Chrysler finally killing off the Grand Caravan?

[Fritzo]

After my mom got divorced she celebrated her independence by getting an '84 fully loaded, 5-speed Supra. It had discs all around and stopped and went like a monster.

The Supra from that era was legendary. Way ahead of its time. I think that was the first Ricer car in the US

 

[bradly1101]

It was cool, she let me borrow it a lot. Otherwise I was scooting around in her ex-'80 Corolla 1.8 5sp. It was nearing 100k when she sold it to me for $800. It was still running great at 353k when I traded it in.

There seemed to be a certain reliability in in-line engines with chain driven cams.

 

[FallenHero]

Ha! I had an '84 Mustang GT. How did performance cars from that period NOT have 4 wheel disc brakes? The rears were still drum brakes! Which leads to a rather humorous yarn from my storied youth:

The 1984 charcoal gray Mustang GT with T-Tops was the first car I purchased. It was sleek, shiny, perhaps a bit too fast for my age, and the insurance premiums cost more than the car payment. It was also the least mechanically sound vehicle to hit the road...ever. I learned everything I know about car repair from my 4 year love/hate affair with this Mustang.

In the summer of 1987, it was time for a brake job. I had never changed brakes before, so I purchased the equivalent of a YouTube guide at the time...a "Chilton Manual"...and proceed to muddle my way through fuzzy black and white pictures and poorly worded instructions.

My neighbor, a notorious red-neck chain smoker, walked up when he saw me struggling to get the rear brake cover off of the rusted drum assembly. He showed me how to take a hammer and pound on edges until the cover came loose. I pounded away, and the cover fell to the ground---creating a mushroom cloud of black brake dust. The dust covered my clothes, face, hair...everything.

My neighbor takes a huge puff of his cigarette, blows the smoke out the side of his lips, and then gives me the sage advice: "By the way...don't breathe that stuff. It causes cancer."

Hahhah. I love old school do it your-selfers.

 

[BoberFett]

Explorer is a Flex with a new body. Front Wheel Drive based D4 platform.

Wow. The crossover craze truly has taken over.

 

[BoberFett]

i didn't say they stopped selling the flex. the explorer is a flex that looks a bit more SUVish in order to increase sales is what i said. i guess if you wanted to be really accurate you'd say that both are ford D3/4 platform vehicles, along with the taurus and the taurus x/freestyle wagon that preceded both current wagons.

ttac put it best, i think

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/02/review-2011-ford-explorer-xlt-awd/

I guess I never read much on the Flex platform. They can say it's better than an Explorer, but it's kind of just a big, low, ugly wagon. Which is great if that's what you're looking for, but it's not going to sell well.

 

[Vdubchaos]

when will they make SUVs with sliding doors? basically not ugly vans

I see. Sliding doors make vehicles ugly.

 

[nerp]

When will they make a minivan with lambo doors?

 

[gmaster456]

No AWD though, which can be tough for us in the north.

I don't know how you drive but FWD is just fine for our bitter Michigan winters. Especially in urban areas.

 

[nerp]

I don't know how you drive but FWD is just fine for our bitter Michigan winters. Especially in urban areas.

Yeah, I don't get the fixation on AWD. The average person drives after the plows have gone through and even RWD is fine with that. I think people are just suckers for marketing and being told what they "need."

We had a lot of snow last year where I live and I think I drove through an actual storm with flakes falling once.

 

[NutBucket]

The fixation is perhaps overblown but the usefulness is not. There will always be that situation where the plows haven't come through yet and you've got to climb some hills. Or, in my case, when we go to the mountains in the winter and the small towns just don't have the manpower to get everything plowed. While it may be a penalty the rest of the time its nice to have it for those situations where even chains aren't always the answer.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

My first car was a 94 emerald green Plymouth Grand Caravan. That thing was so freaking useful and incredibly durable. It kicked the bucket at 200k miles.

 

[SpongeBob]

The fixation is perhaps overblown but the usefulness is not. There will always be that situation where the plows haven't come through yet and you've got to climb some hills. Or, in my case, when we go to the mountains in the winter and the small towns just don't have the manpower to get everything plowed. While it may be a penalty the rest of the time its nice to have it for those situations where even chains aren't always the answer.

Here in michigan with the decline in property values over the last several years and corresponding loss in tax base for local communities, I have definitely noticed much less frequency of salting/plowing in the winter. Especially in the neighborhoods as city services have been hit really hard. It hasn't been a problem for me. My winter car is a '02 Escape (FWD) and good tires, 8" of ground clearance, and good decisions have meant no issues for me personally with getting stuck in the snow but I have seen many of my neighbors with FWD cars and minivans getting stuck. I agree that the usefulness of 4WD/AWD is overblown but that doesn't mean its useless and those few times where it comes in useful can absolutely justify it.