In keeping with their ability to bring the public what they want, Chrysler will soon be producing the hybrid minivan. This is expected to be the first in a long line of hybrid minivans that will be making their way to consumers. Soon, there will be a whole new fleet of hybrid minivans with Jesus fish and bumper stickers touting the achievements of children that are in the third grade.
Chrysler is expected to produce the Dodge Grand Caravan hybrid minivan in the near future. It has been reported by J.D. Power that consumers can expect a Grand Caravan with a two mode hybrid system in it by next year.
The Dodge Grand Caravan hybrid will run on the same operating system as the Chevy Tahoe hybrid, which was named the Green Car of the Year. However, the title did not give Tahoe good sales. Price is always an issue, whether its gas prices or sticker prices, and the sticker price has kept the Tahoe hybrid in the lot.
Chrysler has pointed out that they fair much better with trucks and vans than they do with small cars. If that is the case, Chrysler may continue to have trouble in the market. As the bigger vehicles have become car lot ornaments, now is not the time to be producing more and more of them. Hybrid or not, large vehicles are not as sought after as they once were.
J.D. Power is predicting solid sales for the hybrid minivan, even though large vehicles are not currently doing well. Other industry insiders state that it is impossible to tell how larger vehicles will do a year from now. It depends on the pricing of the vehicle, along with the quality. As other automakers follow suit and make hybrid minivans, Chrysler may once again find itself on the outside, realizing that yet another opportunity was missed.
The all-new Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country have the versatility to lead the pack. First, the new vans are longer than before and wider at the roofline by a whopping 6 in.
That gave engineers the room to design an interior that’s more useful and more fun for the family. The highlight of that design is the optional Swivel ’n Go seating, which allows the second-row seats to rotate 180 degrees to face the third row. A table installed between those rows turns these minivans into mini motorhomes. If weekend trips to Home Depot are more the norm than the exception, the Stow ’n Go seats are still available to provide a completely flat load floor. There’s a rear-seat entertainment option, too, with separate video screens for the second and third rows—and each can show unique programming. The video screens not only handle DVDs but stream television channels, care of Sirius. Entertaining is only half the battle when it comes to handling a family’s needs. And the Chrysler twins provide more bins, cubbies, storage boxes and cupholders than just about any vehicle we’ve encountered.
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