Topic: 2010 Chrysler Town & Country; Day 1

[Autos_Editor]

The Chrysler Town & Country is anything but mini, James discovers this week as he takes the wheel of this upscale people-mover. With an as-tested price of more than $40,000, there are toys for just about everyone who might come along for the ride.
Read More...

[Thinking Out Loud]

One thing I was never able to figure out was why Chrysler does not offer a 'Westfalia' type version of their minivan....maybe they do?

The lifting canvass roof, minikitchen, etc with regular seats for 'daily use' like the VW Microbus had, would be a great combo...

Limited market I do understand, but if VW could do it in the 1960's from the factory at a reasonable price in a vehicle package ~40% smaller than this beast....the current VW vans were always sooooo expensive (even without the Westfalia conversion) it made no sense to most of the populace and kept it rare.

Chrysler likely has the innovative thinktank to do it at a reasonable price point with a configuration that would work....and throw in a years' work of Ontario (or insert your Province of residence) Parks camping fees for free - cobranding with the Province of Ontario...partial shareholder of Chrysler anyway. 

[aknutson]

One thing I was never able to figure out was why Chrysler does not offer a 'Westfalia' type version of their minivan....maybe they do?

You serious? How many of these would Chrysler sell off a dealer lot, like 2/year? Sure there is a market for this type of vehicle, but that's what the 'coachbuilders' (motorhome manufacturers) do, and they use the bigger heavy-duty vans from GM/Ford. I've seen lots of the GMC Safari vans converted with a high roofline, leather couches that fold into beds, etc. But this is an aftermarket conversion. If Chrysler group wanted to make a motorhome/van conversion, they'd use the Sprinter van, not just for the diesel motor but for the heavier-duty components.

[tpl]

I wonder. Maybe the Town and Country unibody is just not strong enough.

I agree that a Sprinter would make a good small RV... I think I have seen some in Europe where a Fiat van of the Sprinters size is very popular as an RV especially in Holland & Belgium for some reason.  ( they all seemed to have Belgian,Dutch and Luxembourg plates)

[Ontariodriver]

The plastics still look the same as the Dodge Caliber. Doesn't look like any improvement there. Looks great appearance wise. But once you start to touch and feel it. It all falls down.    

[2JDM]

>$40,000? I would rather have an Odyssey or Sienna for that price...what are the current incentives on the Town and Country?

[safristi]

..thinkin'     yer NEW name    "THINKING OUT HIPPY LOUD "............... ................

[Thinking Out Loud]

 

Logical extension though of product development from what Chrysler has 'innovated' over the past 25 years based on a concept from the 1960's. 

Caravans now come with cubbies (formerly aka cabinets), cooling compartments (aka refridgeration), seats that fold flat (aka bed), television (well, not in the microbus' time, though I'm sure there was lots of 'purty-culurs' from some peoples 'recreational entertainment'  ), foldaway dining tables......

The only thing left really is the pop-up roof, porta-potty and a portable stove - so is it impossible?  Nope!  People drive around in Wranglers and never go off road.  Why not a van that has the capability to go camping? 

The Sprinter would make more sense from a size perspective, but I was thinking cost-containment (my points about the VW buses and Westfalia conversions being expensive as a primary vehicle). 

"The 2011 Dodge Caravan Camper....its a damn sight better than being in the dog-house.  $29,500" 

(imagery; forlorn father bbq'ing while camping out on the front lawn of a suburban household, with the Caravan pop-top up, and a dog on a leash outside Rover's own dog house.)

[Shnak]

The plastics still look the same as the Dodge Caliber. Doesn't look like any improvement there. Looks great appearance wise. But once you start to touch and feel it. It all falls down.    

And I think I've seen that exact same laminate flooring on sale at Zellers for 79¢/square foot... 

[Rupert]

The opening remarks are not objective. Will there be laments for the lack of AWD.

This is a very nice vehicle for it's purpose indeed and for towing small trailers comes with a reasonably priced Tow Package that includes heavy duty rad and tranny cooler and great load levelling Nivomat struts that do not harden the ride when not towing. Do any of the other vans have a similar package?

The interior is nice. Plastic...where do you get real wood these days...are there any trees left.

[ads3]

This is a great looking dash for a van. Easy to look at.

[Mozeby]

 I'd be looking at one of these only if my wife wasn't so anti-minivan.  It makes more sense than a SUV of the same price. You get more room and more features for the money.  Plus that 4.0 makes this van pretty quick. 

[Erik]

How on earth can anyone tell how plastic feels by looking at a picture of it???

[smok]

You can get one of these for 10k off the sticker.  No one pays even close to MSRP for Chryslers.  I have no idea why they price them so high.

[ipolski]

And I think I've seen that exact same laminate flooring on sale at Zellers for 79¢/square foot... 

  Comment of the day! 

[carcarcar]

James, what is it like sitting in one of those, does it feel cheap? it certainly doesn't look that way, IMO the dash is very pleasing to the eye.

[derek234]

I sat in a Chrysler van not long ago.  The things I noticed are that the fake wood on the dash is just really bad to look at.  Way too shiny.  The hard plastics are a plenty !!   The steering wheel feels too big as well, kinda like sitting in a tractor trailer.  Anyone who pays 40K for a Chrysler van needs to be admitted to a psychiatric institute as far as I'm concerned.  For that money you can get a top of line Honda or Toyota with FAR BETTER reliability and resale values.   Hopefully a redesign will fix the interior.   All that being said I drove the new 2011 Sienna last week and the outside is very very nice but the inside is Horrid.   hard plastics absolutely everywhere and very poor looking plastic as well.  I'm surprised Toyota went so cheap on the interior.

[Shnak]

Chrysler/Dodge minivans only make sense in the low to mid-20's as they can then be used as disposable mini-vans; use them 5-6 years, get rid of them after. I really don't see why someone would buy one of these minivans in the high-20's or 30's instead of going with safer bets such as the Odyssey and Sienna.

That said, I could easily see myself buying a base-ish Grand Caravan for around $20k in a few years...

[Danno001]

Shnak - Agreed on disposable comment re: Chryslers - same thing with Hyundais, and GMs. 2010 GLS Sonatas can be had for $14,000 with low Kms.

[Shnak]

Shnak - Agreed on disposable comment re: Chryslers - same thing with Hyundais, and GMs. 2010 GLS Sonatas can be had for $14,000 with low Kms.

Well difference is that although some Hyundai's can be had for 'disposable' prices, they're actually pretty good quality and serve you just as well as more expensive vehicles offered by most japanese makers... I'm not sure that's exactly the case with the Grand Caravan...

IMO, the GC is a decent minivan that can be had for a good price where as the Odyssey and Sienna are great minivans but at higher prices. It depends what you want, how long you need it for, etc.