Chrysler, Toyota and Honda must be very excited about this.

Just Facts wrote:
And Hyundai/Kia.

John Horner wrote:
I'm sure they already knew this was coming, it's not like they sold any
minivans anyway. Either GM was going to have to come up with a
complete redesign, or just bow out.

The retarded thing is that GM killed the Astro van which was a favorite
of service techs everywhere and had a little niche all its own. What
the hell were they thinking? There's no other vehicle to compete with
it, it still sold, and yet they axed it. Dumb, dumb, dumb GM, killing
one of the few vehicles you made that actually made sense.

Now our techs are driving Uplanders which makes no sense, and if the
news is true, won't exist in a year or two anyway. What's next? Only
real vans left are the full-sized G or E vans or else a Sprinter, all
of which are much larger than the vehicles they've been driving. Or I
suppose they could get a Colorado with a tall cap, but it won't have as
much room as a real van.

nate

Another boneheaded move, or should I say 'Result of boneheaded marketing'
of the decrepit duo.

Agree EXACTLY on the value of Aerostar and Astro... they were BEST OF for
many applications

The Minivan was a great concept and a good product. What went wrong was
the image of the product.. and all of us who drive a lot know twhat {sic}
that is.
GM and Ford should have left the "Moms MArket" to Chrysler and stressed
the utility and fleet aspects... leaving the FWD market... to stress RWD
and AWD.. and only selling Utilitarian people haulers and service vans.



Just Facts <Jfact (AT) intnet (DOT) wrld> wrote:

--
Yeh, I'm a Krusty old Geezer, putting up with my 'smartass' is the price
you pay..DEAL with it!

"Just Facts" <Jfact (AT) intnet (DOT) wrld> wrote

About as excited as Walmart gets when a corner grocery store closes.

There weren't that many GM and Ford minivan sales to begin with.

Jeff

<...>

"Backyard Mechanic" <pettyfog (AT) yaywho (DOT) com> wrote


Didnt some of the Ford minivan series have some horrible problems with
transmission failure, engine
problems?

Seems there were a lot of short runs on some of those trannies, maybe
failures below 50 k miles?

The minivan was a good solution for some families, but not all of them were,
apparently, created equal.

N8N wrote:
ow out.
I disagree. I'm guessing they got out BECAUSE there was another vehicle
to compete with it, and one that took the whole market lock stock and
barrel when it debuted: the Dodge Sprinter. With the option of a small
Benz diesel in addition to the full line of gasoline engines and a very
adaptable body, it pretty well blew the Astro into the weeds.

N8N wrote:

Ouch, Uplanders? I doubt they will take the beating very long a service
vehicle is expected to take. It is crazy that Ford and GM killed their
rear wheel drive minivans instead of freshening them. They were not
much of a family vehicle, but were good little work trucks. Being built
off the Ranger/S10 they must have been cheap to make as well.

This would be a good market for the Chinese or Indians to go after.
Strong simple work trucks, both van and pickup style. They make tons of
them for their home market, price and durability are key factors, and
product life cycles of 10 years or more are acceptable. A company like
Tata could walk in and own that market.

John

"John Horner" <jthorner (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

That would be interesting to see...IIRC Tata has been making some cars which
are based on
British designs of a number of years ago... They are okay in their home
market, but dont really
have a reputation that would inspire confidence.

The Chinese might be able to do it, but realize that the American market can
be fickle, and even
with a desirable car of excellent quality, the incubation period can be
extended.

Both these nations, IMHO, have a problem with competition in the auto
industry....for now.

China is perhaps the most agressive nation in the world and will be a
monster force in short time.

John Horner wrote:

it replaced the s10