Detroit Auto Show 2007: 2008 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan
Auto Tech
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>> Okay, let's play around with CNET Car Tech Trivia. What year did the first minivan hit the markets? 1983, in fact, here it is. This one lives in the Chrysler Museum now, but they sold a ton of these guys. And for years, they were the rage. Then of course the SUV came along and that's the new family big ride. But Chrysler sticks with the minivan. And they've refreshed it heavily for 08. Let's take a look. Here's the new 2008 Towne and Country. It's an interior story more than anything, although the outside has been completely redesigned. One of the first things you notice on the option sheet from this vehicle is what they call swivel and go. The second row seats can swivel around to face the rear of the vehicle or the third row seats. You've got a removable table right here to create what they call this living room. No, the chocolate cake is not real. I tried it already. What interesting about this is Chrysler actually pioneered this idea in the late 60s Imperial. They had a conference room option that was suspiciously like this. The passenger seats could spin around to the back seat and there was also a removable writing desk for that busy executive. Beyond that, there are dual DVD video systems, one for the second row, one for the third, so of course you can watch a movie when you're in that living room configuration or seated standard wise. We've also got pinpoint LED lighting overhead for very convenient focused intimate lighting for reading. The head unit available on this car can be Chrysler's My Gig which has a hard drive in it, which is one of the few automotive entertainment systems that has an addressable hard drive for putting media on and playing it back. There's also a trick with what they call Swiss Army knife like center console that moves around and has all kinds of configuration options. And of course, this vehicle is available anywhere from a more base version on up to being fully loaded with all this trickier, satellite radio, whole variety of other options. Three power trains will be available on these new Grand Caravans and Towne and Country minivans. Mated to a six speed transmission controlled by that Preis like gear controller there on the dashboard. It's the first six speed automatic in a vehicle of this type by the way. And you thought they had no tricks left for the minivan.
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