Chrysler’s latest recipe for success in the minivan market

Chrysler calls its minivan models its “bread and butter” cars – so with typical showmanship Chrysler president Tom LaSorda donned an apron at the Detroit Show and joined well-known American chef Bobby Flay in presenting the “recipe” for its latest-generation large MPVs.

LaSorda helped Flay cook up recipes representing the Dodge and Chrysler versions of the vehicles – a spicy pork dish for the more sporty Dodge Caravan and a rich chocolate cake for the smoother Chrysler Town and Country.

The pun-laden presentation contained another major ingredient – cheese, and LaSorda raised a laugh from the media when he joked that “the kitchen’s been pretty hot lately” in the minivan sector.

The vehicles are significant for Chrysler – more than 11 million have been sold since the first models were launched in 1984. The new versions are the fifth-generation MPVs, and area all-new inside and out, with three new V6 petrol engines and a six-speed gearbox, a first for the segment.

The cars go on sale in the US in the autumn, with European versions of just the Chrysler following in early 2008. These will retain the Grand Voyager name and will also be available with a 2.8-litre diesel engine. European Grand Voyagers will no longer be built at Chrysler’s Graz plant in Austria – this plant now concentrates on the Chrysler 300 saloon and estate, plus Jeep Commander and Grand Cherokee, and all MPVs will be built at two North American plants: St Louis, Missouri and Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

LaSorda said there were 35 new features on the cars, including swivelling second-row seats; dual DVD systems so passengers in the second and third rows of seats can watch different programmes; a one-touch powered folding rear seat; and a flex-fuel capability of the smallest 3.3-litre V6 engine, allowing it to run on clean E85 fuel, a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol. 3.6-litre and 4-litre engines complete the line-up.

Chrysler design vice-president Ralph Gilles said the new cars had more upright side windows, giving greater headroom and allowing fitment of “yummy interior features” including ambient interior lighting in the headliner which Gilles said gave a “zen-like halo of soft green light over the rear seats”, and a sliding centre console between the front seats that was designed “like a Swiss army knife”, allowing cup-holders and storage compartments to be accessed by passengers sitting in the second row of seats.