‘Tory Whitney
: Contributing Writer
MINIVANS are so

_ ubiquitous on our

roads it seems almost
impossible to imagine
a world without them.

The practical, easy-to-park
. family haulers have so caught
the public imagination it
seems that they will remain a
fixture on the streets for
“. decades to come. And while
: pundits relentlessly predict :
the demise of the SUV,
‘nobody even hints that mini-
vans are siniply a passing fad.
Jn fact, the vans are spawn-
“”” ing offshoot vehicle cate-
*” gories like the Chrysler PT
\ Cruiser and Pontiac Aztek:
} Minivans are, of course, a
comparatively modern auto-
motive development.

a Chrysler is widely credited

with the invention of the
minivan back in 1983,
though nitpickers still point
to the old VW Microbus as
the vehicle that picneered

Peat TEMP CL AM LEGIT IN TS

ler

worth its nameplate has a
Minivan of some sort or
another.

During mid-November,
DaimlerChrysler celebrated
the five millionth minivan to
roll off its Windsor, Ontario,
assembly line. Interestingly,
the van was also the ten mil-
lionth vehicle built at the
Windsor plant since it
opened 71 years azo.

The celebratory minivan
— a 2001 Chrysler Town
and Country — was ordered
by a customer in Rimrock,
Arizona, Vast numbers of
minivans have been exported
to the U.S. and other coun-
tries by DaimlerChiryster’s

~ Canadian operation.

It took 54 years — from
1929 to 1983—- for the
Windsor plant to build its
first five-million vehicles.
Since the. 1983 launch of the
minivan, it has taken only 17
years to build the next five
million. The Windsor facility,
once known mainly for pas-
senger car production, has
turned out all kinds of vehi-_

‘cles over the years and name-
plates have included
Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth
and DeSoto. ;

Revealed in 1983 asa

1984 niodel year vehicle, the
Dodge, Plymouth and.

~ Chrysler minivans were -
launched using attention-
grabbing TV commercials
with magician Doug
Henning proclaiming them

this configuration. Let's just». :-
gay that it was Chrysler.that ©

sjump- -started the minivan at a
“time when few-rival automo-
bile manufacturers were bold
enough to try anything so
radical. Nowadays, just.about
every "full: line automaker

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as Magic Wagons and the
name stuck for years. More
than likely, there were more
than a few Chrysler exceu-
tives wondering whether
they would need a little
magic to sella vehicle this
radical, but they needn't
have worried.

Te date, the Chrysler
group has sold nearly nine
million minivans worldwide.
In addition to the Windsor
plant, the minivans are’ built
at factories in St. Louis, MO
and Graz, Austria, Chrysler
recently launched a fourth-
generation minivan and the
vehicle is still a solid market
leader, though lots of excei-
lent products are snapping at
its heels.

The success of the mini-.
van configuration, with its
seven seats and compact size,

prompted versions from GM,

Ford, Toyota, Honda,
Mazda, VW, Nissan and oth-

~ ers around the globe. At var-

ious times, there have been
as many as 20 minivan vari-
ants available on the
Canadian market.

Minivan manufacturers
have competed intensively
over the years to come up:
with ever-more-practical fea-
tures, .

The vans have become
more powerful with several
models now topping 200
horsepower.

Many current minivans
feature sophisticated video

‘sen

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entertainment systems to
keep the kids happy in the
back on long wips.

Many automakers have
developed commercial mini-
vans that have found tfavoui
with all kinds of users from
giant public utilities to one-
person service operations.

Perhaps Chrysler's five-
millionth minivan should be
toasted right across the auto-

motive industry, regerdless of

rivalries. The company start-
eda trend that shows 10
sign of waning and with
many willions of minivans in
daily use on the roads of the
world, just about every”.
automaker has reaped the
benefit of Chrysler’s pioneer-
ing innovation.

— Tony Whitney's column
appears courtesy of the B.C.
Autamobile Dealers’
Association (BCADA).

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modern craze for family-sized minivans. i

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