Autoblog

We may not know exactly which vehicles Chrysler will still be making by 2009, but we do know the automaker will offer Sirius Satellite Radio through 2017. Chrysler has had plenty of success with its Sirius offerings, so the long-term contract should come as no surprise. The take-rate for the audio technology across the Chrysler product line is a hefty 70%, and Sirius gave the Pentastar first crack at Sirius TV in the company's minivans and SUVs. Let's just hope that Chrysler's deals with interior suppliers don't last well into the next decade as well.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Perhaps the rhetoric coming from Chrysler that the market for minivans is alive and well is just that: rhetoric. The automaker's year end Event of a Lifetime sale happens to include its brand new minivans, the Town & Country and the Dodge Caravan, which can be had until December 3rd with $1,000 on the hood or long-term financing as low as 1.9% APR. Other Chrysler models included in the sale are the 300 ($1,500), 300C ($3,000, excluding the SRT-8), Sebring Convertible ($2,000), Aspen ($1,000), PT Cruiser ($1,000) and the Pacifica in both five- ($1,500) and six-passenger ($2,000) models. You can check out what Dodge and Jeep are offering, as well as any other automaker, on the Cars.com Incentive Page that's always up to date.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

After teasing fans with a modern interpretation of the classic Type 2 micro-bus a few years ago, Volkswagen decided it wasn't an economically viable project. It ultimately decided to strike a deal with DaimlerChrysler to use the Caravan/Town and Country minivan platform as the basis for a VW van. Unfortunately for VW, the minivan market is shrinking as they finally get their own unit to market.

A poster on the VWVortex forums has reportedly caught the first image of the new Chrysler-based VW van on a VW dealer TV screen and had his camera phone ready. No one should be surprised that from the rear quarter angle it looks like a 2008 Dodge Caravan with Touareg taillights. The question remains whether or not by the time it appears in VW dealerships in the summer of 2008, will anyone still care?

In addition to the new van, the dealer TV system also gave timing for some other new products, most of which we already know about. VW had previously confirmed that the Jetta TDI and Tiguan were coming in the first half of 2008 and the Touareg diesel was coming in the fall of 2008. What hadn't been confirmed previously was the Passat coupe also coming in the fall of 2008.

Thanks for the tip, Matt!

[Source: VW Vortex forums]

While it's hard to argue with the industry minivan leader, the new-for-2008 Chrysler minivans had us scratching our heads a bit. Their styling appears to take a page from the Chevy Venture book of design, which had us wondering if Chrysler could could keep them on top. Well, it looks like the Chrysler Group might have a few tricks up its sleeve to keep the crown, like offering better vehicles with more standard features for a lot less dough. They just announced the U.S. pricing for the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country and the new minivan kings appear to be incredible values.

According to the press release, the new vans will start arriving in dealerships in the fall "...with 35 new or improved features," along with the new 4.0L V6, six-speed transaxles, standard all-row side curtain air bags and Electronic Stability Program (ESP), all for about two grand less than the outgoing models. The Grand Caravan SE will start at $22,470 and the Grand Caravan SXT at $27,535. Over at Chrysler, the Town & Country will be $23,190 for the LX, $28,430 for the Touring, and $36,400 for the Limited.

Full press release with more details can be found after the jump.

[Source: Chrysler]

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 on image above to view high resolution gallery with 12 pics

A kudos goes out to the Chrysler Group PR team, which has been trying to plug these leaks since early yesterday morning, but at this time what was once a leak is now a deluge of images revealing the 2008 Chrysler Town and Country minivan all over the internet. According to CarScoop, today's new images and info can again be traced back to a Spanish site, this one named KM77.

More info can be found after the jump, and click here to view the gallery of images showing the pics that have already been seen on the internet so far.

[Source: KM77 via CarScoop]

UPDATE: Automotive News has published more specific information on the DCX vans. The rotating second-row captain's chairs are officially called Swivel 'n Go. The MyGIG entertainment system with dash-bound hard drive that debuted on the Sebring Sedan is available as an option, which, while great for playing music like an iPod would, cannot play digital video on the optional dual flip-down LCD screens (fix that, Chrysler). Finally, the new 4.0-liter V6 produces 240 hp and 253 ft-lbs of torque and is mated to a six-speed auto. A 3.8-liter V6/six-speed auto and 3.3-liter V6/four-speed auto will also be available.

UPDATE: At the request of the Chrysler Group we've removed the photos of the DCX minivans from Autoblog. In our quest to be seen as a legitimate and professional automotive news outlet, we strive to play this game above board as much as possible. These pics appeared on the forum of a Spanish website, which drew suspicion that someone might have posted them there with the intent they be discovered and widely distributed, which they were. It's one thing if a site breaks an embargo and the rest of the internet community follows suit, but whoever broke the embargo should stand up and take their punishment rather than hiding behind a Spanish forum, if that's the case. Regardless, these minivans are a big deal to The Chrysler Group, and rightly so they are taking action to ensure that their unveiling is protected. Good for you if you got to see the pics while they were up on the site, but if not then don't worry. We'll have dozens and dozens of high-resolution live and official shots when the embargo for these vehicles lift on Sunday.

Ford and General Motors have lost their taste for the minivan wars, leaving the Chrysler Group to stand alone as the sole domestic player in the minivan arena. It's just as well -- DCX always had the best American vans, anyway. Having invented the segment, Chrysler has hunkered down and pushed their minivan to be a contender once again. The Caravan and Town & Country will sport new styling, squaring up the edges of the current look, and front-end appearances will offer more distinction between the Dodge and Chrysler brands. Underhood, four-cylinders are banished, and there's a new high-end 4.0 liter V6 hooked up to a six-speed transaxle. The squarer profile will offer more interior room, and there's been talk of DCX ditching the short-wheelbase vans altogether. Speaking of the interior, of course the Stow 'n Go seats will show up, but there are also some slick surprises inside the new vans.

Continued after the jump

[Source: Allpar.com]

Johnathan Stein over at HowBourgeois ran across this heavily disguised prototype of what appears to be a 2008 Dodge Caravan, or possibly a Chrysler Town & Country, or possibly what will eventually be an unnamed Volkswagen minivan. He braved severely aggravated DaimlerChrysler staff to capture the exterior, otherwise we'd be staring at the interior accoutrements, as well. As all spy shots of these gen minivans have been heavily disguised so far, we're not really expecting the final products to show their faces at the L.A. auto show later this year. We'll likely meet them for the first time at the Detroit show in January.

[Source: HowBourgeois]