I think the market is ready

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 08/23/2018 at 12:50 • Filed to: 5 minute photoshop, XC van, I dont care that my ideas are bad shut up

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Seriously, whats stopping them?

AWD, A little plastic cladding, some slightly beefier tires, 1 inch of lift and some new facia’s and an “sport” or “Active” or “Xross Country” modifier of some kind to the name. Boom.

The Cherokee’s single speed AWD system would slide right in.

The market has spoken and the market wants all wheel drive, and butch looks.

The first person to do the XC minivan is going to clean up. Just wait for it.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 12:55

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Because at the end of the day a beefier lifted AWD minivan is still a Minivan and Mr. and Mrs. Suburbanite won’t be caught dead in one. Why go for this when they can get a Honda Pilot instead?

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 12:55

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“ It’s not a mini van anymore”

Okay this approach was lazier and stupider but they tried to tell the marker that this wasn’t a minivan because it had “suv styling” 

Takuro Spirit > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 12:56

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No way to fit AWD with stow n go/hybrid battery bits under the floor.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 12:56

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Hellcat or nothing

facw > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 12:57

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The first person to do the XC minivan is going to clean up. Just wait for it.

Hi there...

HammerheadFistpunch > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 08/23/2018 at 12:57

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Because despite what many people think who haven’t had to actually shop in this segment think...people actually prefer the van over the crossover on account of it being the better people hauler. But people choose the crossover because of weather reasons.  You could convert half of Utah from crossovers to this easily.  

HammerheadFistpunch > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 08/23/2018 at 12:58

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Yeah...that was just terrible all around.  

HammerheadFistpunch > Takuro Spirit 08/23/2018 at 12:59

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hybrid awd?

HammerheadFistpunch > facw 08/23/2018 at 13:00

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Well and the Astro/Safari, but truthfully the market has changed a LOT since those were sold.  

404 - User No Longer Available > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:01

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...so this?

Wacko > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 08/23/2018 at 13:02

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Not true , I was looking at the AWD sienna, but no spare tire and the Toyota tax made me go with a pathfinder.

HammerheadFistpunch > 404 - User No Longer Available 08/23/2018 at 13:04

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I was thinking about the MPV when I did this.  It was the right product at the wrong time.

random001 > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:05

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Add moar hellcat.

Nom De Plume > facw 08/23/2018 at 13:05

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Mountain capable.  Not very enjoyable to drive or be a passenger in that situation.  They did make it up though.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Wacko 08/23/2018 at 13:05

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Based on the same anecdotal approach, every one I know said they didn’t want a minivan because it was a minivan (even though it is better for carrying people), and you hear it all the time on the net as well , even in questions to magazines/youtube channels

“Hi X, I want a good family vehicle that carries 7 people but I don’t want a minivan. What crossover do you suggest?”

End of the day, minvans have a stigma for many folks. They wan t an “SUV” aka Crossover and putting AWD and beefier tires and a lift on a minivan is not going to change their mind that much .

Takuro Spirit > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:05

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Separate electric motors to drive the rear wheels, independent of the ICE?

facw > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:06

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I do agree that people would definitely want an AWD minivan (though I’m not sure they’d sacrifice stow able seating for it). And if we are going to have sporty high-performance  crossovers , it seems a little weird that no one wants to offer a sporty high-performance minivan (trading ground clearance for more space and lower center of gravity sounds like a good deal for most people).

Takuro Spirit > facw 08/23/2018 at 13:06

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And then there was this

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:07

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and 100 more > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:08

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This really needs to be a thing. I know there are a couple instances of it, but it would be a cheap way of putting AWD on a commodity-level car AND making the EPA feel like they’re doing something.

Plus, it lends to my wish for electric reverse /parking lot drive gear, which would simplify transmission layouts.

HammerheadFistpunch > Takuro Spirit 08/23/2018 at 13:09

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yup

Takuro Spirit > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:10

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If anyone can do it MIKE MANLE Y can

HammerheadFistpunch > and 100 more 08/23/2018 at 13:10

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Toyota’s been doing it for years, a few others do it. Off the shelf components are available from partners like AAM, GKN, etc.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:11

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The one’s in the university fleet took some serious abuse like champs though...not that I’d know from experience or anything

Aremmes > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:11

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A minivan built on the Grand Cherokee WK2 platform with a Hellcat engine and all of the Quadra- gizmos would turn a few heads and piss Daimler off. And they already have the best name for it: Power Wagon.

HammerheadFistpunch > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 08/23/2018 at 13:12

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GM - runs bad longer than most run at all.

TheRealBicycleBuck > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:14

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My kids and I preferred the minivan because of people hauling. My wife bought an Explorer because she didn’t want to the stereotypical soccer mom of her youth. When the kids started playing soccer, everyone had crossovers/SUVs. Despite her best efforts, she was a soccer mom.

:)

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:19

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+1 for exploding tires.

HammerheadFistpunch > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/23/2018 at 13:19

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Thats the real irony isn’t it?

Wacko > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 08/23/2018 at 13:27

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to be fair, A dodge caravan even if fitted with AWD and liftkit is still a Piece of shit,  minivan at the end of the day.

BigBlock440 > Aremmes 08/23/2018 at 13:28

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They have it, named after some city in Colorado.  

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Wacko 08/23/2018 at 13:30

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So, I think  people who want a minivan or an AWD Minivan stuck with only only choice (Sienna) will go for this but I doubt it will steal away the “Never-Minivan” crowd away from crossovers.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > BigBlock440 08/23/2018 at 13:33

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The Chrysler Denver? Chrysler Boulder? Chrysler Crested Butte? Chrysler Grand Junction? Chrysler SteamBoat Springs?

I need to know!

Cash Rewards > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:43

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My wife chose pilot over awd sienna on account of the extra half a foot lover the minivan is. Only really need the third row on occasion, why live with it all the time?

M.T. Blake > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:44

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And to think I bought the lowered, sporty, bigger wheels version Sienna SE. I am a rebel. 

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:45

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I want a Toyota Sienna TRD Pro and a Caravan Pacifier Pacifica HellCat

We have the technology

HammerheadFistpunch > Cash Rewards 08/23/2018 at 13:45

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well if you don’t need a 3rd row, its not really worth considering a van, something with occasional 3rd is more practical.

Quadradeuce > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:45

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I pushed hard for my parents to buy a minivan. They loved the Pacifica. But they need AWD. They live in an area that doesn’t use salt, and doesn’t plow as regularly as more populated areas. They get 50-90" of snow a year, so they NEED AWD to get around.

Snow tires and FWD don’t cut it for a couple in their 70s where getting stuck could have serious consequences.  So they are driving an AWD crossover with a 4WD truck as backup.

and 100 more > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:45

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I mean, they could sell it as a Jeep. Slap a Cherokee grille on it and call it FC-170. Or ressurect the Liberty nameplate.

BigBlock440 > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 08/23/2018 at 13:46

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Technically a Dodge, though reviving that other Colorado city for the Chrysler version wouldn’t be that bad an idea.

HammerheadFistpunch > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 08/23/2018 at 13:47

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SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:49

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That’s exactly what I had in mind lol.

They would need to do some rebranding and call it and adventure carrier or something, and market it to the occasional camper. Maybe it’s time to bring back the Aztek tent too!

and 100 more > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 13:59

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https://www.addidrive.com/en/hydraulic-4x4-transmission

HammerheadFistpunch > and 100 more 08/23/2018 at 14:04

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well...there goes my afternoon.

and 100 more > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 14:08

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Same.

Nothing > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 14:18

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Who needs a RTT when you can just sleep inside?

HammerheadFistpunch > and 100 more 08/23/2018 at 14:21

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One thing I’ve noticed? No audio of the system in operation. I remember systems like this being tested in the past and the major hangup has always been NVH. I was thinking this design used a trochoid pump at first, but now it looks like the usual arrangement of plunger pumps

HammerheadFistpunch > Nothing 08/23/2018 at 14:23

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and 100 more > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 14:27

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I imagine, since it’s a part-time system, they could just throw out the caveat of “You may hear some noise during rear-wheel engagement; this is normal.”

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 15:06

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I think the minivan stigma is so pervasively ingrained in the collective American car-buying psyche that no amount of butching-up of an existing minivan will get minivan-averse customers to consider that minivan.

Instead we have 3-row crossovers with increasingly minivan-like features. They just aren’t allowed to have sliding doors. 

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 08/23/2018 at 15:10

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thats what they said about wagons.  This same transformation is whats helping bring wagons back

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 15:15

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I dunno, I feel like Joe & Jane Q. Car-Buying Public hate minivans way more than they ever hated wagons. Take someone looking at an Explorer/Traverse/Pilot/Highlander/Atlas etc and tell them about a wagon instead, and they’re likely to say it’s too small, they need the third row, they want to be higher up, etc. Tell them about a minivan and they’ll be like, “I WON’T BE CAUGHT DEAD DRIVING A MINIVAN!”

WiscoProud > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 15:17

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I read that the Pacifica platform was specifically chosen because it could accommodate AWD. Not sure why they haven’t done it yet though. I’ve long been a proponent of 4wd minivans, or at least SUVs with sliding doors.

We’re likely going to be buying a used AWD Sienna for my wife, and I really wish there were more options in this space. Not to say the Sienna is bad, but it seems like a no-brainer. 

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 08/23/2018 at 15:18

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eh, you just don’t remember when it was the exact same thing, but with “station wagons”. “I will NOT drive what my m other drove!”

WiscoProud > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 15:20

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Honestly, this is a bit extreme, but i would absolutely buy a toned down version. 

HammerheadFistpunch > WiscoProud 08/23/2018 at 15:23

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I guess Toyota makes something like this in other markets. Its based on the hilux and its 2wd but

there you go.  

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 15:23

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Hey now, I spent a good portion of my childhood riding in the way back of my mom’s ’89 Taurus wagon, which she then replaced with a ’96 Town & Country.

Wagons, even in their current Outbacktified form, are still a niche segment. Minivan hate has been in full effect for 15+ years. 

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 08/23/2018 at 15:24

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give it time.

WiscoProud > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 15:26

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If its based on the Hilux, then not only can it be legit 4wd, but its likely indestructible as well. Good find. 

i86hotdogs > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 18:31

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Hellcat everything

gmctavish needs more space > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2018 at 18:32

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They’d certainly sell well up here in BC, probably the current Delica capital of the world 

Cash Rewards > HammerheadFistpunch 08/24/2018 at 16:04

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Exactly. But then you buy something with an occasional third row (crossover) and get the "why didn't you get a van!" comments.