" I suppose a diesel minivan might sell, but would minivan owners be willing to live with the high cost of ULSD fuel and black soot all over the back of the van? I don’t think we will ever know."
I think we’ll see diesel minivans after many other vehicles show that car buyers will drive diesels. VW has Jetta and Tuareg TDIs. Maybe a Routan TDI is coming soon. This seems like a likely first diesel minivan.
Maybe a Routan, but since it’s a Chrysler minivan, it’ll be interested what happens - a VW/Fiat/Chrysler minivan?
the high cost of ULSD fuel
High Cost??? Diesel fuel where I buy my gas is selling the EXACT SAME PRICE as regular.
But a minivan in the mid 30’s puts it out of reach for a lot of people. If someone is going to buy the loaded model anyway, the hybrid is not that much more.
I agree 100%…Even stated so at least 5 times. If the base model is all you need then the extra price of a Hybrid makes no sense what-so-ever.
I think one point has been made here that I’d just like to reiterate, because it drives me batty.
I’m all in favor of hybrid cars. I like the engineering challenge, I like the fact that reducing oil usage helps out the trade defecit and National Security.
HOWEVER…you’re not “saving Mother Earth” becuase you get 50MPG. Suburban car culture is SO opposed to this (on a variety of levels) that I’d consider driving a hybrid for environmental reasons akin to smoking “low-tar” cigarettes for health reasons.
To touch on the “optimal” way of measuring efficiency…how about “Pounds Per Gallon?” This would correct the tendency to over-value Deisels (because much of the MPG benefit is due to burning a more energy-dense fuel; measuring in pounds would roughly correct this). Also, you’d no longer be getting shortchanged filling up on a warm day.
I don’t think the solution to NOT living in a industrial wasteland is to leave…The solution is to CLEAN IT UP.
The problem there is that everyone seems to want someone else to clean it up. When push comes to shove, those who want things cleaned up will not do anything, and wait for someone else do it.
I was out for a walk a couple weeks ago and in the middle of the road where a few bottles of beer. 1 was out of the box and unbroken, so I picked it up and deposited it in someone’s trash can sitting by the curb. Just up ahead was 2 broken bottles inside the box(4 pack holder). I picked up both of those and put them in someone else’s can. I knew that most people would probably just leave them to get ran over by someone’s car, and I almost dared anyone to come out complaining about me throwing stuff in their trashcan.
Individual waste is one thing…INDUSTRIAL waste is something completely different. But I agree…WE have to clean up our own mess…That includes these BILLION dollar companies. And it’s not so much as cleaning up the mess…but NOT allowing it in the first place.
Many of the newer minivans can stow the seats in the floor. That implies that there is a lot of room under the floor for batteries. It may be that the middle passenger seats could not fold flat, or that there is space between their fold-flat cavity and the gas tank to place the batteries. I think that this issue can be solved easily.
So minivan owners would have to go back to removing seats instead of folding them into the floor? I agree that this wouldn’t be a big deal for many of us, but for minivan owners, this convenience is highly valued.
The minivan owners I know, whose minivans are too old to have seats that fold into the floor, envy those who have newer minivans and can fold the seats into the floor.
For you and me, this probably would not be a deal breaker. After all, removing the rear seats and putting them in the garage lightens the vehicle considerably, and improves fuel economy. However, for busy soccer moms, it would be a major innovation setback, especially when you discover how heavy and large those seats are, and how convenient it is to fold a seat into the floor when you are away from home. Removing and reinstalling minivan seats is hard work, especially if you have a bad back. You are underestimating the value of this convenience.
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I often wonder the same thing. I would love a hybrid, but other than an SUV nothing is big enough for a familoy of 5 with three kids in car seats. The car seat laws are silly (according to the height/weight requirement I would have been driving at 16 in a safety seat). So considering my 3 kids age 7 and 5 yr old twins are all small and weigh only 42, 32, and 34 pounds respectively. We’ll be in boosters for awhile.
Check this out Tia: http://www.hybridcars.com/suvs-minivans/toyota-sienna-hybrid.html
Looks like they’ve had one for years and obviously some politics are involved in exporting it to the US