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Vans & Minivans Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
110 messages, Last post on Aug 06, 2007 at 3:38 PM
You are in the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Forum. Your Host is Karens
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For 2008, the Grand Caravan ups its style and technology quotient. 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
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| Does that mean I can get a 2007 Grand Caravan on closeout come 2008 if I wanted to, or should I stick with my Odyssey? | |
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Replying to: Sylvia (Oct 19, 2005 6:57 am)  (Items such as engine size, 4, 5, or 6 speed Automatic Transmission, etc.) |
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| Maybe the Dodge will adopt the Displacement on Demand from the V-8s for the vans v-6s? | |
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Which is on the opposite end of the food chain from the type of van described in Sylvia's link. What attracted me to the SE is the fact that it is one of the shorter (than the Grand) minivans out there, and is available with a 4 cylinder engine. Since I do a LOT of freeway driving in my commute, with little stop or slow and go, the 4 cylinder is great, and you simply can't get a 4 cylinder any more these days on any other minivan (unless you count the Mazda5, which I consider a micro-, not mini-, van). I've been getting an average of 25 mpg with 1800 miles of driving so far. I had been tempted to wait until the next generation of vans came out, or at least until '07, to see if the next generation of 4 cylinder engines from DC make it into the mix - the variable valve timing "world engine" that will start in the Caliber and gradually replace the existing DOHC 2.4 used in the Carvan SE, the PT Cruiser, and the "cloud cars." But in '06, they finally cleaned up the emissions on the 4 cylinder and I decided to give it a try. While by '08 the "posh" minivans will undoubtedly have inflatable hot tubs in them to go with DVD players, and the "tech" minivans will all have side curtain/torso airbags with stability control etc., my wish list is simpler: 1. The 2.4 "world" engine with vvt, and/or the 2.7 small block DOHC engine used in the Magnum; 2. A 5 speed or 6 speed automatic transmission. The Benz based 5 speed might be an interesting choice; Ford and Chevy apparently have a great new 6 speed coming out soon. (This last is optional and doesn't affect me too much, since I buy basic vehicles without a lot of electronic subsystems, but 3. An upgraded intravehicle network protocol to handle all the microprocessor controlled subsystems without glitches.) In short, I'd like to see DC go a little "retro" and put the "mini" back into minivan - some of the current minivans are getting way too big, and they all strike me as a little heavy.
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Replying to: micweb (Dec 21, 2005 2:32 pm)
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Replying to: thegraduate (Dec 22, 2005 12:16 pm) Chrysler needs to aim at the Odyssey and Sienna, hit a home run and create a new benchmark in the class. |
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2008 Dodge Caravans and other Chrysler minivans - this redesign is not another warmover. Frankly I already think the Caravan is better than the Odyssey and Sienna in terms of driving - it's more fun to drive and with Stow and Go nicer to live with. But coming up are new engines, new transmissions (which I'm told are more reliable than the existing ones, which in turn are said to be more reliable than the Hondas!), and new features like a diaper changing station. As far as gas mileage goes, there's EPA and there's reality. Also, the Chrysler V6 seems to take a LONG time to break in and get its full mileage and power. The big question for me is whether they can get to Toyota quality levels, but they are supposed to be reorganizing their plants, so I suspect the answer is yes...after the first year! (At least I think they can beat Honda, which has not done so well on quality lately as they had in the past.)">link title
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Replying to: davert (Jan 16, 2006 11:52 am) With Ralph Gilles in charge of the design, you can bet a million it's a MAJOR REDO!! I met Ralph and his wife a few times. First time was him passing me on i75 northbound at 3 am. He was doing probably 100+ mph in a tricked out VW Corrado VR6! Luckily he got off at my exit and stopped for gas and I stopped and chatted him up. The VW had over 300hp!!! He's a total car freak! When he got promoted at DCX to Director of Design, he had to dump the VW and get a DCX product. His wife was pregnant at the time and demanded a Minivan. He took a 2001 DGC, put in a tricked out 3.5 V6 from 300M, Viper brakes and made himself a racer for weekends at the track!!!! I have total faith in what Ralph will do!!! As far as gas mileage goes, there's EPA and there's reality. Also, the Chrysler V6 seems to take a LONG time to break in and get its full mileage and power. yes! EPA numbers are a joke!!!! What do you consider a LONG time to break in? I have about 10k on mine.....on my christmas trip home to PA, I was getting 27mpg at 75 mph on the Ohio turnpike (flat). In the mountains of PA "only" 23 mpg  Still, compared to Odys and their "high tech" VCM, i'm very happy!
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Replying to: dennisctc (Jan 20, 2006 4:19 am) I've owned both a 2005 Sienna and a 2006 Grand Caravan SXT. I get several mpg better mileage on the Grand Caravan although its rated 18/25 vs the Sienna rated 19/26. In mostly city some highway mix I got 19 on the Sienna, 21 in the GC. Highest ever in the Sienna was 23mpg vs 27.5mpg in the Grand Caravan. I don't see how you can ever approach the rated Sienna highway mileage. Best we did at 55mph for hours with just a few short stop lights was 23mpg. I think Toyota has tuned the car to optimize it for the EPA test. The 5th gear makes the engine turn such low RPM that it has such little torque that even a minor hill or any attempt to accelerate will cause it to pop out of torque lock. Accelerating from a stop at a decent speed requires a heavy foot which kills the gas mileage. The Grand Caravan feels like it has much more torque. You can do mild hills and even accelerate without getting out of torque lock (only 4 gears). And modest acceleration from a stop doesn't feel like you're ragging on it. |
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