Chrysler prices 2008 minivans well below outgoing models
Filed under: Car Buying, Minivans/MPVs, Chrysler, Dodge


While it's hard to argue with the industry minivan leader, the new-for-2008 Chrysler minivans had us scratching our heads a bit. Their styling appears to take a page from the Chevy Venture book of design, which had us wondering if Chrysler could could keep them on top. Well, it looks like the Chrysler Group might have a few tricks up its sleeve to keep the crown, like offering better vehicles with more standard features for a lot less dough. They just announced the U.S. pricing for the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country and the new minivan kings appear to be incredible values.

According to the press release, the new vans will start arriving in dealerships in the fall "...with 35 new or improved features," along with the new 4.0L V6, six-speed transaxles, standard all-row side curtain air bags and Electronic Stability Program (ESP), all for about two grand less than the outgoing models. The Grand Caravan SE will start at $22,470 and the Grand Caravan SXT at $27,535. Over at Chrysler, the Town & Country will be $23,190 for the LX, $28,430 for the Touring, and $36,400 for the Limited.

Full press release with more details can be found after the jump.

[Source: Chrysler]Continue reading Chrysler prices 2008 minivans well below outgoing models

 

The question is at what price. The soft materials found in the 01-07 models appear to be replaced with hard plastics. These minivans aren't necessarily the best looking minivans in Chrysler's history, but considering the competition (espically the current crop from GM) it certainly isn't that bad either. Minivans have never been popular due to their good looks. I'm glad to see that they will be offering the 4.0L as well as a new six-speed, but they should have updated the 3.3L and 3.8L instead of detuning them. Minivans may not be about power but you have to stay competitive.

The new Stow'N Go and Stow'N Swivel seats should be popular if they are as comfortable as they are versatile. I question the mentality of dropping the regular wheel base models. There are some who preferred the shorter-wheel based models who felt that the long-wheel base models were simply too large.