nothing ventured nothing lost

"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland) 11/02/2019 at 17:42 • Filed to: Chevy

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It’s like 20 years of malaise mixed in with the last gasp of the American mini-van suburban dream.

Boxer_4 > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/02/2019 at 18:05

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Nothing but lives...

Also, that appears to be a Warner Bros. Edition.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/02/2019 at 18:14

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I can not unsee the stance in that rear wheel...

not for canada - australian in disguise > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/02/2019 at 18:33

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I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the first (dustbuster) and second gen U-body minivans. Especially the Sintra, because it’s just weird to see something so North American, yet with an Opel badge.

The third gens are absolute fucking garbage though. They sold incredibly well in Canada and yet only 10 years after they officially were axed, they’re already becoming a rarity. Truly a shining example of mid-2000s GM quality control .

daender > Boxer_4 11/02/2019 at 18:36

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A friend with rich parents in elementary school had one of those WB Edition as his mom’s ride.  It was nice but...man, looking back on it, what an expensive mistake!

Longtime Lurker > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 11/02/2019 at 18:41

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They have a solid beam rear axle, so there’s no camber ad justment. So it’s either photo distortion or someone hit something hard.

404 - User No Longer Available > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/02/2019 at 18:48

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They’re still live and well.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 11/02/2019 at 18:50

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I think it’s sitting on uneven ground.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/02/2019 at 18:59

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I worked for a Chevy dealer at the time. These things were neigh impossible to move. I recall selling ONE , and that turned into an absolute fiasco.

New parents of triplets. Chevy advertised an impossible number of seating configurations on these things and one of them was an option of 3 buckets as a second row. They also offered runflats, and these parents wanted the most fully loaded van that I could possibly sell them, in maroon. Problem was that configuration might have well not existed in the wild.

The d ealer essentially laughed at the prospect of ordering one in when we already had a row of essentially unsellable units on the lot, s o we used the intranet to find another dealer that might or might not have one. I don’t recall the specifics too terribly well , but I do remember there were zero available nationwide with runflats, and the code listed in the sales literature for that seating configuration was not to be found anywhere in the options o n the computer. Ultimately the sales manager kept insisting the literature was wrong and he found one, I protested that it was wrong, he insisted he was right. So, a fter arranging a dealer swap for a single cab long bed S ilverado and driving for like 3 hours to the other dealer to do the swap, I get there to find I was right and he was wrong and I had wasted a day for nothing. Silverado came back and the parents straight up angrily left with a Venture we had on the lot that they absolutely did not want, because the dealer refused to refund their deposit. Wasn’t optioned nearly to the spec they asked for , was in a color they hated, and they were visibly angry as I was forced to hand them the keys and do a final walk around with them. I felt so bad about the situation I offered to give them the paltry $50 commission I had earned on the sale. $50 because it sold for over cost, but not enough points of profit to deserve I actually got anything more than motivation to really bend the next sucker over the bumper and give em a proper screwing. Or so was their mentality I guess.

Actually, come to think of it, I remember all of that quite well. I quit in an absolute blaze of glory shortly thereafter. Scummy industry.

I also quit a Jeep/Nissan dealerhsip in a similar fashion. Christ man, the shit I’ve seen.

wafflesnfalafel > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/02/2019 at 19:07

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W orked with a lady that got a blue one when they first came out - it really was pretty nice at the time, (sliders on BOTH sides!)  But she ended up having problems with it and got rid of it after just a couple years... 

RacinBob > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/02/2019 at 19:37

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Uh, the camber cannot be different side to side because the V enture has a beam axle. I’d love to learn the story on that one....

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > RacinBob 11/02/2019 at 20:37

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Th must have jumped it.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/02/2019 at 20:46

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Hopefully!

i86hotdogs > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/04/2019 at 11:38

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My folks bought a ‘99 Trans Sport “Montana”. Their biggest sell was the automatic sliding doors, which stopped operating after 6 months.