Spy Shots: Chrysler minivan
KGP Photography and The Car Connection managed to snap a shot of the next Chrysler minivan just before it was wrapped up by engineers at Chrysler's pilot production facility. The snazzy new Mom-mobile will be a bit boxier with a near-vertical D-pillar, and the sliding doors evidently have roll-down windows, which puts the vehicle in the same league as its Japanese competition when it comes to window retraction. Such an important selling feature, that window retraction.
[Source: The Car Connection]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dobryden 9:18AM (5/10/2006)
from the back it looks just like an Isuzu Axiom...
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DJ 9:21AM (5/10/2006)
So instead of helping pull the cover down over the van to prevent the spyshot from happening, the guy on the left is pointing at the camera.....
What a putz!
As the previous owner of three T&C's, this doesn't look too bad. You can see the more squared off design similar to the Caliber in the rearend. Really be interested in what they did to the front.
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JWhite 10:23AM (5/10/2006)
I'd like to see the un-retouched photo
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Michael Karesh 10:58AM (5/10/2006)
Luckily, prototypes often don't look nearly as good as production vehicles because they lack various bits of trim. Hopefully that's the case here, because this looks awful. Too boxy, even for a minivan.
Of course, if minivan buyers cared about styling most of the things would rust on dealer lots. So if they've got class-leading functionality it'll do well.
The current van feels very old. They need a replacement ASAP.
My review of the current van,comparing it to the Odyssey and Sienna: http://www.epinions.com/content_159086841476
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jamie 11:08AM (5/10/2006)
You will absolutely love the new front end too!
It's more macho and aggresive; very much like the Dodge Ram. Chrysler believes that the mom-mobile market is fully saturated, and is now going to tackle the i-would-never-be-caught-dead-in-a minivan dads.
Great marketing stratedgy!
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Devin Lussier 11:52AM (5/10/2006)
The back of it looks just like the Hyundai Entourage!
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Jim Baker 12:09PM (5/10/2006)
It looks to me like it finally dawned on them that styling does not sell minivans. Functionality sells minivans.
Trying to sell minivans to the dads won't work...witness Nissan's latest failure at portraying theirs as a sports car. ???
Autoblog, I'm not sure why you poked fun at roll-down slider windows. Without them, you fell like you're trapped in a cell.
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bhtooefr 12:10PM (5/10/2006)
Naw, they're targeting the "Durango guzzles a little too much gas" 90 pound suburban soccer moms.
;)
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Dr. Woo 12:12PM (5/10/2006)
jamie: "...is now going to tackle the i-would-never-be-caught-dead-in-a minivan dads.
Great marketing stratedgy!"
Sure, only it was tried (and didn't fare well) by GM a couple of years ago with the Uplander/Montana/Terraza/Relay. They're still on the market, but they're not having their desired effect. The Pontiac in particular has been a dismal failure.
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Anne 1:06PM (5/10/2006)
Jaime is dead wrong about the marketing strategy
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John 2:16PM (5/10/2006)
The Nissan doesn't sell because it is highly unreliable, and highly defective, which shows on the test drive.
The Chrysler/Dodge minivan is still the best selling minivan in the US this year. Probably because the price is right. Toyota and Hondas can hit $38,000, which is not quite casual mom-who-doesn't-care-about-cars budget.
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joe 2:17PM (5/10/2006)
Rear looks like the previous version Odyssey. Nothing exciting.
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RickDom 3:08PM (5/10/2006)
Wow?they?re great story tellers. Take a closer look there. The ?engineers? are photoshopped in. The one guy isn?t even holding the tarp. I?d also like to know what pilot production facility that is. I?ve worked at the Tech Center, I passed the pilot plant every day on my way in, and that is not the pilot plant. What?s so wrong with just showing the actual picture and not making up some lame story? Also note that cars built there have all the major badges in place such, except for anything with the vehicles name.
I think they'll do well, as long as the price is right. The front isn't so wanna be SUV as the GM vans.
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Jaymez 5:35PM (5/10/2006)
That rear shot reminds me of the '07 Tahoe.
Why are SUVs always slammed but Minivans are fine? They're the same damn thing, except one has a truck face on it and truck underpinnings.
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Nick1 6:13PM (5/10/2006)
The problem with you folks saying the marketing a slightly more macho minivan won't work is that the examples you are citing are poor. The problem with the Quest, Uplander, Outlander, etc wasn?t their so-called macho-ness. The Quest is out-there odd and the GM siblings are hodge-podge awkward looking. Uglymacho.
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patrick 9:21AM (5/11/2006)
"Why are SUVs always slammed but Minivans are fine? They're the same damn thing, except one has a truck face on it and truck underpinnings."
because our '06 grand caravan SXT with a 3.8L engine has more interior room than a chevy suburban, so far (has less than 1000 miles on it) is getting 20-21mpg city/24-25 highway.
compare that with the fuel economy Eric got with the '07 tahoe review....and the tahoe has less interior space.
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NEBTEK2002 11:41AM (5/11/2006)
Patrick is dead-on as to why minivans fit most families' needs beter than SUV's do.
I'd add to the list, lower liftover and step-in heights. I feel sorry for school-age kids who still have to jump or stretch to reach the door handles on most SUVs and loading/unloading cargo in the back of an SUV can be a real pain for someone less than 6' tall.
I've also seen a lot of kids ruin their good school/church clothes as they slither over the elevated rocker panels of a SUV.
They could just step into a minivan, minimizing contact with dirt and road salt.
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