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The distinctively designed crossovers of recent years have cut away a big slice of popularity among minivans.
Four models making the most of the dwindling market today are the Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna. A close race through the first five months of this year shows the Dodge with 46,148 sales, Honda 45,734, Toyota 45,678 and Chrysler 39,398.
If these are the majors among the minivans, the minis are the Mazda5 with only 10,222, the Kia Sedona with 8,920, Volkswagen Routan with 5,104 and Nissan Quest 4,208. The pace of the eight vans’ sales combined is half what the minivan totals were 10 years ago. Chrysler set the style with its runaway-sales-leading vans in the 1980s, and through the years that followed all makes’ offerings seemed to blend well with sleek looks and shared innovations. In the case of the VW Routan, the blending is more than copycat design; Chrysler builds the van for VW in its Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant under a joint production agreement. Volkswagen has improved handling (tight steering) with a European-tuned suspension, firmed by heavy-duty rear shocks and coil-over springs and a relatively wide track of 65 inches. Well-bolstered, thickly padded seats add to the minivan’s comfort level. Second-row seats, which slide fore and aft, don’t get the benefit of Chrysler’s stow-away feature, though the bins for storing the Chrysler seats are available for other storage uses in the VW. The ’11 Routan SE performed impressively with the new 3.6-liter V-6 engine and quick-shifting 6-speed automatic transmission, a powertrain produced by Chrysler. Acceleration was smooth and adequate; overall fuel mileage was 21.1. The seven-passenger Routan, on a wheelbase of 121 inches, has an altered hood and grille; most noticeable is the big block VW badge up front.
A rear-seat entertainment package with dual, 9-inch, roof-mounted screens for second and third-row passengers highlighted the interior of the Routan, which carried a sticker price of $35,570. Other standard equipment were heated leatherette front seats, power rear quarter vent windows, tri-zone air conditioning, dual glove boxes, trip computer, intermittent front and rear wipers and automatic headlamps. The roomy Routan minivan, introduced three years ago, continues to draw some interest in VW showrooms, which are dominated by the long-popular Jetta sedan. More than half of all VW models sold thus far this year are Jettas.
Notes from e-mail
Q: Bud, I must agree with the reader, R.N., who mentioned the ’41 Chevy coupe as possibly being the best-looking Chevy of all time. When I was at Golden High School in the early ’50s, our student body president George Brown had the most beautiful ’41 coupe around. It was jet black with 2½-inch whitewalls, fender skirts, lower rear end with dual pipes from a split manifold (what a fabulous sound). I sat out on the steps of the school every morning waiting for George and his buddy, Jim Hamil, who had a baby-blue ’37 Chevy two-door, to drive in front of the school with pipes going full blast. – B.B.
A: Great days, Bob. I remember the duals on my ’48 Ford; I cut a crankshaft housing in two, welded them to my rear bumper, painted them white and used them as exhaust extensions for super sound.
A look back
Thirty years ago this week, I reviewed in The Denver Post a 1981 BMW 320i, provided by Murray Motor Imports, 4300 E. Kentucky Ave. Excerpts:
BMWs, produced in Munich, West Germany, aren’t hand-assembled; they just seem that way when they’re driven. They’re high-priced and they’re currently growing in popularity in America. A test of the 320i, which is BMW’s cheapest model – a two-door – was dominated by performance. It’s fast in acceleration, scarcely slower than a couple of the quick turbocharged cars from Europe. It corners safely and smoothly at unbelievably high speeds, and it produced 32.8 miles per gallon of fuel on a highway run. Price of the test model was $16,480, which included a package of air conditioning, AM/FM cassette radio and fog lights for $1,685, a manual sunroof for $555 and light alloy rims for $500. The fuel-injected engine is of 1.8-liter displacement with overhead camshaft and hemispheric, swirl-action combustion chambers. Weight of the two-door is 2,452 pounds on a wheelbase of 101 inches. Interior circulation is among the best. I counted 13 air vents in the front of the car, besides the handy sunroof. Other BMW models are the 528i, the 733i and the 633CSi, ranging in price from $23,000 to $33,000. 2011 Volkswagen Routan $35,570 (price as tested) MPG City 17 Highway 25 Vehicle type: Minivan Wheelbase: 121.2 inches Length/Width/Height: 202.5/76.9/71.9 inches Weight: 4,595 pounds Engine: 3.6-liter V-6 Transmission: 6-speed automatic Fuel mileage: 21.2 mpg Fuel tank: 20.5 gallons Warranty: 3 years/36,000 miles basic; 5/60,000 powertrain Competitors: Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest, Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Sedona, Toyota Sienna Built at: Windsor, Ontario, Canada Parts content: U.S./Canadian 82 percent THE STICKER $34,750 base $820 Destination PLUSES New V-6 engine Roomy interior European suspension MINUSES No Stow ‘n Go seats Clone
If these are the majors among the minivans, the minis are the Mazda5 with only 10,222, the Kia Sedona with 8,920, Volkswagen Routan with 5,104 and Nissan Quest 4,208. The pace of the eight vans’ sales combined is half what the minivan totals were 10 years ago. Chrysler set the style with its runaway-sales-leading vans in the 1980s, and through the years that followed all makes’ offerings seemed to blend well with sleek looks and shared innovations. In the case of the VW Routan, the blending is more than copycat design; Chrysler builds the van for VW in its Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant under a joint production agreement. Volkswagen has improved handling (tight steering) with a European-tuned suspension, firmed by heavy-duty rear shocks and coil-over springs and a relatively wide track of 65 inches. Well-bolstered, thickly padded seats add to the minivan’s comfort level. Second-row seats, which slide fore and aft, don’t get the benefit of Chrysler’s stow-away feature, though the bins for storing the Chrysler seats are available for other storage uses in the VW. The ’11 Routan SE performed impressively with the new 3.6-liter V-6 engine and quick-shifting 6-speed automatic transmission, a powertrain produced by Chrysler. Acceleration was smooth and adequate; overall fuel mileage was 21.1. The seven-passenger Routan, on a wheelbase of 121 inches, has an altered hood and grille; most noticeable is the big block VW badge up front.
A rear-seat entertainment package with dual, 9-inch, roof-mounted screens for second and third-row passengers highlighted the interior of the Routan, which carried a sticker price of $35,570. Other standard equipment were heated leatherette front seats, power rear quarter vent windows, tri-zone air conditioning, dual glove boxes, trip computer, intermittent front and rear wipers and automatic headlamps. The roomy Routan minivan, introduced three years ago, continues to draw some interest in VW showrooms, which are dominated by the long-popular Jetta sedan. More than half of all VW models sold thus far this year are Jettas.
BMWs, produced in Munich, West Germany, aren’t hand-assembled; they just seem that way when they’re driven. They’re high-priced and they’re currently growing in popularity in America. A test of the 320i, which is BMW’s cheapest model – a two-door – was dominated by performance. It’s fast in acceleration, scarcely slower than a couple of the quick turbocharged cars from Europe. It corners safely and smoothly at unbelievably high speeds, and it produced 32.8 miles per gallon of fuel on a highway run. Price of the test model was $16,480, which included a package of air conditioning, AM/FM cassette radio and fog lights for $1,685, a manual sunroof for $555 and light alloy rims for $500. The fuel-injected engine is of 1.8-liter displacement with overhead camshaft and hemispheric, swirl-action combustion chambers. Weight of the two-door is 2,452 pounds on a wheelbase of 101 inches. Interior circulation is among the best. I counted 13 air vents in the front of the car, besides the handy sunroof. Other BMW models are the 528i, the 733i and the 633CSi, ranging in price from $23,000 to $33,000. 2011 Volkswagen Routan $35,570 (price as tested) MPG City 17 Highway 25 Vehicle type: Minivan Wheelbase: 121.2 inches Length/Width/Height: 202.5/76.9/71.9 inches Weight: 4,595 pounds Engine: 3.6-liter V-6 Transmission: 6-speed automatic Fuel mileage: 21.2 mpg Fuel tank: 20.5 gallons Warranty: 3 years/36,000 miles basic; 5/60,000 powertrain Competitors: Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest, Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Sedona, Toyota Sienna Built at: Windsor, Ontario, Canada Parts content: U.S./Canadian 82 percent THE STICKER $34,750 base $820 Destination PLUSES New V-6 engine Roomy interior European suspension MINUSES No Stow ‘n Go seats Clone
