Autoblog

The moral of a certain African tale is: no matter whether you're the lion or the gazelle, when you get up every morning you better be ready to run. That counts for rams, as well. One of Chrysler LLC's most profitable divisions is getting run down in a historically dominant specialty: minivans. The Dodge Caravan (and Grand Caravan), specifically, is in danger of losing its best selling minivan title to the Honda Odyssey.

The Detroit Free Press reports that year-to-date, Dodge has sold 154,824 Caravans, which is a 21.4-percent decline from last year. Part of that has been explained with the arrival of a new model and the elimination of the cheaper, short wheelbase version. Honda meanwhile has sold 158,139 Odysseys so far this year, which is only a 2.3-percent decline from last year. Honda also has a new version of the Odyseey this year, introduced in August, and has outsold Dodge for the past six months -- which means the new model picked up where the old one left its marker.

Follow the jump for more.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Click image for commercial-grade photo gallery

Chrysler has just released details on its commercial-grade Dodge Grand Caravan Cargo Van, which has tradesmen, small business owners, and other small fleet customers in its crosshairs (pun fully intended). Since it's a work vehicle, the second and third row seats have been eliminated. This creates 143.8 cubic feet of storage capacity in back, and to keep it from getting instantly trashed, the cargo floor is covered with an industrial-grade material. The interior trim for the second- and third-row seating areas can also be deleted completely, as the working man's Grand Caravan is designed to be a blank slate that upfitters can customize for role-specific duties.

The forward compartment is equipped with YES Essentials fabric seats, a decent stereo, the to-be-expected variety of cupholders, power outlets, and storage areas, and a rubberized floor capable of withstanding daily punishment. Powered by Chrysler's 175-horsepower 3.3L flex-fuel V6, the Grand Caravan Cargo Van sports a 17/24 city/highway EPA rating. 16-inch steelies and a heavy-duty suspension are standard, and both the dual sliders and rear hatch are manually operated. While a panelized version isn't currently offered, the existing rear glass is tinted dark for maximum privacy, so you'll have to moosh your face right up against it to see what goodies your local bakery's hauling back there.

[Source: Chrysler LLC]

Chrysler announced today that it will nab another exclusive for its upcoming redesigned 2008 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans. In addition to their popular Stow 'n Go and Swivel 'n Go options, the new soccer mom-mobiles will be the first available with Sirius Backseat TV. This extremely handy technology beams three channels of kid friendly programming right into your minivan. Video can be displayed on either both flip down screens in the back, or also the third screen embedded in the dash if the vehicle is parked. Mom and Dad can also choose to listen to Sirius audio programming up front while Dick and Jane rot their brains on cartoons in the back.

The channels being offered are particularly appropriate for children, just the type of people that often frequent the back seats of minivans. Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and the Cartoon Network will all be beamed and received via two small roof-mounted antenna. We're particularly pleased the Cartoon Network was thrown in there, and hope to all hell that Adult Swim comes in.

What's more, this technology will only cost $470 as an option, which includes the first year of service. Considering that it's the first of its kind on the market, we think the price is reasonable. Although, by this time you've likely checked off the box for the MyGIG entertainment system, which costs a heady $1,700 on some vehicles. We imagine that money is of little concern when trying to mute the little ones, and Chrysler comes through again with an exclusive feature for its new minivans. The Sirius Backseat TV function will also concurrently be offered on the 2008 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum, Jeep Commander and Jeep Grand Cherokee, though it makes the most sense in these vans.

[Source: Chrysler]

click on above image to view high-resolution gallery of live shots


We're back from Chrysler's minivan unveiling, where, truth be told, not a whole lot of new stuff happened, as leaks on the web revealed most of the juiciest features of DCX's new family haulers last week. In any case, The show hosted by Chrysler Group CEO Tom LaSorda still had its moments.

The theme for the program was "Recipe for Success," which Chrysler drove into the assembled media's heads with all the subtlety of a jackhammer. Feature lists thrown on the projection screens were configured to look like e recipe cards, and the press kit that was distributed looks like a cookbook. The stage was set up with giant breadboxes on either end, which ultimately opened up to reveal one of the original Plymouth Voyagers and a '96 Chrysler Town and Country - earlier examples of Chrysler's bread-and-butter vehicles (more on that theme in a separate post later on). LaSorda reminded everyone that Chrysler invented the segment and pointed at the innovations that the first two generations of the minivan brought to the marketplace.

The initial part of the presentation was dominated by a cooking demo during which celebrity chef and Food Network star Bobby Flay joined LaSorda on stage. Flay actually injected a little levity into the proceedings, making a crack that based on his technique, LaSorda had been spending some time in a hot kitchen, prompting LaSorda to reply, "The kitchen's been pretty hot lately, I can tell you that," to laughs all around. It was actually one of the better moments, because for the most part, the banter was of the blatantly pre-prepared, unintentionally amusing variety. The best way to describe it is that you felt like you were watching characters in a Christopher Guest film up on stage.

Follow the jump for info and click here to view our high-resolution gallery of live shots.

Check out all the debuts and galleries from the Detroit Auto Show here.

click above image for high-resolution gallery of 20 pics

Can you believe it? The Chrysler Group's new minivans for 2008 will mark the fifth generation of these all-purpose people haulers. The 2008 lineup includes the Chrysler Town and Country, which we showed you yesterday, and the Dodge Grand Caravan. Reaction to the styling of the Town and Country in the comments has been mixed, and so we expect a similar reaction to the Grand Caravan. And while the Grand Caravan does bear a resemblance to the Chevy Venture, we actually like its simple, purposeful lines. It actually looks more compact than the egg-shaped model it replaces, which is a good thing.

The point must be made, however, that minivan buyers are generally not placing style at the top of their must-have list when visiting dealerships. For them, it's all about what the vehicle can do for me and my family. DCX knew that to protect its position as the number one purveyor of minivans that it would have to stuff more features and options between its bumpers than the competition. For 2008, that task was made by easier by the decision to cancel the short-wheelbase Dodge Caravan, so now both minivans ride on an identical 121.2-inch wheelbase.



More of our thoughts can be found after the jump, along with an Overview on these minivans from Chrysler, and you can peruse the Chrysler Town & Country gallery of high-resolution images here or check out the new gallery of Dodge Grand Caravan shots.

KGP Photography caught these shots of what looks to be a surprisingly muscular 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan, likely souped-up to compete with a full slate of new Asian minivans. The lines appear reminiscent of the marque's own Magnum and Durango, losing the overtly-rounded aesthetic that has long been its trademark. With the Asian competition bearing down, expect this one to have a more powerful engine and more safety features compared to the current model.

Oh, and remember the agreement between DCX and Volkswagen? What you see here may be the foundation upon which VW builds its new people-carrier.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]