The New Chrysler - Next 100 Years Manifesto

When most car companies talk about a bright future, they're usually referring to next month's sales forecast. We'd like to take a somewhat longer-term approach and explain why the next 1200 months look so promising to us.

In short, it means that the New Chrysler is something of a rarity in today's automotive world: a company that's capable of quickly responding to the needs of customers instead of the demands of the stockholders. The fact is, we've always believed we were the most customer-focused car company on the planet. And now that's more true than ever.

A HISTORY OF FIRSTS. All automobile manufacturers build vehicles. But we create entirely new automotive categories. Chrysler invented the Muscle Car. The 1955 Chrysler C-300 model was America's first "Muscle Car." Chrysler also invented the SUV and minivan. Working with Orville Wright,⁽¹⁾ we pioneered wind tunnel development and ushered in the era of modern automotive aerodynamic design. When we developed the HEMI® engine in the 1950s, the technology proved so powerful that NASCAR banned it in 1965. We also were the first to put a modern radio in an automobile. And you know how you start your car? Chrysler invented the Key-Start Ignition System.

OK, HISTORY LESSON OVER. Our present is even more impressive than our past. The Chrysler 300 continues to prove why it's the most awarded new car ever.⁽²⁾ The legendary Jeep® lineup now features the fuel-efficient⁽³⁾ and affordable Compass and Patriot, the seven-passenger Commander, and the phenomenal four-door Wrangler Unlimited. Our 5.7L HEMI® V8 engines with MDS are once again giving drivers an unfair advantage. And the Dodge Ram pickup is unmistakable both on and off the road.

MORE LAURELS AND BENCHMARKS COMING SOON. The future is where things really get interesting. The New Chrysler is about to introduce 20 new industry-leading vehicles in the next 18 months-including the return of a legendary muscle car, the All-New Dodge Challenger. Our All-New Dodge and Chrysler minivans will amaze you with available industry-first innovations like Swivel 'n Go™⁽⁴⁾ seating and live SIRIUS Backseat TV.™⁽⁵⁾ And we're about to introduce an All-New 2008 Jeep Liberty that features a fully retractable 33"x60" Sky Slider Roof™.

AND NOW SOME QUALITY TIME. Over the past six years, we increased productivity by an industry-leading 25% and improved our quality by more than 40%. Ram trucks, for example, have earned the status of longest-lasting⁽⁶⁾ and most durable⁽⁷⁾ line of full-size pickups in America.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS. Our concern for the environment has led to a number of firsts in green technology. Like being the first manufacturer to introduce the electric minivan, the first U.S. manufacturer to introduce CFC-free vehicles and the first car maker to sell one million Flex Fuel Vehicles⁽⁸⁾. And for 2008, we expect to put another 500,000 Flex Fuel Vehicles on the road. We also offer the country's cleanest burning diesel with the available legendry 6.7L Cummins® featuring ultra-clean emissions technology, in a full-size pickup. Then there is the 5.7L HEMI V8 engine with MDS fuel-saving technology, and even a 5.7L HEMI V8 hybrid engine coming in 2009.

A WARRANTY THAT'S AS FUTURE-ORIENTED AS WE ARE. To prove our confidence in our products, we're now offering the industry's best coverage: the exclusive Lifetime Powertrain Limited Warranty* that outlasts every other warranty. Just one more reason to celebrate the New Chrysler with us.

New Chrysler: The Party Is Over Before It Starts

August 06, 2007

Michelle Krebs, veteran automotive-industry

authority, joins Edmunds editors, analysts and

data experts to provide news and commentary

Even before the party celebrating Chrysler’s divorce from Daimler and its marriage to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management Corp. begins for employees today, the party is over.

Last night’s announcement that the controversial former CEO of Home Depot Bob Nardelli is Chrysler LLC’s new chairman and CEO is an indication that business as those at Chrysler have known it is over.

Despite all of its claims of patience, being in for the long haul and seeming compassion, Cerberus has sent the clear message that it intends to move quickly -- and likely ruthlessly -- to turn Chrysler around. In fact, Nardelli’s compensation requires it.

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Selection of Nardelli: Cost-cutting expansionist

While the appointment of Nardelli take the helm of the New Chrysler initially came as a shock to many in the industry, it shouldn't have.

With the first private equity firm owning a car company, business will not be as usual, and neither will those who will run the business. Already, Ford went to the outside, tapping former Boeing executive Alan Mulally to run the troubled automaker.

Cerberus obviously found Nardelli attractive because of his capability in expanding a business and his cost-slashing expertise.

In its statement, Cerberus credited Nardelli, who headed The Home Depot, from 2000 to January 2007, with doubling sales as well as the number of store operations, moving globally into Mexico and China, and delivering more than 20 percent earnings-per-share growth for four consecutive years while growing dividends from 16 cents to 90 cents per share. Nardelli also has extensive senior operations experience in manufacturing and transportation, the statement noted.

Before joining Home Depot, Nardelli narrowly missed out as head of General Electric, for what has been described as his "imperial" management style and poor relations with stockholders. Still, he is still credited with successes at GE, where he grew businesses and slashed costs -- attributes surely Cerberus finds attractive.

What Cerberus' statement did not point out that Nardelli left the retailer under pressure with a controversial $210 million severance bonus and a declining stock price. His was among other compensation packages that created shareholder backlash over such excess.) At Chrysler, Nardelli will draw no salary. His compensation will be directly linked to the equity performance of the carmaker.

That's further indication that Cerberus -- and Nardelli -- will waste no time in turning things around. For Nardelli to be paid requires it.

Wolfgang gone

The Nardelli appointment was as much of a shock because it had been widely believed that former Chrysler COO and Volkswagen exec Bernhard would take the top job.

He had, in fact, been offered the job as non-executive chairman but declined, supposedly due to personal and family reasons. However, obviously the post of a non-executive chairman didn't sit well with Bernhard, who likes to be firmly in control.

Again, passing over Bernhard should not have been surprising. He has ruffled lots of feathers at Chrysler, Daimler (which will retain nearly 20 percent of Chrysler and still be involved in projects), and Volkswagen.

Further, why would Cerberus tap the same folks to run the New Chrysler that got the old one in the state it is in today?

Bernhard hand in establishing the operations of the Chrysler today and its product plan. Also out is Eric Ridenour, a 23-year Chrysler veteran, who had been head of product development under Bernhard and rose to COO.

How long for LaSorda?

The buzz has been and continues to be how long will LaSorda last. Supposedly he was the man -- CEO. Now he has been displaced, becoming president and vice chairman. He will also serve on Chrysler's board and as vice chairman of a Cerberus operating group.

That looks like a way to ease him out of Chrysler. LaSorda likely will be kept on throughout the current labor talks, since he is popular with the union, having been from a union activist family. But once that contract is signed, the bet is he'll be brushed aside completely with a nice buyout package.

More management changes

More management changes are likely.

Look for changes in the design and product development staffs as Chrysler must develop better, homerun products and do it faster.

Top designer Trevor Creed has long been rumored to be out. Hot young designer of the 300, Ralph Guilles, like is "the annointed one for that post.

So for now Chrysler employees party on at the company's expense at today's celebration at the Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters. Because the party is over.

First Drive: 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan

The Entertainer: It's an all-new minivan. And an amusement park on wheels.

Photography by Julia LaPalme, Chrysler

Don't be surprised, should you become the owner of a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan, if your kids Scooter and Buffy actually dance in anticipation of their ride to school each morning. Indeed, so accommodating and packed with amusements is this all-new, fifth-generation version of the minivan that started it all a quarter-century ago, your primary morning chore is likely going to be prying the kids out of it.

The new Caravan (and Chrysler Town & Country) arrives none too soon. Chrysler Corporation had the minivan market all to itself in 1984 (one of the advantages to creating a market niche that previously didn't exist), but in the ensuing years its 100-percent share has steadily eroded in the growing shadow of myriad worthy arrivals-Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, Kia Sedona, Nissan Quest, and more. The now-retiring fourth-gen Chrysler models still account for a segment-leading 38 percent of sales, but that's largely on the basis of sheer inertia. In our last minivan comparison (MT, August, 2006), the aging Caravan (last renewed in 2001) finished a distant last.

Based on our drives in a range of preproduction 2008 units, though, Chrysler looks to have leaped straight back to the front of the minivan pack. Astutely reworking its family favorite, the automaker has retained the good stuff (the innovative. quick-fold Stow 'n Go seats unveiled for 2004), jettisoned the Achilles' heels (dated jellybean design, weak powertrains), and added a ton of desirable new features-all while trimming the bottom line.

The new Grand Caravan scores on styling. This is a vehicle that plays to a vast spectrum of demographics and tastes, so polarizing "designer" swoops and adornments are out. But via its simple, broad-shouldered lines the Dodge radiates a handsome, expensive presence. The roof is six inches wider than before; the nose and glass proportions borrow from Dodge's masculine Charger and Magnum. Some of the changes you can't see-for instance, while frontal area is increased, the drag coefficient is down four percent. Others are conspicuous. Shrivel no more at the thought of driving a minivan: The Grand Caravan actually looks mean looming up in a rearview mirror.

Gone is the standard-wheelbase Caravan model; the new version is "Grand" only.

Wheelbase is stretched nearly two inches, track is widened 2.5 inches up front and 1.5 inches in the rear, and overall length has grown two inches. Standard tires are now 16-inchers (versus 15s), and the suspension is thoroughly revised (struts up front, a rear twist beam with coil springs, and a larger front stabilizer bar for improved control). The new Caravan/Town & Country are also the only minivans to offer self-leveling shocks.

Dodge has smartly axed the previous four-cylinder base engine and now offers a choice of three V-6s: a flex-fuel 3.3-liter (175 hp), a 3.8 (197 hp), and a new, 24-valve 4.0-liter unit serving up 251 horses and 259 pound-feet. The 3.3 mates to a standard four-speed automatic, while the two larger engines connect to the first six-speed auto offered in the category.

Inside, the Grand Caravan is roomier and more feature-filled than ever. In addition to the aforementioned Stow 'n Go seats, newly optional "Swivel 'n Go" second-row chairs flip around 180 degrees-creating club seating with a removable table so everyone can eat their drive-thru burgers or play Scrabble together. Convenient LED reading lamps dot the cabin, and there's an available overhead "halo" light that bathes the interior in soft blue. The Grand Caravan also brims with safety features, including standard all-row side-curtain airbags, standard electronic stability and traction control, tire-pressure monitoring, and optional rear park assist and a newly available backup camera. Due sometime after launch is an optional integrated child-booster seat, a minivan first.Now, the fun stuff. A new, optional dual DVD system can play two different DVDs (on two separate overhead LCD screens) at once. Or one row can watch a DVD while the other row plugs in a gaming console (there's a power outlet built right into the C-pillar). Or perhaps either or both rows would like to watch live television: the Grand Caravan offers three channels of Sirius Backseat TV: Disney, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon (sorry, Dad: no ESPN). To ensure that the big folks up front retain their sanity, all the audio can be fed through wireless headphones (video can also be viewed in the dash-mounted LCD when the vehicle is in park).

Other available goodies include a 20-gig hard drive for storing MP3s and photos (viewable on the LCD screens); a 506-watt, 7.1 surround-sound audio system (including a minivan-first subwoofer); Sirius Satellite Radio; voice-activated navigation; heated front and second-row seats; Bluetooth cell-phone connectivity; key-fob-activated remote-starting capability; and-perhaps most welcome-an integrated, drop-down "surveillance" mirror so the driver can monitor the goings-on in the entertainment megaplex behind. (The only missing detail is an onboard popcorn machine.)

Dodge gamely provided an Odyssey and a Sienna for comparo drives, and while it wasn't a substitute for a full-on comparison test, the back-to-back seat time was revealing.

The Japanese machines still hold an edge in interior finish-for instance, the dashes in the Honda and the Toyota are large, unbroken expanses of rich-looking material, whereas the Dodge uses harder plastic with an abundance of cut-lines. But in every other way the Dodge felt the equal or superior vehicle. The topline Grand Caravan SXT (pictured here) cruises almost without wind noise, steers with strong feel, deftly balances a compliant ride with good body control, and-thanks to its new engine and six-speed automatic-serves up forward motion like a luxury sedan.

The trump card is price. The outgoing Caravan could be had in more than 11,000 possible configurations. The new one: fewer than 1300. Due in part to that improved manufacturing efficiency, Dodge is able to offer more for less. The new, better-featured Grand Caravan actually stickers below the previous version: $22,470 for the base SE, $27,535 for the highline SXT (the 4.0-liter six and the media systems are additional). With a fully loaded Honda Odyssey Touring nosing $40K, it's a given that even a lavishly contented Grand Caravan will come in for thousands less.Which is to say, stay tuned for a new minivan shootout. The entertainer is here, and the innovator is back.

THE T&C TREATMENT

Think of the new Chrysler Town & Country as the Grand Caravan's uptown sibling. The T&C borrows its elegant front styling from the Chrysler 300 sedan, and its interior offers the warmth of woodgrain trim. The T&C also features a more relaxed ride than the sportier Dodge's. In the hardware department, though, the Dodge and Chrysler are virtual twins. The T&C offers three trim levels: LX ($23,190), Touring ($28,430), and Limited ($36,400, including the 4.0-liter six and six-speed auto, leather seats, and MyGIG).

2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
Base Price	$22,470 - $27,535
Vehicle Layout	Front engine, FWD, 7-8-pass, 4-door van
Engine	3.3L/175-hp(est)/205-lb-ft(est)OHV 12-valve V-6;3.8L/197-hp(est)/230-lb-ft(est) OHV 12-valve V-6; 4.0L/251-hp(est)/259-lb-ft(est) SOHC 24-valve V-6
Transmission	4-speed automatic
Curb Weight	4350-4500 lb (mfr)
Wheelbase	121.2 in
Length x Width x Height	202.5 x 78.7 x 68.9 in
0-60 MPH	8.0-10.5 sec (MT est)
EPA City/HWY Econ	16-17/23-24 mpg
CO2 Emissions	0-99-1.05 lb/mile
On Sale In U.S.	Oct-07

Chrysler Redesigns Minivan Offerings

Associated Press
By ALLISON HOFFMAN 08.03.07, 12:38 AM ETCARLSBAD, Calif. -

Hoping to lure customers back to minivans by rocketing people-haulers out of the Betamax era and into the brave new iPhone world, Chrysler Group has loaded the next generation of its trademark vehicles with modern technology and a seating arrangement that lets families hang out around a virtual "kitchen table" on the road.

The centerpiece of the redesigned 2008 Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country is a second-row seat that can spin 180 degrees to face backward. Nicknamed "Swivel n' Go" after the carmaker's popular "Stow n' Go" flat-fold seats, the new seats create space for a one-legged, plastic-topped table that lets passengers eat, do homework or pile things up the way they would in the house.

But the minivans, which hit showrooms later this month, are crammed with an array of new features that smooth away any remnant of the old fuddy-duddy mom-mobile.

Pinpointed overhead LEDs provide bright, targeted illumination more akin to airplane reading lights than the old halo lamps. A convex "conversation mirror" drops down above the rearview to give the driver a full view of what's going on in back, while the middle console slides nearly 2 feet backward and forward, allowing people riding in the front seats to ferry items - snacks, headphones, whatever - to the rear without blind backward tosses or uncomfortable twisting.

The minivans also boast a unique multiple-output entertainment system designed to eliminate the forced compromises of earlier days - "Shrek," anyone? - by channeling different options to passengers riding in separate parts of the car. That means the youngest kids in the middle can watch Nickelodeon on satellite while their parents get Sirius radio in the front and older siblings scan music on a built-in 20-gigabyte hard drive or watch R-rated DVDs in the back seat.

Meanwhile, the original Stow n' Go technology has been upgraded so that the third-row seats fold down automatically into a hatch with the push of a button. They can also be somersaulted backward to create cushioned seating for tailgates.

"I've got twin 5-year-old boys, so in my case it's more of a pig pen on wheels," said Mark Trostle, chief designer. "But everything here has been thought about extensively."

Gone is the rounded, pod-like exterior of earlier models; banished is the wobbly "minivan" feel on the road. The new models are boxier and more imposing than their predecessors, with a new suspension that gives a confident ride.

The minivan's designers repeatedly employ words such as "tailored" and "rich" to describe the Town & Country models, targeted at wealthier parents or at new retirees looking for an upgraded way to cart around grandkids. The Dodge equivalents, meanwhile, are "sinister" - not a word usually associated with minivans.

"It's tough, it's angry, it's in your face," said Trostle, who said the new Caravans echo the look of the successful Magnum car.

Chrysler, in the midst of its corporate breakup from DaimlerChrysler AG and sale to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, is depending on the new line to help it stay ahead of encroaching competition in the minivan market from Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., especially now that General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. have halted minivan production.

"There isn't a bigger launch for Chrysler this decade than this minivan," said Erich Merkle, vice president of forecasting for auto consulting company IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich. "In my opinion, the product is really good. Chrysler really does minivans well."

Minivan sales rose quickly when Chrysler introduced them in 1983 as a 1984 model. Annual sales crossed 900,000 in 1990 and peaked at 1.37 million in 2000. But since then, the vehicle has started to fall out of favor, especially with the introduction of car-based crossovers that can carry as many people.

Sales dropped to 970,708 last year, and through July, 477,662 were sold, a 22 percent decrease from the first seven months of 2006.

The carmaker says it believes the new models provide a level of convenience and value that consumers won't find in sport-utility vehicles or in newer crossovers.

"There is no substitute for a minivan," said Rick Kukucka, a marketing director for Chrysler.

Still, Chrysler Group isn't taking chances. In July, the company announced it would offer lifetime repairs on the engines, transmissions and drive systems of most cars sold in the U.S.

That came two weeks after an announcement that sticker prices on the new minivans would drop by an average of $2,000, with more optional features becoming standard. The size of the price reduction will vary with options and models, with the base model Dodge Grand Caravan SE priced at $22,470, $1,950 below the current sticker price of $24,420, and the Chrysler Town & Country LX dropping $3,585, from $26,775 to $23,190.

The lowest-priced 2007 Toyota Sienna has a suggested retail price of $24,155, while the cheapest Honda Odyssey this year is $25,645, according to the companies' Web sites. Neither company will have new models in 2008.

But analysts say those price cuts just bring sticker prices in line with existing incentive offers, and it's not clear whether the new, manual-only swivel seats are an innovation drivers can't live without. The 90-pound seats are heavy, and - in part because of federal safety regulations - are awkward to turn. One senior executive joked that he hoped he'd be able to make the swivel work as he demonstrated the feature to reporters.

"I don't know that it has the convenience factor that they want consumers to believe," said Aaron Bragman, a research analyst for Global Insight, an economic research and consulting company. "Stow-and-go was a real convenience innovation, because you could fold all the seats flat, but I don't know that consumers are going to be willing to pay extra for seats that spin around."

This Day in Auto History: 8.3.1917 The original General Motors Company founded as a New Jersey firm in 1908 is legally dissolved after all of its stock had been acquired by the newly formed General Motors Corporation 8.3.1938 Samuel L. Davis is elected President of Hupmobile 8.3.1955 The American Automobile Association abolishes its Contest Board, leaving United States car racing without a governing body 8.3.1964 Racer Carel de Beaufort dies at age 30 three days after his Porsche had crashed at the Nurburgring circuit during a practice run for the German Grand Prix

Source: Automobile History Day By Day, by Douglas A. Wick

SEXY MINIVANS? Chrysler's designers add styling flair and family-friendly touches to new models

August 3, 2007

BY TIM HIGGINS

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

SAN DIEGO -- Designing this minivan was a family affair.

(RASHAUN RUCKER/DFP)

The 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan got a flashy introduction at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.

Ralph Gilles' unusual hobby in the family garage -- tuning his minivan for racing -- helped prepare Chrysler's star designer for the transition from crafting the look of the hit 300 sedan to redesigning the important minivan.

Gilles, a vice president for design at Chrysler, and his team had just finished up on the 300, Dodge Charger and Magnum wagon when they set out to breathe new life into some of the most important vehicles in the Auburn Hills automaker's lineup.

"That studio was full of car guys," Gilles remembered. "The interesting thing that went on was that we were also having families during that time. So you mix this car-guy thing with the family thing and it really spawned this new attitude about minivans."

Tapping into that family inspiration, the group set about to add new style and function to the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans, crucial vehicles that account for one-sixth of Chrysler's sales. Early production has begun in Windsor, and the new models should start appearing on some dealer lots late this month.

At a time when more consumers are shunning minivans for car-based SUVs called crossovers, Chrysler is trying to add some flair to its bread-and-butter product -- the new minivans, which are being touted as sexier than the previous jelly-bean look that came to symbolize the soccer-mom lifestyle.

The company believes the new design -- along with swiveling second-row seats, rear video screens that have satellite television and dozens of other improvements -- will appeal to a younger generation just entering the world of parenthood.

At the same time, the company is pricing the minivan lower than previous models.

All in the family

As Gilles, his team and other Chrysler officials worked to redesign the minivan, they turned to their families and their personal experiences for guidance.

"It seems to me that -- unlike many other vehicle launches I've been to -- parents were actually involved in this," said Brian Moody, road test editor of Edmunds.com. "So many times you get into a car and you're like: Whoever designed this obviously doesn't have kids."

Those examples of family inspiration were numerous at a recent event held by Chrysler in San Diego to showcase the upcoming launch:

• Steven Jakubiec, a senior engineer on the project, was sitting at a table on his uncle's pontoon boat when the thought hit him: Why don't we have a table in the minivan?

• Emily Graffeo, senior manager for the program, depended on her three children to test new features, such as the center console that sits between the front seats and slides back to the second row to make it easier to pass drinks and snacks to rear passengers.

• Gilles, the star designer, argues that minivans are sexy -- not like a woman with curves but like a man with confidence.

While several analysts have praised the new minivan and predict it will do well, not everyone has been impressed.

Jim Hall, vice president for industry analysis with consultant Auto Pacific, said he doesn't think the design went far enough, especially as the minivan competition intensifies.

"I think you need something that makes for a unique selling proposition," Hall said. "Here's the problem: The total number of minivan buyers is going to slowly contract. ... That's because there are not enough Gen-Xers to fill in the boomers who evacuated, and the Gen-Y's are not yet in their giant child-rearing years."

So in a market with fewer buyers and more choices, Hall said, "You need something that turns your minivan from a commodity, which is what the Chrysler has become, and transforms it into the must-have personal ornament. I am not sure the design does that."

Crosstown competitors Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. have quit the minivan fight, deciding instead to concentrate on crossovers.

Chrysler officials say they're confident the minivan market will hold -- 1 million were sold last year -- and hope to gain sales share against Honda, Toyota and others.

Analyst Erich Merkle of IRN Inc. said he thinks the new design is a winner and praised the handling, saying the vehicle drives much smoother.

"I think the Chrysler minivan is the best in the market," Merkle said.

Home laboratory

Gilles said he was "licking his chops" to do the minivan project, and he came to it with countless hours spent in his home garage tweaking his own; he put in a souped-up engine and Viper racing seats. He and his wife have owned eight in the past 11 years.

"There was a point where we had his and hers minivans because I actually started racing my minivan and it wasn't drivable for a family," Gilles said.

That time in his home garage inspired the notion of strength, stability and protection he wanted to emphasize in the new design.

"The stance is what people always complimented the van on, how the wheels came down," Gilles said. "So we tried to give the new minivans that basic stable kind of look -- that kind of footprint that just looks broad shouldered."

The family feedback has been mostly positive.

Jakubiec, the engineer, said his wife has been attracting attention driving the preproduction minivan to their children's school.

Graffeo, the program manager, heard from her 23-year-old daughter that the children she watches as a nanny raved over the minivan when she showed up with it.

Gilles' kids liked it, too, though his daughter pointed out that while it is cool that the rear seats swivels back, the video screen does not.

Maybe that can be her dad's next project in the family garage.

IMPRESSIVE: Chrysler’s new 2008 Town & Country minivan sports a host of improvements.

Minivan loaded with goodies

BY CHRIS

Chrysler officials claim their 2008 minivan “doesn’t drive like a minivan” anymore. But it took merging into rush hour traffic on a California highway and making a few lane changes at speed to convince me the boast is true.

Today is the day Chrysler allows hundreds of North American automotive reviewers and industry analysts to report their impressions of the company’s most important product after test driving the company’s next-generation minivans here over the past few weeks.

The stakes are huge. The minivan marketplace in Canada alone will be worth an estimated $5.6 billion this year. Chrysler owns more than 42 per cent of that market, selling 63,000 of the 171,000 vans Canadians bought last year. But it aims to gain even more market share with the fifth-generation van it just started building in Windsor last month.

The bottom line: consumers are going to find they can get a lot more minivan for less money from Chrysler’s lineup of five new family vehicles. Chrysler says there are 35 new features on the vans. But it seems like more: There are so many improvements in the van, it takes hours to find and identify them all.

Many interior materials are substantially improved — the window ledges below all the side windows now are now soft to the touch rather than hard plastic.

The second row windows now roll down, eliminating the claustrophobia that afflicted so many back seat passengers, both young and old.