minivan

a small box-shaped passenger van

usually has removable seats

used as a family car

The word Minivan was also used in Britain, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, to refer to the van version of the Mini — a very small two seater van''. A minivan, also known as a people carrier or multi purpose vehicle (MPV) in Europe, is a type of vehicle which has a body that resembles a van, but which has rear side doors, rear side windows, and interior fittings to accomodate passengers similar to a station wagon. Minivans are higher than normal sedans, compacts and station wagons, and are designed for maximum interior room; minivans often feature three seat rows and can seat 7 people or more. The design was developed independently in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Matra/Renault and the Chrysler Corporation.

History - The minivan design was launched simultaneously by Renault (Renault Espace) and Chrysler (Dodge Caravan) in 1984. Though these two cars were developed almost entirely separately, they can each trace their roots back to the same point: the minivan design was originally conceived in the late-1970's by the FranceFrench manufacturer Matra, who were then affiliated with Simca and Talbot, the former European subsidiaries of the Chrysler Corporation, who were sold in 1977 to the PSA Group (Peugeot-Citroën). The Matra design was originally intended to be sold as a Talbot, and to be a replacement for the Talbot-Matra-Simca Rancho station wagon. Early prototypes were designed to use Simca parts, and hence featured a grille reminiscent of the Simca 1307. However, after acquiring all of Chrysler's European assets, PSA decided the design was too expensive and risky to put into production, and Matra took their idea to Renault, who agreed (PSA finally ventured into the minivan sector 11 years later with the Citroën Evasion/Peugeot 806). The Matra concept became the Renault Espace. However, Chrysler, under whom Matra had originally conceived the Espace, had also been developing Matra's minivan concept themselves, and managed to release their own Dodge Caravan a year earlier than the Espace in 1983. The term "minivan" derived from the fact that cars such as the Dodge Caravan were considerably smaller than traditional North AmericaNorth American passenger vans such as the Ford E-Series.The target market for the minivan was families living in suburban areas. This vehicle was a cross between the station wagon and the large work vans that people would customize for passenger travel. In North America, it came at a time when families wanted a different vehicle that didn't have the stigma of the station wagon era of their parents, and also wanted better fuel economy than that of the previously popular V8-powered station wagons/vans.The minivan also offered another change from the large van or the station wagon: front wheel drive, usually found only on smaller automobiles. This made for easier assembly of the vehicle, and allowed for more cargo/passenger area along the floor with the absence of the drive shaft hump. Minivans typically have removable seats and with the seats removed, the cargo area in the larger minivans can hold a 4'x8' sheet of drywall or plywood flat.In the USA, in order for the style of minivan to circumvent the 1980s emission standards, the minivan had to be classified as a truck and could not have four doors like a car. Early US minivans such as the Dodge Caravan were three door configurations with a sliding curbside door. Early minivans came with four-cylinder motors, which although they were more efficient, were not able to meet the life span of bigger Gasoline/Petrol engineengines. It was common to require major engine repairs on the four cylinder motors. The vehicles were also extremely sluggish when these small engines were paired with Hydraulicshydraulic automatic transmissions. Later six cylinder motors were offered and have become a standard choice by purchasers who plan to operate the vehicle for many years. Minivans are also notorious for having problems with their transaxles.

Current models - Modern minivans are now very similar to station wagons except they have a higher profile. Also, their hood is shorter, as they have more vertical room. Current models have two sliding doors, or normal doors if they are compact minivans. All minivans sold in North America have sliding doors, with the exception of the first-generation Mazda MPV, Honda Odyssey and Isuzu Oasis.Today, many minivan manufacturers, including Ford, General MotorsGM, and DaimlerChrysler offer their minivans as cargo vans rather than passenger vans. These cargo vans are usually available only through fleet sales.The trend for compact minivans (or mini-MPVs) began in Europe in the late 1990s with the launch of the Renault Scénic. Compact minivans were usually cars with minivan bodies but based on the chassis and engines of a compact car (in the case of the Scénic, the Renault Mégane). The runaway success of the Scénic saw the car spawn a multitude of imitators, including the General Motors Zafira, the Citroën Xsara#Xsara PicassoCitroën Xsara Picasso, the Volkswagen Touran and the Nissan Almera Tino. By the mid-2000s, virtually all mainstream automakers in Europe had a mini-MPV in their range. Also in the mid-2000s, manufacturers began to use minivan-style designs on even smaller chassis, in cars such as the Opel Meriva, based on the General Motors CorsaCorsa supermini.

Public image - Minivans have a mixed image. They have a reputation for poor maneuverability and performance in comparison with other types of vehicles. However, they are also the vehicle of choice for large suburban families, and are frequently associated with "soccer moms".

Minivan examples -

Chevrolet Lumina APV/Pontiac Trans Sport/Oldsmobile Silhouette

Chevrolet Uplander/Pontiac MontanaPontiac Montana SV6/Buick Terraza/Saturn Relay

Chevrolet Venture/Pontiac Montana/Oldsmobile Silhouette/Opel SintraOpel/Vauxhall Sintra

Chrysler Town and Country/Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager

Citroën Picasso

Fiat Idea

Fiat Ulysse/Citroën C8/Peugeot 807

Fiat Multipla

Ford Aerostar

Ford Windstar/Ford Freestar/Mercury Monterey

Ford Galaxy/SEAT Alhambra/Volkswagen Sharan

Honda Odyssey/Isuzu Oasis

Mazda 5

Mazda MPV

Mercury Villager/Nissan Quest

General Motors ZafiraOpel/Chevrolet/Vauxhall/Holden Zafira

Opel MerivaOpel/Chevrolet/Vauxhall Meriva

Renault Espace

Renault Scénic

Toyota Previa

Toyota Sienna

VW TouranVolkswagen Touran

Volkswagen Vanagon/VW EurovanEuroVanCategory:Car body !stylesCategory:Vansde:Minivanf r:Monospacehe:מיניוואן hr:Minivanja:ミニ& #12496;ンnl:Multi? Purpose !Vehiclepl:Minivansv:Minibuss

wecan
PROFESSIONALISM,COMPETENCE AND RELIABILITY : WECAN IS SPECIALIZED IN TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT,EVENT LOGISTIC AND TOURIST SERVICES . BASED IN MILAN AND ROME , IT OPERATES THROUGHOUT ITALY AND ABROAD , OFFERING A WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES BOTH FOR BUSINESS AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES . QUALITY IS ASSURED THROUG A PROFFESSIONAL TEAM OF CHAUFFEUR COORDINATED Y AN EXECUTIVE RESPONSIBLE , IN ORDER TO ATTAIN THE BEST RESULTS IN ARRANGAMENT, SKILLS AND COMMITMENT. A QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE GUARANTEED BY A CAREFUL MANAGEMENT AND A PROMPT AND ARTICULATE 24H ASSISTANCE. WECAN OFFERS THE BEST MOBILITY SOLUTIONS,CAREFULLY ADAPTED TO ALL COSTUMER’S NEEDS,MEETING BOTH BUSINESS AND TOURIST’S REQUIREMENTS,THANKS TO A LONG TERM COMPETENCE AND EXPERIENCE .OUR COMPANY IS ABLE TO SATISFY ALL REQUESTS,OFFERING A SUBSTANTIAL FLEET OF THE BEST BRANDS , A REAL-TIME CONTROL OVER ON GOING SERVICES AND A CAPILLARY AND HIGHLY SKILLED STAFF.WECAN WILL BECOME YOUR BENCHMARK,IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR QUALITY , COMFORT AND DISCRETION AND DECIDE TO CHOOSE THE EXPERIENCE AND RELIABILITY OF A COMPANY WHOSE PURPOSE IS TO SOLVE ANY MOBILITY NEED , WITH THE BEST PRACTICES.
http://www.wecan.it/

Moms Minivan.com Car Travel Games
101 car activities for kids, road trip tips for toddlers and babies, free travel stuff.
http://www.momsminivan.com

Minivan Gallery
Canada's traveling gallery for outsider, visionary, folk and contemporary art by Casey McGlynn, Jennifer Harrison, Scott Griffin, Clint Griffin.
http://www.minivangallery.com

Minivan Moms
A precision marching group of Moms present a photo-essay of their adventures.
http://www.MinivanMoms.com

Drive The Best For The Price
Introduces the book of tips about saving money on a used vehicle purchase.
http://www.drivethebestbook.com/

Chrysler
Sophistication defines the entire Chrysler line-up. It is epitomized in the newest Concorde, the next level of cab-forward architecture.
http://www.chrysler.com

Edmunds.com
Guides, reviews, wholesale and retail pricing information and advice for every aspect of automobile purchasing and ownership.
http://www.edmunds.com