SRT-6 Caravan?

Mopar Boy

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Question for you (SRT). Have you ever considered a SRT Minivan? I ask as my thought process goes as follows:

Guy has hot car. Hot car gets hot girlfriend. Hot girlfriend and hot car owner get married. Hot girlfriend is a little too hot and gets pregnant.;) Now time for hot car to give way to the family mobile: The minivan! A car enthusiasts worst nightmare. A slow, soggy handling, no ground effects vehicle. Lets face it. To those of us that like sporty cars, the minivan segment is not "cool". Just talk to your marketing dept! ;)

This scenario played out in my family. When siblings and I came along, dad had to sell his performance cars. As he knew it was the right thing to do, he ended up with a slow ass van (Do you remember the 1984 model? Yeah, it was slow! :rolaugh:)

I look at the families of today. They are no different. Times have changed but not the want for horsepower when it is in your blood. They buy minivans as they are the right things to do for their family. That does not mean dad doesn’t have an interest in performance anymore. It just means that vehicle function is more important.

My father and I have always spoken on our 1992 5 speed stick Turbo Voyager. With the waste gate tweaked, we use to race Camaros and Rustangs, and win!:rolaugh: We pulled rubber all the way through first, second, and chirped third. Dad says it was fun vehicle to drive, as well as covering the functionality end.

If memory serves, in the late 1990's there was a Caravan R/T concept. Was a brilliant idea. But the idea never went anywhere. From a sales standpoint, there has got to be a market for a SRT minivan. The vehicle still has its functionality, but there performance aspect is still there for those that crave it. The SRT Jeep is good, but for those that need the space of a minivan and don’t want an SUV....

As for public image, yes, it is viewed as a child hauler, not a performance vehicle. And yes, the concept may be looked down on by the safety folks as it is a family vehicle. But last time a saw a minivan ad touting the van as "sporting swagger", it hit me. Maybe its time for an SRT van. Would change the stereotyped image of a minivan forever, it would be the only one in its market segment, and it may just give a nice boost in sales.

How about it? Thoughts? Has it ever been considered again?

How about you, the VCA? Would something like that interest you or someone you know? Do you just plain think I am off my rocker again from breathing in too many vehicle fumes as a child? ;)

Robert
 

Stretch

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Haha, fair enough. It's just written like a certain situation prompted the question. :)
 

Sweet Ride

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@ Jerz Viper: Are those racing stripes on a minivan?

@ MoparBoy: As long as you are driving a yellow car, you won't need to worry about the situation you described. OR... Who's the lucky guy? :D
 

Asp Man

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It's bad enough DC tarnished the SRT brand with the Jeep, now you want a mini-van?!
There is an SRT6 allready. And...if you take a Caravan Sport and rearange the letters in sport you could make it into an SRT easy enough.
 

TowDawg

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It's bad enough DC tarnished the SRT brand with the Jeep, now you want a mini-van?!
There is an SRT6 allready.

If you haven't driven one of the SRT8 Jeeps, you need to. That is one of the most fun things I've driven. A few mods and you can have a serious beast down low.
 
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Mopar Boy

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Ditto! You (Asp man) have clearly not raced a Jeep SRT! I hope they can come close to what an SRT Jeep would be in Caravan format! :yay:

@ Smelly Ride - Har har har. You are funny.....LOOKING! :lmao:

:D
 

snakem04

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This sounds like something i daydream about at work. But i dont know if i would run out and buy a minivan. I mean how do you even make one look cool? Now the jeep SRT 8 on the other hand is awsome.
 

ViperGTS

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When do you become a daddy? :D


The SRT-8 Jeep rocks. :2tu:

A front wheel driven minivan cant be a good SRT-vehicle.

The minivan is a nice pampers-bomber carrying around the family and the dog, but performance means something different :rolleyes:
 

v10enomous

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Actually... I can't believe I'm going to say this but it's a Good Idea... I certainly believe that there are other things in Chysler's lineup that need much more immediate attention but this may actually find a market... Could it be worse than an SRT Neon...

When my kids were babies back in like 1995 or so I bought one of the very first restyled jelly bean Plymouth Voyagers that came to the dealership. It sorta looked like a big eggplant...:rolleyes: You know the color... But anyway I thought it was the best thing ever when you have little kids. The ride, handling, convenience, mileage, space, seating, etc... just blows away an SUV IMO. However it seems that nothing makes a young wife feel more matronly than a mini-van for some reason. Vans were cool in the 60s and 70s and maybe an SRT6 mini-van would restore some of that image. Every time I see a woman wrestling a baby or toddler in or out of an SUV I think... You shoulda bought a minivan lady... and just hit the treadmill if you're worried about your image...:dunno:
 
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Mopar Boy

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When do you become a daddy? :D

Wow! A guy asks a question, and..... :rolaugh:

Mind out of the gutter dude! ;)

The SRT-8 Jeep rocks. :2tu:

A front wheel driven minivan cant be a good SRT-vehicle.

The minivan is a nice pampers-bomber carrying around the family and the dog, but performance means something different :rolleyes:

Does not have to be FWD. How about AWD. And people said all the same things about a Jeep and a pickup. Cant make a 6K lbs truck fun. It a hay hauler not a performance truck.... And Jeeps are for off roading.... :nono:

And look at what SRT did to those vehicles.

Actually... I can't believe I'm going to say this but it's a Good Idea... I certainly believe that there are other things in Chysler's lineup that need much more immediate attention but this may actually find a market... Could it be worse than an SRT Neon...

When my kids were babies back in like 1995 or so I bought one of the very first restyled jelly bean Plymouth Caravans that came to the dealership. It sorta looked like a big eggplant...:rolleyes: You know the color... But anyway I thought it was the best thing ever when you have little kids. The ride, handling, convenience, mileage, space, seating, etc... just blows away an SUV IMO. However it seems that nothing makes a young wife feel more matronly than a mini-van for some reason. Vans were cool in the 60s and 70s and maybe an SRT6 mini-van would restore some of that image. Every time I see a woman wrestling a baby or toddler in or out of an SUV I think... You shoulda bought a minivan lady... and just hit the treadmill if you're worried about your image...:dunno:


Why thank you. A REAL response!
 

MTGTS

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Anyone that would need a vehicle with 4 doors would buy the SRT Jeep, no minivan needed.
 

SlateEd

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So funny this came up Mopar Boy - I just did the SRT Experience at Englishtown NJ Tuesday 6/15. We were shuttled back and forth from the autocross to the road course in Dodge minivans and we joked around about why they didn't develop an SRT Caravan just for the shuttle around the race complex :)
I think all of us who made jokes would not actually buy one right now, but if stuck in the (unfortunate) scenario you described... maybe.... :D Chrysler did (still does?) have the AWD platform for the T+C right? you could get ~350hp to the ground with that ;)

As for the other SRT Vehicles that already exist -
The SRT Jeep is more impressive than the SRT Challenger or Charger to me, though if I could pick one of lineup for a DD it would be the SRT 300c - great sound, tighter feel than the Challenger, plenty of room (even enough for little ones....)

I would tell your hypothetical dad and his hypothetical hot wife to get a 300c SRT-8 for now and not feel guilty at all about not having a minivan :headbang:
 

Jerz Viper

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@ Jerz Viper: Are those racing stripes on a minivan?

@ MoparBoy: As long as you are driving a yellow car, you won't need to worry about the situation you described. OR... Who's the lucky guy? :D

Yes they are:D It has Sneaky Pete emblems front and rear and now says Vipervan with real "Viper" logo's and what was left of the Grandcaravan logo.
People love it! It looks really good!
 

Asp Man

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Anyone that would need a vehicle with 4 doors would buy the SRT Jeep, no minivan needed.


Exactly. Thank you.

OK, what follows may sound a bit defensive, but it's obvious some of you think me a heritic for not praising the JSRT8.;)

I well know that the Jeep SRT8 (which is still a Jeep) is awsome:2tu:, I see soccer mommies blowing through stop lights while putting on makeup and cutting people off while on the phone in 'em all the time, but I still hold that by putting that badge on the Cherokee (which is still a Jeep, mind you) that they watered the SRT image down a bit. Maybe some of you disagree, but I'm sure some will side with me (someone, are you out there? please!?:D)

Scene: gas station, anytown USA. You're in your '09 SRT8 ACR, gassing up for a track day.
Bystander 1: Hey, look a Viper!
Bystander 2: Wow, that's an ACR, holy crap!! Where's my camera!
Bystander 1: What's ACR? I thought it was an SRT like moms Jeep?
Owner: It's both, it's an Viper SRT ACR.
Bystander 1: Oh, I think my moms SRT must be an ACR, too.
Bystander 2: Naw, the Jeep ACR comes out next year.

I liken it to what they did to the "R/T" moniker, putting it on things like Neons and Avengers and Jouneys. R/T used to mean something, now...
You should be thinking Viper or at least Challenger or Charger when you hear SRT, not "Jeep", that's all. I am aware that they spead the name around the other divisions, too and of the other vehicles it's attached to, as well, and some of those...eh...well...
 

Coloviper

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SRT8 Jeep was a fun vehicle with very addictive power and exhaust sound, but very poor quality. Had mine for 14 months brand new and had nothing but problems with it. Put on around 16k miles and had simply had enough.

1. Shocks kept failing in the back. (3 times and then dealership stopped fixing them, saying I must think the Jeep is off road and taking it off road, which is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.) Stopped arguing with them and Jeep; just sold it.
2. Very rough ride, for a daily driver just too rough as tires/rims were way, way too heavy for a good ride.
3. Floated around the highway when traveling at speeds above 80 mph. Very unstable Truck.
4. Consistent 12 mpg no matter if driving lightly or hard. Truck is begging for a 6 or 7 or 8 speed transmission. Looked great but a large motor was not enough to keep it.
5. Winter driving on ice/snow was very, very poor. Worst traction control system out of any vehicle I have ever owned and truck was useless in non ideal driving conditions as only a max of 10% to 25% goes to front tires. Even had Custom Billet 18" rims made to fit with Blizzack Ice Tires, whihc improved the situaiton tremendously, but was only a patch for the real problem.
6. Paint quality? Again poorest out of any vehicle I have ever owned new as exterior paint color did not even cover primer in the door jams. Dodge/Jeep would not fix, though did acknowledge the problem. Last vehilce I ever bought new out of the showroom at night.
7. Legendary Jeep Service??????????

As fun as the truck was to step on the gas and slide back in the seat, it was not a realistic daily driver type of vehicle for all conditions. Hate to say it, but I agree with Asp_Man that carrying the SRT badge was a wrong move. I also have to say that out of all the vehicles I have owned new in my life, it was the biggest disappointment and worst car buying/ownership experience I have ever had, and I have owned a number of Jeeps in my life as well. Watering down the moniker is wrong, but I fully understand why they do it. Most people are sheep.
 

C.Hermsen

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SRT8 Jeep.....but very poor quality.

I'm very glad to hear you say that actually. I used to have an 00 Jeep Cherokee as a daily driver, and that thing was the biggest pile of junk I'd ever owned. I actually considered getting a SRT8 Jeep for a daily, the only thing holding me back was previous poor Jeep experiences.

Makes me glad I didn't get another one...
 

Martin

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Wow. Positive article!;)

:D

I know - when I saw it and also knew your post was out there, I chuckled a bit. The writer has some good points, but some of it is a bit over the top. I personally don't think there's any room in the world for minivans - my parents brought us up just fine with a station wagon, and there are plenty of great sport utes out there nowadays that can be a people hauler when needed and also do some decent off-roading. My only experience with a minivan was renting one in Vegas one week to haul all my drunk-a$$ friends around, and that car unforunately met a rather early demise... Rentals are designed for that, though :)
 
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