Mini Vans -- hate 'em..

Nothing personal here but I can't stand those damn mini vans. Especially those older Chrysler vans that smoke and stink to high heaven..

My .02

I have seen minivans that do 12s in 1/4mile they look crapy but fast as hell.

I do agree most minivans do suck. But the Reanult Espace is awesome!! I'm also starting to like the 2002 Doidge Caravan.

Oh man, that sucks so bad when you get behind a old minivan that stnks, I hate it so much. I want to run them off the road it bugs me so bad. (I mean, I don't want to kill anybody, or even hurt them, just bust up their ride)

did you know that michigan is the mini-van capital of america? there are more mini-vans in MI than anywhere else- i happen to live in detroit!! stupid mini-vans everywhere......

I don't like them either, too many people have them and they have like no performance or exoticness except, of course for Bertone's V12 4 passenger Minivan! Ya!:cool:

No wonder they don't have performance or exoticness, they were made to haul people around.

Ya, so why dosen't BMW make a Mini-van, I know some people would hate this but think. BMW made an SAV to stay competitive so, where's the BMW 4 series? I thin that there would be a fiarly large market for Luxury Minivans. Most people have 3 kids and not 5+ so a normal mini-van with all the performance and luxury of a bimmer. I just hope Porsche dosen't do that though.:eek:

So far in my life I've liked 4 minivans:

Bertone V12 4-passenger (Lambo engine, yay!)
Renault Espace F1
Seat Alhambra 6-speed manual
Locally owned Toyota Previa

The guy that owns the Previa is right into rally and SCCA style racing...growing family forced him to get a minivan. So he got a 5-speed, rear drive Previa with tinted windows all around, 18 inch chrome 5-spokers, and 18 inch Goodyear ZR rated tires :)

Has that Renault even got a minivan interior? I think its probably just a shell.

Originally posted by Porsche

I don't like them either, too many people have them and they have like no performance or exoticness except, of course for Bertone's V12 4 passenger Minivan! Ya!:cool:


It's obvious that they have no performance or exoticness because they are NOT meant to be that way. Then again you don't pay for performance or exoticness althought some vans give you decent performance like the 2002 Caravan. The market minivans target are the family segment in which moms or dads buy these things for hauling their kids around!

I still don't like them.

:D All you Mini-Van haters can go Aztek yourselves!

what?

Aztecs suck too

I'm not to faund of the mini-van situation here in Toronto. It seems like every other vechile is a mini-van, I feel sorry for everyone in MI. I don't know about everyone else but driving behind them, not fun.

True, to the Astecs sucking.

:D Hey Volvo boy, fond is spelled f-o-n-d not faund......

As for Mini-Vans, I'd take mine over a Sweedish box-on-wheels anyday.

?!?!?!?!?!

You'd rather have a minivan than a 236hp 5-speed S70 T5?????

Away, heathen!! :D:D:D

So it's actually a Rocket on wheels. Sorry to be petty but it's also spelt A-Z-T-E-K not astec even if you are insulting it. Then it would be Asstek. I'm close to Toronto though, Mini-vans are pretty bad in Ottawa too.

Sorry HEEP but I believe you mean C70 T5. Although if you do need the room of mini-van the 2000 V70 AWD T5 with 261 HP is guaranteed to eat almost any mini-van.

As for you "Carguy" if you are so uneducated as to take a mini-van, which is most likely a Chrysler,over what you call a Swedish box on wheels you are unquestionably unworthy of your name. Also I would be willing to bet that the box of all boxes, my '81 Volvo 244, could beat your mini-van in any aspect of racing.

:D Yah Volvo boy, but I'd like to see you pack three kids, a dog and a week's worth of luggage into your Sweedish Boxmobile.

As for educated, well I think what you are attempting to imply, is that because I choose to drive a Minivan over a Volvo that I am somewhat less astute that thou.

Well, not so fast Chip, (or Chet or Chad or Svend, usual Volvo driver names), how smart would I be if I thought that I could put my family of five, plus fido into a cramped up stereotypical yuppie-mobile?

As for my fun time, that comes in the form of a restored 71 Cougar XR7 with a 351 Cleveland 4bbl.

(please reply if you need me to explain what XR7 and 351 Cleveland 4bbl mean!)

Have a nice day!;)

Carguy

:D Oh and one more thing Volvo Boy, an 81 244 is nothing to brag about......write back when you can chat about an S80, a V70 or hell I'd even agree to a discussion on the S40......but lets get real, an 81 244?

P.S. My 2001 Grand Caravan Sport would blow the meetballs out your Seedmobile!

i used to hate minivans too but i saw these two minivans and i now i love em!!!! these are SWEET!!!! ( sarcasm for those of you who didnt catch it)
http://www.geocities.com/madmods/aerostar.html nice...

by the way.... beaterz.com, awesome site. i recommend to all. funny crap.

I hate minivans, too. :mad: I used to drive my parents' 1989 Dodge Caravan until the engine set itself ablaze in the parking lot at work the day after Xmas, 1999. :mad: Stupid thing had everything wrong with it. :mad: Sometimes the engine would die while driving 65 on the freeway. :mad: It would coast for a few seconds, then kick back on. :mad:

Although, I did have some fun times with my wife (then girlfriend) in both the second and third row seats of that minivan, back in the day.

I vote NO on Proposition Minivan.

incase any one was wondering the reson most chrysler doge and plymouth mini vans smoke a lot is in part of the mitsubishi 3.0 sohc v6 used by chrysler. the piston rings carbon up and alow oil to enter the combustion chamber.

Originally posted by Silver S2000
Sometimes the engine would die while driving 65 on the freeway. :mad: It would coast for a few seconds, then kick back on. :mad:


My friend's Cavalier is starting to do that...everything will turn off though. Radio, dash lights, engine, everything. It comes back on after a second or two. He's driven the s*** out of that car....

You Americans and Canadians do not know how lucky you are to be stuck behind a Chrysler Voyager or Pontiac Montana, in NZ I often find myslef stuck behind the Nissan Serena Diesel minivan which literally takes 20 seconds+ to get to 60mph/100kph and then there is the Toyota Estima, a POS Previa based minivan which comes into the country as a used Japanese import, it is almost as bad as the Nissan in performance as well

all minivans are stupid, and to top it all off... they have even worse drivers... i've been cut-off 12 times in the same day driving through the city, i could swear it was the same minivan just trying to spite me

Mini-vans are a good thing IMO. The current ones have descent power, th problem is the loose nut behind the wheel. I think they are good alternative to SUVs for people that aren't going to go off road. I mean, honestly, it pisses me off when I see one person driving around in an Excursion. They need to get a damn mini-van. Will I ever have a mini-van? I doubt it, only if it was a Chysler with a turbo, slim chance besides. I don't really care for them.

I think that there are some good mini-vans (or MPV's) on sale

-Honda Oddysey V6 (Jap model, not American)
-Toyota Previa Grande
-SEAT Alhambra/Ford Galaxy/VW Sharan 4-Motion
-Renault Espace RXT 3.0
-The upcoming Citroen C7/Peugeot 8O7/Lancia Z/FIAT Ullyse
-Mazda MPV 3.0 V6

They are a far better than any piss-ass 'SUV'

My mom owns a 1996 dodge grand caravan.. now i wanna blow up every 1 i see cuz there are so many but we gotta put them in tha cave osama is in all of them then blow em up thats what he deserves!

my mom owns a 99 pontiac, i hate the piece of shit, i have to drive on long trips and everytime the fucking thing downshifts like mad, and it pissed me off, i just floor the shit and get on peoples asses and hope one of them brake so i can ram the shit into the back of em. now she wants a suv. jeez

oh yah and one more thing. what kind of dumbass like gm, would take the aztech and put it on the van base venture/montana/silhoutte and then make it have 4wheel drive that isnt really 4wd...that is really a dumb move on there behalf. i thinkinstead or designin it they should just trash it

LMAO.......Yea, lets not forget about the azteks.:alien:

Originally posted by Polygon
Mini-vans are a good thing IMO. The current ones have descent power, th problem is the loose nut behind the wheel. I think they are good alternative to SUVs for people that aren't going to go off road. I mean, honestly, it pisses me off when I see one person driving around in an Excursion. They need to get a damn mini-van. Will I ever have a mini-van? I doubt it, only if it was a Chysler with a turbo, slim chance besides. I don't really care for them.

That's what I was going to say..at least the minivans' headlights aren't so damned high, and they cause fewer distracting rollovers. Plus, minivans kick ass on road trips when you're hauling tons of people and stuff.

Oh, and to the people who complain that minivans aren't powerful and exotic enough..well duh! I hate to break it to you, but some cars have a purpose beyond racing. In fact, most cars serve a much higher purpose: comfortable transportation. :rolleyes:

I got a 01 Astro and I happen to think it looks pretty good. I know it's not the coolest or fastest car but its our family car. I have 3 young kids and its great for hauling all of them around and then some.

I got a 01 Astro and I happen to think it looks pretty good. I know it's not the coolest or fastest car but its our family car. I have 3 young kids and its great for hauling all of them around and then some.

I am OK w/ minivans, but too bad you got the Astro (http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/96024.htm) and not something safer. (http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/summary_passvans.htm)

If you have a large family, or need to get around town with 6 or 7 people, or go on a trip with 5 people and all their crap, no small or midsize SUV or wagon could do it better than a minivan. That's a fact. People buying a huge SUV for a family car are wasting an enormous amount of space to get less cargo room than your average van...look at a Suburban or Expedition...compare the length, width, and height to a Caravan or Odyssey. Then look at interior volume. The minivan will seat as many people comfortably, carry MORE cargo (due to low load floors and more space between the wheelwells), get better mileage, and handle better.

I happen to find a wagon fits my needs perfectly. I don't have a family, and never carry more than 3 people in my car. I wanted to still have high performance, high speed cruising, great handling, etc. while having cargo flexibility of a wagon. But if I had a large family, I wouldn't hesitate to get a minivan long before I'd ever consider an SUV.

BTW - SPEAKING OF PERFORMANCE MINIVANS: I saw people list the Bertone and Renault Espace F1...both of which were concepts not sold or marketed to the public. You can't go out and buy one. However, you CAN buy one of these twin turbo beasts:

http://www.vw-team-muenchen.de/tuning/test01k.gif
http://www.vw-team-muenchen.de/tuning/test02k.gif
http://www.vw-team-muenchen.de/tuning/test05k.gif
http://www.vw-team-muenchen.de/tuning/test04k.gif

This is a Volkswagen T4 Eurovan, with a Porsche 993 twin turbo engine and all-wheel drive system transplanted, and a Porsche 996 tranny, suspension, and GT3 brakes.

Check out the Porsche dash:

http://bilder.mobile.de/images/autos/0/11111111124093501-20565-1059503199_4.bild

And the engine is in the rear, where it should be for a Porsche engine!:

http://bilder.mobile.de/images/autos/0/11111111124093501-20565-1059503199_3.bild

Now THAT's a real performance minivan you can actually buy and drive on the streets every day. This one has tricked out carbon fiber seats...but I'd probably leave the more functional VW interior in the van (If you are going to have a minivan, you might as well have the flexibility to use it like one!).

If any of you have high speed connections, there is a very cool video of the van (narration in German) ripping through some turns with the rear end drifting out, and hitting a high speed track at triple digits...very cool (about 40MB...so beware if you have 56K connection!):

http://www.magicfingers.de/Bonus/claert4.mpeg