Are minivans a thing of the past? (2010, SUVs, fuel)

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by 05chevy

Aren't minivans basically a crossover suv? What's the difference? Are crossover suv's built on truck frames like full-size suv's?

The practical diffentiator between a minivan and anything else is sliding doors.

The chassis and drivetrain may be similar to a CUV, but the minivan will have two sliding doors instead of hinged doors.

[turbodiesel4x4]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

The practical diffentiator between a minivan and anything else is sliding doors.

The chassis and drivetrain may be similar to a CUV, but the minivan will have two sliding doors instead of hinged doors.

ahh, thank you. So I guess they're on a unibody.

[GTOlover]

Originally Posted by 05chevy

ahh, thank you. So I guess they're on a unibody.

correct only full size trucks and 1/2 ton SUVs are body on frame
everthing else is unibody these days

[dkf747]

One other difference is that cross overs don't generally have as much room as a minivan does.

[kentuckydad95]

We are about to trade our 08" Town and Country. The thing can haul practically anything, but it's not fun to drive and the finish of the inside of almost any recent Chrysler product is a joke.

[Tennesseestorm]

Those vans posted above were wretched in the off-set crash, but not all old cars/vans performed that poorly...

here was the 1998 Toyota Sienna...



1997 Toyota Camry



2000 Toyota Tundra



Evern further back, here is a 1973 Chevy Impala station wagon (pic taken in 1975) that was hit head-on by a dump truck... note how the passenger cage is completely intact... there is no deformation of the roof pillars...

[turbodiesel4x4]

Wow! I hate to see what would happen with a new car and dump truck with the crumple zones they have nowadays. It would be interesting.

[Lux Hauler]

Originally Posted by 05chevy

Wow! I hate to see what would happen with a new car and dump truck with the crumple zones they have nowadays. It would be interesting.

If anything, dumptrucks have only gotten heavier as the years have gone on and cars have certainly become much smaller. Good safety engineering is only going to get you so far.

[njguy]

Originally Posted by Lux Hauler

If anything, dumptrucks have only gotten heavier as the years have gone on and cars have certainly become much smaller. Good safety engineering is only going to get you so far.

The principle of physics come into play, no getting away from that.

[Tennesseestorm]

Yeah. I was told that this car was going about 40 mph and the truck about the same. This car weighs around 5000 pounds empty (I have one like it). If something like a 2000 lb Geo Metro or a 2400 lb Honda Fit, Chevy Aveo, etc were to hit a dump truck, I am sure the damage to them would be even more severe.