The Minivan Is Dead. Long Live the Minivan?

But First Snide's Remarks; The many reasons for the success of the minivan have not changed... Those of us with large families and those of us who like the convience of a cavern-like interior should NOT out of hand reject the purchase of a new minivan.

Crossovers replaced station wagons which were replaced by minivans which had to compete with not so large a space SUV's and now SUV's have to compete with CUV's which are really station wagons...before you buy TRY...when you test drive a CUV bring the luggage and stuff you normally bring on a vacation and see if it fits...have fun Let me know what you think; msnide@theautochannel.com

Washington DC August 7, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that long stigmatized as terminally uncool, some manufacturers giving up on minivan segment altogether.

Ford Motor Co. has discontinued making minivans to focus on a new trio of so-called crossovers.

To attract new customers, Chrysler is offering innovative features like Swivel 'N Go seating where the second row of seats race the third row.

All told, the number of minivan models has shrunk to 15 for 2007, from a high of 21 in 2004, and six of those models have recently been discontinued or are slated to be soon. Sales are plunging so far this year, while sales of crossovers are surging.

The remaining minivan makers have had to resort to drastic selling techniques to lure consumers away from shiny new crossovers. Incentive spending on minivans averaged a whopping $3,900 in June, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Toyota and Honda, which sell the popular Sienna and Odyssey minivans, respectively, have greenlighted lucrative discounts this summer, prompting dealers to soap the windshields of new vehicles on the lot with rebate offers worth thousands of dollars.