[chase023]

Is it just me or Mini-Vans just get a bad rep in how people think on its image

One of my neighbors (drive a SUV), she abhors mini vans LOL tho when she saw our new Pacifica she thought it looked like a SUV and liked it.

For me I been driving a mini van since high school to sneak out friends for lunch.
My father loves mini vans because they are roomy and comfortable and give much better gas mileage than SUVs.
I have no cares on what others think if I am driving a mini van or not and don't really have that stigma.

More than just image, I think they are much more roomy, more comfortable and better in almost every way other than power but I guess tho we do get 287 HP and 262 Torque which is pretty good for what it is.
I may be alone in this thinking but wish the different models did get a different power output maybe like 2-3 different power outputs..
Would have been nice if the top or top two trims got like the same HP rating as the 3.6L in the charger/300/challenger.

I really like the handling for what it is, and only thing I wish now is some more exterior mods to make it personal and somehow down the line, MORE POWER.. LOL

I know mini van and power doesn't really go along but every time I am at the front of the light someone always steps on it and feel like they always have to get in front of me.. LOL

Maybe I might have to do some mods for power to get that extra ooommph and yeah I want to see people's faces when they go W T F when I am passing them in a mini-van.. LOL

I must say tho, the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica looks great IMO...better if I can get a hood with a functional hood scoop with some flowing side vents.. hehe

 

[Mo Pho]

No, minivans definitely have a stigma, I have been getting a lot of **** from my friends for buying this. And while I am secure enough in my ego to drive one, I did have to modify it to look better, but that's more because I am a car guy who works in in the auto industry (and I have modded all my cars) and want to show to fellow car folk that I don't just think of it as an appliance. Seems to have worked, a few weeks ago a kid did a roll up on the freeway and tracked along with me taking it all in and then gave me thumbs up when he passed :grin2:

My neighbor refused to get a minivan, thought I was crazy for wanting one, she bought an SUV and I watch her struggle to get her kid into it. With the rear facing seat, she had to put it in the middle and now can't access the third row. Picking up the ankle biter from daycare, I can get him loaded in and I am on my way while other folks are still strapping their kid in. Once you get a taste of that sliding door nectar, it's hard to go back LOL

Personally, I am more than happy with the amount of power the Pacifica has, heck it's quicker than many 60's muscle cars! That said, I have another car that is really fast and I drive the Pacifica really slow, the van is too big and heavy for me to want to go any faster in it and I like the serenity.

Maybe you should give Bisimoto a call...

.

 

[Tusk White]

Who Cares? I buy what I want not what someone else likes.

 

[JPhi]

Funny story... we bought a VW Routan as our first minivan a few years ago. My wife was a "Never Minivaner" but once she clicked open the sliding doors with the remote and easily put a car seat in the back she was sold for life.

There was a holiday shortly after and her sister-in-law was at the house with other family. She had #2 baby on the way and she was taking to my wife and said, "yea, I could just NEVER own a MINIVAN. They're so big, and I could just never have a minivan."

Shortly after the baby was born, mixed in with all the baby photos on Facebook was a post with their new car: a VW Routan. We never called her on it, but my wife and I always chuckle when we see their van.

Point is, there's a stigma... until you drive one and get to use it on a daily basis. Once you go van, you won't go back.

 

[pranvan]

Sadly it is true. It's almost that they were so successful with the early mini vans it came back to haunt them since I think they are associated with a time period more so being judged on their merits now. Truthfully, 85% of SUV's now are station wagons with a lift kit, love to see Jim Gaffigan integrate that line in to a Pacifica add to get people to think about what their really driving! Granted, some people actually buy a SUV for a 4WD and towing but after that the advantages mostly end. It would be interesting, if you put the back door handles in the traditional door handle position would most people think it's a SUV?

 

[shawnee]

At one time (1990's) mini vans were very popular as the family car. Then they got the dreaded "soccer mom" image and parents did not want to get caught dead in one. Was this good marketing on the part of the car manufacturers? At one time SUVs were large vehicles. Now everything from a Subaru Outback to a Chevy Suburban are referred to as an SUV. It is too bad some people are so hung up about how they might be perceived about their vehicle choice. They are missing out on a very practical and enjoyable vehicle whether they have a family or not.

 

[Norbert]

Yea there is a stigma, that's why everyone buys a pickup here in Houston, even though they don't need it. But we've had a minivan in our garage since we became a family. Its just too practical to get rid of, and these vans have really evolved into luxury/near luxury cars. With the Pac, its the next step with all the practical safety tech and entertainment tech. Love it!

 

[80085]

The other week, I was about to pull into a parking spot, and just as I was about to turn into it, some mother, with her SUV in the spot next to the empty one, had both doors on the driver's side propped wide open, as she struggled to strap her child into the carseat. I sat there for a bit, just waiting. That's when I thought, if she had a minivan, she would have been done already, or at least not be blocking my spot if she had a sliding door instead.

I do wish they just gave the Pacifica an even 300HP. Easier to say 287 then 300.

 

[mickeyboat]

Folks buy autos for different reasons. Some buy them to impress their friends or others. I could buy any auto I wanted I suppose under say $100,000. I would rather give the extra unspent money to my grandkids. Some buy them to do a specific set of jobs. That is my situation. I want to haul stuff. I have had several SUVs from small to large (Suburban). Since the Suburban nothing has had the load carrying capacity of a minivan. My loads are light but large. SUVs do not have the height to carry the loads I need to carry. I do have a truck but it is very large and hard to drive in parking lots much less hard to park. It does handle my loads but not fun to drive. Today must folks would be hard pressed to tell the difference between a Pacifica and some of the larger SUVs on the market. Chrysler designers have done a great job in this regard. One could even make a case that the Pacifica is Chryslers new large SUV.

 

[generaltso]

One could even make a case that the Pacifica is Chryslers new large SUV.

You could even call it the North American Utility Vehicle of the Year!

 

[Mike]

Perception is important. Even if we are all capable of ignoring it and buying what we want we all know some clown at some point will cajole us for buying a 'minivan' and we'll need some kind of response. That is why sometimes companies ditch a tired moniker and rename something. Lots of companies have done this, heck even SpaceX is guilty of it. They aren't going to be launching a 'used' rocket this week, they're going to launch a 'flight proven' rocket this week. It's semantics but it does affect perception. If I needed to launch something to space I'd totally rather spend $40 million on a 'flight proven' rocket instead of a 'used' one! Why? Because 'used' conjures images of garage sales and sleezy sales people, not kickass rockets. Flight proven? Well that's just a rocket that's been to space already...

I kind of wish Chrysler marketing had gotten clever about the name and ditched 'minivan' in favour of something new. They were smart enough to ditch Town & Country and call it Pacifica which, although being an ugly car from 10 years ago, didn't really have much of an impact in the minds of most people. I'm not creative enough right now to come up with a more clever alternative to minivan but that's essentially why 'crossover' was invented. What the **** is a 'crossover'? SUV's image was getting a bit tired. SUV's are big, ungainly, fuel sucking vehicles, let's invent a new word to describe an AWD family vehicle that isn't quite so big and unwieldily. I know, a crossover! What are you crossing exactly? I dunno a car and a truck?

I've even seen Pacifica marketing material call it a 'crossover' but I don't think it's the right term for it since the word is usually applied to some AWD vehicle that is smaller than a suburban but bigger than a hatchback.

Minivan isn't even an accurate term for the vehicle anymore anyway. The van isn't mini by any measure, it's actually the largest 'minivan' on the market! Just 'van' conjures images of cable TV repair people or people delivering boxes...what could we call this vehicle?...or the whole segment? In my family we're calling it the 'spaceship', half because of the space inside, half because all the touchscreens and tech make it feel like a shuttlecraft from Star Trek or something. Maybe that it!? A 'shuttle'? Simple, accurate, descriptive? Call them family shuttles, or urban shuttles or something. Shuttle is a cool word. Shuttles went to space! Roomy, sorta high tech...I like it!

Whatever, I work with statistics for a living. I'm not a marketer although if you're into podcasts there's a great one from CBC called "Under the Influence" about marketing.

 

[BrettP]

My wife and I got over the minivan stigma 3 minivans ago. It's an easier pill to swallow when you are a two or three car family. She keeps her minivan and I get either a midrange sports car or a truck. I love the exterior look of crossover SUVs but never seem to like them on the inside, especially the blind spots around the C-pillars. Crossovers remind me of a station wagon. We almost bought a Santa Fe Limited this time but then the Jim Gaffigan Pacifica commercial started playing on TV and my wife and I were hooked again on a minivan. I'm less about the exterior and more in love with the Pacifica's interior and feature set.

 

[Mo Pho]

Perception is important

Yup, marketing and style are important and when I worked with Car and Driver we used to say "there is an ass for every seat", even the ugly cars get bought by someone.
I was drawn to the Pacifica by the looks inside and out, I didn't even consider any other vans and two other car companies are clients of mine and I would have purchased one of their SUV's if not for this. I also had a taste of sliding doors with my Mazda 5 which was a big draw to going with a van.
But no doubt had they called it the Town and Country again, I never would have even considered it LOL. Really good move on their part

The industry "non minivan" moniker for vehicles like this is MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle/ Multi-Person Vehicle) or People Carrier. They are really only called minivans in America.

I too have thought of it as a spaceship and have been trying to come up with some sort of vanity plate idea that ties to Star Trek or Firefly (*nerd*), but can't find anything that hasn't been taken. But in this house it has become known as the "Bus" as my two year old has named it that. He is obsessed with it, I've put on a good 1400 miles just driving him around because he wants to go for rides. He always manages to find the keys and dances around with them, then I go out to find the van running or with doors and the hatch opened, one time the neighbor messaged me to let me know the hatch was open in a rainstorm LOL.


.

 

[80085]

We call it minivan here in Canada as well.

Funny enough, my cousin calls my Pacifica "the spaceship".

 

[jdrez]

I like "Land Jet"

 

[generaltso]

The industry "non minivan" moniker for vehicles like this is MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle/ Multi-Person Vehicle)

Mazda tried using the MPV name for their minivan. I don't think it ended well for that particular vehicle.

 

[BrettP]

Mazda tried using the MPV name for their minivan. I don't think it ended well for that particular vehicle.

MPV! Yeah that was minivan #4 for us. Not our first choice even new but we bought this one used at 20,000 mile for only $6500.00 from an acquaintance whose mother, the owner, had passed. We thought it was a great price but the minivan was ugly and about as 'plain vanilla' as they come. We sold it 7 years later for KBB price at ~120,000 mi (two months after buying Pacifica) and the new owner has already totaled it. She got t-boned very hard in the driver's door but the mother of 4 young daughters walked away...so I now consider that MPV to be one of the very best minivans we've ever owned since it gave its life in an extremely violent accident (from the pictures we saw) while completely protecting its young driver. I don't know what happened to minivans 1/2/3 but #4 is in our personal hall of fame for coming through when most needed.

 

[Rodeo]

I'm almost 60 (!!!) and this is my 1st minivan. If you need to carry 6-7 passengers often, I'm convinced there is simply no better choice. I'm a car guy and I looked at everything from Mercedes GLs (and used MLs) to Land Rover to Auidi Q to a Ford Flex. This is a perfect vehicle for moving kids and passengers and gear. Sure all my friends made fun of me, but they make fun of me anyway! It came down to a Pacifica or all wheel drive Sienna. I decided I could live without 4x4 on ski trips if I get a decent set of snow tires, so Pacifica became an obvious choice.

Here's what helps: Other vehicles in the driveway I have a Toyota Tundra, Fiat Abarth Convertible, Maserati Quattroporte and classic 911. With less need for a pickup lately, and the stowaway seats, I may lose the Tundra soon.

Happy motoring, Steve

 

[Norbert]

Welcome Steve! Nice garage. I also have a weekend 993!

 

[Rodeo]

Welcome Steve! Nice garage. I also have a weekend 993!

Thanks and nice! Mine is 88 sunroof Carrera, 3.2L G50 tranny.

Back on topic, fly your minivan flag proud :grin2: