Death of the minivan

[Pinnacle-Project]

http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/20...ontinued.html/

I was listening to NPR on the way home today and they called this the next nail in the coffin of the dying minivan. I think it is too bad sales have been dropping so much for minivans. We have a 2008 Toyota Sienna and I absolutely love it. It holds seven people which can come in pretty handy when either my parents or my in-laws are visiting. If we do not need space for extra people, the seats can be quickly switched to accommodate a bunch of stuff. While SUVs are more cool, I think the lowly minivan beats it for practicality.

[CeeBee]

It's natural evolution. Really, how many people need the inconvenience of a big minivan that eats significantly more gas to commute to work alone?
If there is a need for a minivan once or twice a year it's much easier and cheaper to rent one.

[Pinnacle-Project]

It's natural evolution. Really, how many people need the inconvenience of a big minivan that eats significantly more gas to commute to work alone?
If there is a need for a minivan once or twice a year it's much easier and cheaper to rent one.

That's very logical but judging by the number of big gas guzzlers on the road, I think a lot of people really do not care about the price no matter how much their complaining may suggest otherwise.

Plus, that's another nice thing about our minivan. I am guessing it gets around 25 miles to the gallon. That's not too bad.

[CeeBee]

Think about the target market for a minivan - family of 6+ who can afford a new car and take many long trips together and who prefer a somewhat-ugly looking car compared to a SUV (Pilot and Highlander for example have 7 seats as well). Not that much of a market, probably not enough to justify the expense of producing the model.
I was originally thinking about a 7-seat car, but realized that there would be a need for one few days a year maybe. A minivan was not in the books from the start due to the "ugly" factor.

[slgrieb]

Yeah, I kinda like the increased cargo area of a minivan. My wife has a Ford Escape for a corporate vehicle and it hauls a fair amount of cargo, but it's a little awkward. It's much better as a people mover. Still, we bought a used one for Elder Child to take to college. Personally, I'm old school. I still have a '91 GMC Suburban. Hardly ever drive it, but it only costs me $35 a month in insurance, and when you have to move some bulky stuff, it's pretty handy. Wife wants to put in a raised bed garden (if our temperatures ever get stable) and so I've got to haul lumber, 7 bags of topsoil etc, and I can do it in one trip.

Of course, first I'm going to have to unload the 6 Tektronix solid ink printers and the two LJ 4050s I've got stored in the vehicle.

[Larommi]

Caravans are awesome. My g/f's was really nice until the kid totaled it.

Stow and Go seating, dual power doors...I am not a minivan guy but when my truck was broke and we had to hit the home depot, that thing was a god send. Not to mention the room for 2 teen boys one both sides of 6 foot tall. I would do a van like that over an SUV 9 times out of 10.

[Larommi]

Think about the target market for a minivan - family of 6+ who can afford a new car and take many long trips together and who prefer a somewhat-ugly looking car compared to a SUV (Pilot and Highlander for example have 7 seats as well). Not that much of a market, probably not enough to justify the expense of producing the model.
I was originally thinking about a 7-seat car, but realized that there would be a need for one few days a year maybe. A minivan was not in the books from the start due to the "ugly" factor.

New mini vans are significantly cheaper than a SUV that will seat and/or haul the same. At least the Dodge was. I think the problem is marketing. For some reason everyone thinks they need all wheel or 4 wheel drive, which they don't, but they happily pay extra for a drive train they will never use.

[riot]

With 3 kids, we really prefer a mini-van. Now that the twins are out of the huge car seats and just use a booster seat, all 3 can fit in the back of my Buick Century, but it's not quite as comfortable for them. Last time we took the car on a long trip, there was much bickering going on that wouldn't have happened with them in a mini-van. I know there are suv/crossover vehicles with a 3rd row, but they seem to be less available in the used car market.

[riot]

Wife wants to put in a raised bed garden (if our temperatures ever get stable) and so I've got to haul lumber, 7 bags of topsoil etc, and I can do it in one trip.

We just put in a 16 x 5 ft raised bed using cinder blocks. They were $.94 at Menards which was cheaper than buying wood and building a raised bed. You can also use the holes to plant herbs/flowers.

[CeeBee]

Hardly ever drive it, but it only costs me $35 a month in insurance, and when you have to move some bulky stuff, it's pretty handy.

$20 and you can rent a HD truck or van. No worries about extra insurance, registration, maintenance. And you can load far more in one trip...