Legend2TL

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1254145...7622632467679/

Pretty decent short article about the history of US Minivans.

It is missing the GM FWD minivan project that used IIRC the FWD X-platform (Citation). A former colleague was a mechaincal engineer at GM and worked on that. They had a handful of running prototypes that drove around GM proving grounds and occasionally went on public roads. GM could have beaten Chrysler to market by a few years had they gone ahead with it.

Black Tire

wow to that Doblo cargo van in 2012 which will be sold as a RAM.

EL_PIC

Nice read.
I also take note on Iacocca's version of the minivan's origin is disputed.
Seen too many of those 60's VW Hippie Minivan's in Hippie California.
Marketing a higher upscale family version he did but those 60's vans saw a lot of chics on beds in the rear and bummper stickers of "if this van is rocking ... dont try knocking"

Will Y.

The first photo of the original Dodge/Plymouth minivan is of one with faded paint, lots of rust on the hood & roof, etc. Couldn't the authors have used a photo of a minivan in nicer shape?

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

Couldn't read the entire article since I'm at work.. but my dad had both Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna not long ago. I thought these minivans were so very comfortable and just so roomy to haul anyone and anything. Didn't like the way Sienna drove but loved the feeling of Odyssey. It was just like driving an Accord.

Mr Marco

ThermonMermon

still think the Previa is still a good looking design.

Legend2TL

The 1G Previa was also mid-engined, not common for a minivan

ThermonMermon

Okay, so supercar is a stretch. A big stretch. But if you want a mid-engined, supercharged, rear-wheel-drive ride with 50/50 weight distribution that seats eight people, you have to go Previa. The stock egg-shaped van could be had with a 2.4-liter supercharged inline four good for 160 horsepower stock. Oddly, the supercharger is engaged on-demand by an electromagnetic clutch system based on input from the ECU. Kind of like Mad Max’s supercharger switch. The supercharged versions were saddled with a slushbox, but the early models were available with a five-speed manual transmission. A gearhead could, with proper motivation, mate the manual with the SC engine to make, well, a kinda-fun minivan. A Stanceworks.com forum member who goes by the handle “shawnthemonster” decided to take a different tack with his Previa. He slammed the thing within an inch of its life, gave it independent rear suspension to get adjustable camber in the rear, and slathered the whole thing in red and black paint. So, okay, it’s not a high-performance machine and it probably rides like Fred Flintstone’s car, but it looks great.

pttl

Minivan...the ultimate utility vehicle.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

Yep. I seriously hauled SO MUCH STUFF in a Odyssey. It's so awesome. You can put a little mattress in the back too.

pttl

Legend2TL

+1

All of this camping stuff fit into the back of a 2G Ody with all three rows of seats for passengers. That little area where the 3rd seat fold into adds a decent amount of space.

Costco

My friend worked on a Previa though... freaking hated it. I took a glance at the underside.... belt drive setup in the front of the car under the hood, connected to the mid-mounted engine via a shaft, somewhat like the Comptech superchargers on transverse Honda V6s.

F23A4

I used to own a 96 Villager and later a 00 Quest. Though I had the Murano and Maxima at the time, the Quest was our primary vehicle as the Murano and Max couldn't come anywhere near its utility.

When the Quest was totaled a couple of years ago the MDX had to takeover family minivan duty. Even though the MDX has seating for seven, its back "row" is far less comfortable than that of the Quest.

If I had to go back to a minivan (which is not in our plans), I'd get a well cared for used 3G Odyssey EX-L w/Navi. It really does drive like an Accord.

Legend2TL

^ I wanted to get a 2G Ody, but my wife wanted a 1G Pilot and since it was her vehicle we got the Pilot. We've had 8 in our Pilot on occasions and the last row is pretty cramped. Quite a few neighbors and friends have 2G and 3G Ody, one just traded their 3G Ody for a 4G. It's impossible to beat a minivan for versatility.

Legend2TL

Back in the 80's when Porsche had their Rothman's rally team racing 959's, they had a few chase support VW vans. The Porsche engineers 'fitted' them with 911 flat six's from their racing department and improved the suspension and brakes also from other Porsche bits and pieces they had. Road and Track had a small article on them. Handling wasn't the best but both they could really move.

That Previa looks nice.

jayhawk815

This sounds familiar. I'm leaning towards wanting a minivan, but the wife wants no part of it. She prefers the crossovers instead. Right now the most likely candidates are the Mazda CX-9 and the Dodge Durango. What I like about the minivans, would most likely be an Odyssey or Sienna, is the amount and versatility of cargo space, better accessibility to third row, sliding doors, better ride, and slightly better mpg.

My wife just can't get over the negative stigma of minivans and also prefers the driving position of SUV's/Crossovers. She even borrowed her boss's fully loaded Sienna, and although she was impressed with it, didn't know if she wanted to own one. In the end, it'll be her vehicle, and her happiness outweighs the minivan's positive attributes. I just need to figure out how to show her she'd be more happy with a minivan.

Legend2TL

That was virtually identiacal to my situation. About a decade ago my daughters were 6/9 and we needed something with more room than the 1G Legend.

My wife wanted a Durango initially and I wanted a 2G Ody. She could not she driving a minivan and hated the stigma. I just hated Chrysler products.

We considered the 1G MDX since it came out first but then the 1G Pilot was announced and we both liked the Pilot.

We had some friends with 2G Ody's and I loved the way it drove more like a big Accord than other minivans I had driven. Also alot of space and plenty of seating.

Our Pilot although not as big has been great, very versatile, low costs of ownership, very easy to drive, very maneuverable, great visibility,.... I could go on and on.

It was her vehicle so we settled on the Pilot and it's worked out great. Having seating for 8 is also nice as we use the 3rd row of seats about 1-2 times a month. We actually squeezed 8 people into it a few times, once on a 120 mile trip (all kids were in the back).

I can understand your situation, I wanted a minivan but also realized it was her vehicle so we compromised on the Pilot and that decision turned out to be good.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

One of my schools friends family had the Mitsubishi van.

Legend2TL

Couldn't find the actual van but here is a model.
This had a 300+HP flat six taken out of a racing 911 and beefed up brakes and suspension.

honda_nut

I've done the exact same with my dad's 2D Ody. 7 passengers + all camping gear. We've hauled so much stuff in it in the past 12 years, it's ridiculous. Most reliable vehicle that we've EVER owned, plus it's fun to drive. I remember once my dad had gotten it up to 115 mph on a trip to Vegas. It still had more power and behaved like it was only going 60.

It's now time to find a suitable replacement and the only two vehicles my dad will even consider is a new Odyssey Touring Elite or a new Acura MDX.

phile

he's going to be disappointed. the Odyssey for the past 2 gens have lost that athletic feel of the 2nd gen Odyssey. my sister had a 2nd gen, that thing hauled ass. 0-60 in 8 seconds is pretty good for a minivan back then. the newer ones don't have that same kind of pull.