by "Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
Published 03/27/2017 at 11:05
by "Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
Published 03/27/2017 at 11:05
Tags: Derj
STARS: 5
"Aremmes" (aremmes)
03/27/2017 at 11:09, STARS: 0
“Spoiled” as in “rotten”, innit?
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
03/27/2017 at 11:11, STARS: 0
I am of the belief that new drivers should be hazed/trolled
fet meh
"PatBateman" (PatBateman)
03/27/2017 at 11:14, STARS: 0
I never realized that “spoiled” is a subjective term. Huh.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
03/27/2017 at 11:15, STARS: 3
Well, if you’re coming from a Mercury Villager, then it’s all relative. Or a Pontiac Uplander.
"PatBateman" (PatBateman)
03/27/2017 at 11:18, STARS: 1
I’m having McDonald’s for dinner. #spoiled
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
03/27/2017 at 11:20, STARS: 0
That’s one you need to eat. A Montana (Uplander was Chevrolet) is far better than a Caravan of that generation. Better to ride in, better to drive, better to look at when you get out and remember you were driving a minivan.
No knowledge about the newer Caravans except for the back seat, so will refrain from comparison. But the back seat is worse than the generation before, so...
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
03/27/2017 at 11:22, STARS: 5
I know we’re sort of having a pissing contest over dog shit vs cat shit, but IMHO the early 2000s GM minivans were among the worst vehicles I can remember since the malaise era. They’d occasionally throw some lipstick on them (like “WB Edition”) but when they restyled the hoods to look like an SUV, I felt like they were doing everything wrong at the same time.
"fintail" (fintail)
03/27/2017 at 11:29, STARS: 1
I like how they crashed:
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
U R crumple zone.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
03/27/2017 at 11:30, STARS: 1
Emblematic of GM’s entire attitude toward non-truck customers in that era :D
"user314" (user314)
03/27/2017 at 11:35, STARS: 0
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
03/27/2017 at 11:49, STARS: 0
Our drivers ed cars were two mid to late 80's dodge caravan, and a Plymoth voyager. Both 4-cy variants. Terrifying.
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
03/27/2017 at 11:53, STARS: 6
Essentially, yes... but having ridden/driven both 2002 Montana, 2008(9?) Uplander and 2003 Caravan:
- The Caravan had a decent drivers seat. That was it. The other seats were knees-on-the-ceiling rubbish. And that being said, the Montana’s drivers seat was still better. The rest of the seats were decent, the biggest failing being the recliner handles on the middle seats. Terrible rubbish. We eventually had to resort to vice-grips. (side note: when I sat in the Mustang last year at CIAS I noticed the same thing about it’s recliner handle. Bad memories)
- The cupholders in the Caravan were either too shallow and wide or too fragile. The fixed ones wouldn’t support anything smaller than a bubba mug and the foldaway ones were best suited to empty paper cups.
- Let us take a moment to remember how terrible the inside handles on the sliding doors were on the Caravan.
With the minivan stuff taken care of, let’s turn to what they’re like to drive:
- Caravan iirc didn’t roll around as much. And yet if you tried to take a corner at more than a crawl you’d understeer into a tree. Conversely the Montana rolled like a pig but you could drift it like a mofo at the drop of a hat.
- I drove both 3.3 and 3.8 powered Caravans, our Montana was a 3.4—predictably the 3.8 would leave us behind, but the 3.3 was a turd. And the later Montana/Uplander could be had with a 3.9L as the big engine, that thing moved nicely.
- Transmission programming was solidly in the Montana camp. It didn’t have much to use, but you could use it. The Caravan would do nothing, then drop 2 gears after waiting long enough that you really only needed one, then make a load of noise with minimal forward progress.
- I preferred the gauge cluster in the Montana. Very clear and backlit in red so nice at night. But this one I’m willing to put down to something I got used to. Things I definitely think are stupid though: the separate upper layer on the Caravan that has all the lights.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
03/27/2017 at 11:55, STARS: 5
Best ad hoc minivan review of all time. +1
"Stapleface" (patrickgruden)
03/27/2017 at 11:55, STARS: 1
When I was in high school (early 90's) the driver’s ed car was a Toyota Cressida. A student wrecked it. So what did the school replace it with? Sn95 Mustang GT. Um, what?
"Alfalfa" (alfalfa-romeo)
03/27/2017 at 12:02, STARS: 1
I learned how to drive in a Caravan. I didn’t have the sticker though, I liked to take my victims by surprise.
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
03/27/2017 at 16:13, STARS: 1
I drive the Montana, it’s butt ugly...but I guess it looks kinda like a truck. Well, they tried to make it look like one anyway. I can’t say it rides nicer, mines AWD and it’s OK. But I think it’s nicer to be in than a similar vintage Chrysler or Ford offering for what it’s worth. I bought mine because it was an extremely nice one owner, in religiously maintained condition, has AWD and cost me probably $4-6k less than a similar traditional SUV would have. My previous beater was a high mileage Outback...Montana holds more stuff when I need. I don’t care that it has zero to offer for an enthusiast, that’s what the Motorcycle is for.
Bonus: This thing is invisible to cops.
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
03/27/2017 at 16:18, STARS: 0
Iirc the later version (2005.5 on) rode harder than the first gen... though that didn’t really take any prizes either. But then neither did the Caravan.
Like Ash78 said dog shit vs cat shit
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
03/27/2017 at 17:33, STARS: 2
yeah, it’s a bit harder riding than the previous gen and likely the other domestic vans, I figure AWD may have some hand in that. Surprisingly enough though It’s not terrible as one might think in a corner and smooth enough on decent roads...but yeah, it’s comparing different shits! I would never have bought this thing brand new for what it would have cost as it has every conceivable option available shoved in it. I’ve been slowly moving recently so the middle row seats are out, the weight difference is noticeable enough that I’ll probably leave them out. The 3rd row folded down still leaves for a flat area as it has the cargo bins behind them so I left them in.
The cool thing is it has a compressor for pumping up tires....a factory option. I thought I’d never use it since I have a regular compressor in my work van. But Sunday I took a friend to pick up a motorcycle a few hours away and the tires were low...so it’s already come in handy! The original owner never used it, everything was still wrapped in OEM plastic as well as the headphones for the entertainment system.
"wafflesnfalafel" (wafflesnfalafel1)
03/27/2017 at 22:15, STARS: 0
hey - it is a GRAND Caravan
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
03/27/2017 at 23:06, STARS: 1
I second this. Having earned to drive in a turn of the century Caravan and a Montana, the Montana was far better.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
03/27/2017 at 23:47, STARS: 0
I’m so glad I never saw that before I had to drive students thousands of miles in those piles of crap. I still have the occasional nightmare.
As bad as those vans were in crash tests when new, now all the ones I still see on the road have rusted out rocker panels.