Top Selling minivan

C

Ctowner

New member
Anyone see how close the sales were for the top selling minivan last year? The Odyssey looked like it was going to dethrone the Grand Caravan, but with strong December sales the Caravan keeps it's title.



al.com: Everything Alabama



The Dodge Grand Caravan staged a come-from-behind win in the closing moments of 2007 to retain its long-held crown as the nation's top-selling minivan, surprising onlookers who expected that prize to go to Honda's Alabama-made Odyssey.
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2002 Z06 said:
Caravan has got mighty ugly, imo
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Got ugly, heck they started out ugly but then again that is not why people buy them. It is a people mover...



1984 Dodge Caravan

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2008 Dodge Caravan

dodgecaravan1.jpg




Personally I don't see a whole heck of a lot of difference other than refinements on the outside. Over the years we have had 1 Caravan and 2 Voyagers and will probably buy a Caravan next time we are in the market.
 
I could care less about the most sales. *Drive* them both in the same MONTH and it will be easy to make your buying decision. There's a reason the Honda's are selling close to MSRP and others aren't.
 
SpoiledMan said:
I could care less about the most sales. *Drive* them both in the same MONTH and it will be easy to make your buying decision. There's a reason the Honda's are selling close to MSRP and others aren't.
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+1...HONDUUUH
 
Honda Odessey is one of the safest vehicles on the road today. I've seen them roll over at medium speeds, get T-boned and also head on crashes and they hold together very well. The Supplement Restraint Systems in their vehicles are far superior than most too. Any time their's an air bag deployment, chances are it's a total loss because most of the SRS (including all harnesses) needs replacing $$$.
 
David Fermani said:
Honda Odessey is one of the safest vehicles on the road today. I've seen them roll over at medium speeds, get T-boned and also head on crashes and they hold together very well. The Supplement Restraint Systems in their vehicles are far superior than most too. Any time their's an air bag deployment, chances are it's a total loss because most of the SRS (including all harnesses) needs replacing $$$.
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Must increase the cost of insurance then, huh?
 
SpoiledMan said:
A $25k pay out (guesstimated) is a lot cheaper than rehabilitation of several occupants.
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Granted. But wouldn't the likelihood of a total loss be higher than rehabilitation of several occupants - that is, if it's a total loss every time an airbag goes off?



Same reason $1,000,000 liability is so cheap - you're unlikely to use it.



EDIT: I should point out that if I were to choose one of the two, it would be the Odyssey hands down. A Dodge will cost you more in the long run in repairs and downtime.
 
David Fermani said:
Honda Odessey is one of the safest vehicles on the road today. I've seen them roll over at medium speeds, get T-boned and also head on crashes and they hold together very well. The Supplement Restraint Systems in their vehicles are far superior than most too. Any time their's an air bag deployment, chances are it's a total loss because most of the SRS (including all harnesses) needs replacing $$$.
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You must see a lot of car accidents! :-)



I believe both faired well in their safety ratings. I saw a recent low speed bumper test that looked at repair costs of the Odyssey and Caravan as well as a few other minis. The Odyssey and the Caravan were least expensive to repair as well. I think Caravan's are outselling the Odysseys still because of their affordability. The lifetime powertrain warranty doesn't hurt either.
 
Ctowner said:
You must see a lot of car accidents! :-)



I believe both faired well in their safety ratings. I saw a recent low speed bumper test that looked at repair costs of the Odyssey and Caravan as well as a few other minis. The Odyssey and the Caravan were least expensive to repair as well. I think Caravan's are outselling the Odysseys still because of their affordability. The lifetime powertrain warranty doesn't hurt either.
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I would agree that both do very well in low velocity impacts. Bumper covers aren't all that expensive to repair/replace in 5 mph accidents. When you get into more serious crashes, that's where Hondas (in general) are better. They cost more to replace, but the end safety result means the most. I liked the new Caravan/T & C when I 1st noticed them in magazines, but after seing them on the road, they now look too weird. When the Odyssey gets a face lift, I hope it doesn't hinge after the competition's styling.
 
The Odyssey just got a chin lift for 2008. They didn't even make a hint that they were trying to play anyone elses game.
 
David Fermani said:
I liked the new Caravan/T & C when I 1st noticed them in magazines, but after seing them on the road, they now look too weird. When the Odyssey gets a face lift, I hope it doesn't hinge after the competition's styling.
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What do you think looks weird? I'm not a big fan of the T&C look (its still the same old classic jellybean looking mini), but I actually like what they've done with the Caravan. It looks like they made some changes to the body to appeal more to men (not to be sexist). Most other vans look the same.
 
The interior is incredible and I especially love the 4 roll down window design, but watching one drive down the road makes me want to puke. They look narrower and boxed up. There's not any nice body contouring, just horizontal and vertical body panels. The exterior of it doesn't come accross as high tech and I think they've gone backwards with their styling. I was hoping it would look more quality minded like the way the Aspen or Durango have gone. I'm definately not looking forward to trading up my 05 T & C in for one any time soon. Who knows, it might grow on me?
 
David Fermani said:
The interior is incredible and I especially love the 4 roll down window design, but watching one drive down the road makes me want to puke. They look narrower and boxed up. There's not any nice body contouring, just horizontal and vertical body panels. The exterior of it doesn't come accross as high tech and I think they've gone backwards with their styling. I was hoping it would look more quality minded like the way the Aspen or Durango have gone. I'm definately not looking forward to trading up my 05 T & C in for one any time soon. Who knows, it might grow on me?
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Your right, it may still grow on you. I was indifferent about the exterior until I saw one in modern blue pearl - definitely my favorite color for the new caravan. I agree with you on the interior. Besides all the new features, I think it's the G.C.'s forte. I actually had the chance to peek in one on a showroom floor and it seemed pretty spacious.
 
Dave1 said:
Yep.....



Resale values don't lie......
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I don't want to split hairs here because we're talking minivans, but whenever I see crash test ratings for the 2008 Grand Caravan it's always near the top. As far as resale values go, admittedly previous models didn't fare too well in this department, but what's likely not reflected in those numbers are the prices actually paid by customers. Odysseys have always sold near sticker and older model Caravans regularly sold for heavy discounts as incentive to move them. It makes sense that the percentage of depreciation was much greater (relative to Odyssey) for Caravans because it was based on MSRP instead of the actual price of the car!





I asked a sales guy about prices the 2008s have typically gone for and he said the new models are regularly selling for close to sticker (he's a sales guy - what did I expect?). Assuming it's partially true the higher sale prices should help change the tide for Caravan resale value in the future.







(Stepping down from soap box...)
 
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