Chrysler minivan wins approval

[cptbarkey]

Originally Posted By: itguy08

Good for you The fact that I've been in IT for a long time and seen the insides of just anout every brand out there means I know "just a little" about Dell's lack of quaity and how junk they are. It's a fact that they don't have good ratings from just about every organization that rates PC satisfaction and reliability. Those are the facts.


Dell PowerEdge 400SC still chugging along quite nicely in my garage serving my every whim and want for internet research. I worked for Dell for 10 years and will attest their quality went down over time, but there was a golden age and that ended around 2005 with the capacitor debacle.

However i would highly advise against swinging your internet wang around stating you know everything about everything, because you dont.

 

[VNTS]

Yes

They were the best 4 cylinder in that time. Do some basic maintnenance and they ran for ever. I just sold my Turbo Shadow, 300K miles and still running fine. Still have 3 Daytonas amongst my fleet

Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Originally Posted By: Burt
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Originally Posted By: itguy08
That's a shocker - Chrysler/Dodge/RAM have always been junk vehicles. They should have died in the 80's.


But they were making great cars in the 80's!

Yes those K-cars in all their derivative forms were sweet rides - NOT!

If you don't like turbo Dodges, you don't like turbo Dodges, but they have a cult following and I for one, love them dearly.
What I would give for a mint CSX or Omni GLH...

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: Indydriver
I read this thread prepared to make a comment about my 25 years of minivan ownership and purchase decision this year but...nevermind.


I know, this really devolved in a hurry.

I just wanted to convey my experience that the new crop of transmissions were just too busy and unwilling to respond to driver input for my liking. Hopefully, Chrysler will listen to their customers and make any software changes that become necessary.

I also hope that the new trannys prove to be reliable, because if my wife gets her way we will be owning one sometime next year.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: G-MAN

I am a huge fan of the LX platform that Daimler developed after they took over Chrysler. I think it's one of the best automotive platforms of the 21st century.
*It was at the time widely reported (and still is to this day) that the new LX platform was derived from the previous generation E Class Benz. This was simply not true. The LX platform shared absolutely no hard points with the W210 platform. The only thing used directly from the W210 was the steering column and the front seat architecture (which is one reason the front seats on these cars seem a bit narrow given the overall width of the vehicle). The rear suspension was Mercedes 5-link used on ALL their RWD sedans, but again, not taken directly from any existing Mercedes platform. The front suspension of the LX was actually based on the design used in the W220 S-Class.


I have had lunch with many of the actual SRT engineers including Ralph Giles. According to them, Mercedes contributed huge amounts of software expertise in the body/chassis area, more software in the stability control system, and even more in the brake assist system. The suspension, both front and rear, are anti-dive, anti squat designs that are patented by Mercedes. The 6.1 engine had Merc engineers present and contributing during its development.

MY car has real mad in Germany rear end and trans with AMG part numbers on them. I bolted on the differential cooler from an E55. I order parts from Mercedes vendors.

There's a ton of German DNA in the LX series.

 

[Vikas]

Here is the actual information taken from the source which OP erroneously believes his original posting came from. The more things change, more they remain the same!

Chrysler Town & Country Overview

The Town & Country still falls short of the best minivans. High points include a comfortable and settled ride, and a quiet, well-equipped cabin that offers considerable versatility. The second- and third-row seats conveniently fold into the floor, a big convenience that maximizes cargo space, but seating posture is compromised. Though the 283-hp V6 is polished and powerful enough, the transmission is a generation behind, and fuel economy is unimpressive at 17 mpg overall. Everyday handling is sound but sloppy when pushed to the limits. Reliability has been well below average.

 

[coolbird101]

this review is right on in my opinion, the first one not so much ,I hope this thread doesent die after my post like every other thread I post in. I am threadkill!
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Here is the actual information taken from the source which OP erroneously believes his original posting came from. The more things change, more they remain the same!

Chrysler Town & Country Overview

The Town & Country still falls short of the best minivans. High points include a comfortable and settled ride, and a quiet, well-equipped cabin that offers considerable versatility. The second- and third-row seats conveniently fold into the floor, a big convenience that maximizes cargo space, but seating posture is compromised. Though the 283-hp V6 is polished and powerful enough, the transmission is a generation behind, and fuel economy is unimpressive at 17 mpg overall. Everyday handling is sound but sloppy when pushed to the limits. Reliability has been well below average.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Chrysler Town & Country Overview

The Town & Country still falls short of the best minivans. High points include a comfortable and settled ride, and a quiet, well-equipped cabin that offers considerable versatility. The second- and third-row seats conveniently fold into the floor, a big convenience that maximizes cargo space, but seating posture is compromised. Though the 283-hp V6 is polished and powerful enough, the transmission is a generation behind, and fuel economy is unimpressive at 17 mpg overall. Everyday handling is sound but sloppy when pushed to the limits. Reliability has been well below average.


I agree with everything in this review, except the part about the quiet cabin. It was the noisiest vehicle at 70mph that I have ever been in. I had to double the volume of the radio from 30mph to 70mph just to be able to hear the lyrics clearly.

 

[otis24]

I've owned my 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan since new. It has the 3.8 liter engine and has 158k miles on it. I had heard that Dodge had had tranny issues with earlier models and that was a concern. I knew that I would be pulling a pop-up camper, so I added an auxillary tranny cooler from the start.

Other than some suspension isssues (struts, tie rod ends, and rack and pinion), my van has been very reliable. I hope to drive it another year or two and exceed the 200k mile mark.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd

Many accuse Daimler of acquiring Chrysler, and then tossing it out some years later, only as a cash-grab.


Whoever told you that knows nothing about Daimler-Chrysler. Daimler lost over a billion dollars on the Chrysler debacle.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/14/news/companies/chrysler_sale/index.htm

 

[Jarlaxle]

Nobody said it was an INTELLIGENT cash grab!

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd

Many accuse Daimler of acquiring Chrysler, and then tossing it out some years later, only as a cash-grab.


Whoever told you that knows nothing about Daimler-Chrysler. Daimler lost over a billion dollars on the Chrysler debacle.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/14/news/companies/chrysler_sale/index.htm


When Daimler-Benz and Chrysler "merged," Chrysler was flush with cash. Daimler bled them dry, mismanaged product launches, cut quality, and suffered the consequences. Fiat is now taking giant strides toward correcting the damage that Daimler did to Chrysler.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Yep, that. ^^^

Chrysler was in a very good position in the late '90s. They had some VERY successful products out at the time. Two excellent (and good-selling) trucks in the Ram and the Dakota, a generally well-regarded car program with the Neon and the cloud cars, a very successful re-do of the minivan in '96, and a very successful Jeep lineup. They also managed a few halo cars, like the Viper and Prowler.

Fast forward to around 2005. All of the good vibes at Chrysler had muted with a wet sock. The products were okay, but no longer "fresh". Mechanical/design issues that reared their heads with previous models transferred right over into new generations of those vehicles unfixed. Daimler really screwed the pooch on that.

I'm real happy to see what Fiat's management is doing to the vehicles. There's an entirely new focus on quality interiors, something that Chrysler had clearly been lacking for a decade. Their powertrains are still solid and most of their vehicles are built on world-class platforms. Chrysler got an excellent start on some great vehicles in the way of Daimler chassis or engineering help (a la former and current 300/Charger and new Grand Cherokee). I hope they can continue the momentum they now have.

 

[Spazdog]

Agreed.

Late '90s, Chrysler had the most dynamic line-up of any domestic.
The Neon was the only car that could really compete with the Japanese in that class. In some ways even surpassing the Japanese.
The 300M was as close as you could get to a domestic Maxima.
The Prowler, while mechanically not that interesting was a styling coup.
Rams went from .9% of the truck market to nearly 20% and forced Ford and GM to rethink their interiors and redesign their trucks.
Oldsmobile barely sold their Cutlass Supreme convertible. Chrysler sold tons of Sebring Convertibles.

Enter Daimler. The lineup is mush in just a few years with the exception of the very good LX cars. They did well with one car and that's pretty much it. And it had some interior issues. I don't know why they cheaped out with the polypropylene plastic. They certainly didn't go that direction with the Pacifica so it's not like they had to.

I'm of the opinion that German car companies cannot manage foreign companies. For example; BMW and Rover. I'm still of the opinion that BMW didn't really want Rover. They wanted Honda. BMW would be the premium marque, Honda would be the economy marque, and pesky upstart Acura would go away. Acura had been an automotive press "thorn" in BMW's side for awhile with headlines like "Honda builds a better 5-series!" Or maybe they could just figure out production techniques that allowed Honda to produce premium vehicle at a lower cost (Lexus had the Germans wringing their hands over the content/price of the LS400)They are both companies that made motorcycles, not trucks, so it seemed workable. BMW execs soon found themselves in Japan to sign off on the deal and no percentage of Honda to be had. In fact, Honda retained Asian rights to Land Rover vehicle production. Rover, who had been increasingly profitable for Honda began to bleed BMW dry and ultimately cost CEO Bernd Pietschetrieder his job.

Bimmer-philes will cite the success of MINI. That's not quite what they would have had with Honda. And I do not think that MINI has made that $6 billion they lost back yet.

Volkswagen bought into Suzuki and then did nothing with their investment. As far as I know, they've done absolutely nothing with Maruti Suzuki or Suzuki Japan either and those two sell a lot of cars. The US may have been a lost market for Suzuki but India and Japan are wide open. Nothing.

 

[supton]

Not sure if I should wander into a new thread or not, and I can't believe I'm looking at new, but...

American Value Package, or AVP, the base model. Looks like 4 speakers (instead of 6), and center row is a bench (still has third row?). Does this really have a 3,600lb towing capacity? I see the higher models can gain sway control; but 3,600lb is a big number.

I saw in a different thread that the 3.6L has an oil cannister. That is a step up in my book, I must admit. Has anyone used a vacuum extractor to change oil on one of these?

Is the AVP really a good deal? Sometimes the stripper models aren't really a good deal; sometimes they are. We've been happy with our base Camry.

 

[coolbird101]

it does have a cartridge style filter on top which i liked, was not enough clearance to crawl under, had to jack it up little for oil drainage. not a hard oil change. nothing wrong with buying base models. (less stuff to go wrong)

 

[supton]

I love the cartridge on my VW... Can't crawl under that either. But with the vacuum extractor it becomes a very easy job to do.