i’m looking to buy a used car for my move to Detroit. I’m looking for something that I can haul junk in (i dumpster dive often), something that can drive in the snow, something I could sleep in while traveling. I know that there will probably be a gas mileage trade off, i am okay with that. I also need to appease the Detroit Automotive gods, whatever that means.
I was thinking about a chevy Astro van or a nissan pathfinder.
Any suggestions or thoughts?
Generally speaking a minivan or van will give you more space or practicality for the money. So the Astro van is definitely better for dumpster diving than the Pathfinder. It is also better for appeasing the automotive gods in Detroit 
I’d assume that in addition to the Astro, any other US-brand minivan would fit the bill (Chrysler Voyager, Dodge Caravan, etc.). The Taurus station wagon of years ago is also extremely spacious.
All of those are font-wheel drive and work well in the snow - if you can find a good set of snow tires in one of those dumpsters
Detroit?
Hmmmm…Have you considered an armored personnel carrier? That city is downright scary.
not as scary as you’d think, or at least i don’t feel like i’m going to get mugged any more than in NYC or LA. although an armored carrier would have a lot of room in it…
They do call Detroit murder city or something to that effect
I am enamored with my car and I always take the opportunity to recommend it to others. If you want AWD or FWD, space enough for a 6ft tall person to lay flat, enough cargo room to carry a washer or dryer and get 30mpg+ there is only one choice, a Pontiac Vibe. Well two choices really, you could get it’s twin, a Toyota Matrix. Mine has also been extremely reliable, 164k miles without a single repair cost. Maintenance of course, but no repairs.
If you want a car, an older Crown Vic or Caprice. And it’s slightly harder to steal your stuff when locked in a trunk. If you want a van, pretty much any would fit the bill. Maybe an SUV would be a good tradeoff.