, and its a vehicle women respect.