2010 L.A. Auto Show: Chrysler Town and Country

Chrysler got rid of the chrome on their new emblem, so why not get rid of it over the rest of the car.

@forgeryfade, I didn't see any chrome comment on the nissan quest article, are only american manufacturers not allow to use chrome?

Edmunds' long term Grand Caravan was a piece of crap (it was the first to be bestowed the "Power Failgate" moniker), good thing Chrysler has realized there was a lot of improvement needed in this car.

"Edmunds' long term Grand Caravan was a piece of crap "

It had some minor problems but "piece of crap" is an overstatement.

Nothing major ever went wrong unlike some other long term cars.

Most power in the segment. Upgraded interior. New tech features. This (I mean the Grand Caravan) could very well become the new market favorite, and for once actually be better than the Sienna/Odyssey.

@lostboyz, the new Quest is just ugly the chrome on it blinds me from having to look at it.

Edmunds long term Dodge Caravan was tortured solely for the sport of it. In the end in Edmunds "true confessions" wrap up they essentially admitted it and remarked that it held up well other then the hugely doted upon rear bumper rubber protector warping problem. To this day, here in Arizona where it is way hotter than wimpy southern California every time I follow a Caravan I look to see if the rubber protector is warped - I have seen exactly one.

If I recall correctly Edmunds admitted at the end of the test destructo derby they had developed a fondness for the machine.

Quotes: "The Caravan is near the end of it's tether. We've had it a while and we've put a good beating on it. "

"Now that I've set the keys on the board and walked away, I don't want to say goodbye to this donkey. I have another multi-day assignment starting today that I could use it for but it won't be there for me this time. "

"It had some minor problems but "piece of crap" is an overstatement.

Nothing major ever went wrong unlike some other long term cars."

From the blogs...

"I'll forget about all the squeaks, the road noise, the clunky doors that don't always work, the crappy stereo, the floating ride, the uncomfortable seats..."

"Plus, this thing creaks like a listing tanker - sounds cheap all around. "

"Power sliding side doors are nice for when you have to load kids up for school but one door has already needed repair. In the end I just couldn't spend my own money on this van."

"Deep into this discussion they bring on a guy talking about reliability ratings and how Ford has gone up, GM has gone both up and down, while Dodge has taken a nose dive, citing the Sebring and their "line of minivans" as the worst of the worst from the maker.

Really? I can't imagine. Nearly all of the posts on our site regarding this vehicle are negative in some way."

"I hemmed and hawed and hit the road. Turns out the DGC isn't that bad. Oh, it's built like a high school science project gone wrong, packs more squeeks and rattles than a bundle of snake mice and still feels like the rear suspension is missing its dampers, but I also found a lot to like."

"The interior quality of our long term 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan is so disappointing, it's difficult for me to put it into words. But I'm going to give it a shot.

This van feels like it was designed and assembled by apes. Apes that were pounded mercilesly by bean counters to get more cost out of the poor resulting van's interior...

Apes that have never been in a Honda Odyssey. Apes that have no respect for their customers. Apes that have no problem sleeping at night after selling people a plasticy, poorly put together crapmobile for the ridiculous sum of $40,200. "

"If I spent that much of my hard earned dollars on this van, the first thing I would do is drive it head long into a bridge abutment. Sure, I'd probably be dead. But at least I wouldn't have to drive it anymore. Or pay for it. And remember, I haven't once complained about the Caravan's nonexistent brakes, or its apparently missing rear suspension, or its 4.0-liter V6 which feels and sounds like it's full of rocks. No, I'm only talking about its interior, which is seemingly without a soft surface, a properly aligned panel or a single switchgear that delivers a pleasing tactile sensation. Hey, what do you want for $40K? Quality?

Instead the Grand Caravan feels like Dodge just doesn't care. Like the company has given up. Take the Caravan's shifter for instance. You must use it every time you drive the car, so it should feel good right? Common sense. But the Caravan's shifter doesn't feel good. It feels like one of my five year old's art projects. It crashes into Drive with such a junky clatter you'd swear Dodge forgot to install some bushing or some little piece of something that's supposed to make it not feel that lame. But Dodge didn't forget. Instead the company left it out to save money.

Even the little + sign on the shifter has already jettisoned itself. It seems our Detroit Editor Dan Pund wiped it off with the tip of his index finger by accident when he was doing a bit of cookie crumb removal. Pathetic. Guess somebody at Dodge realized the permanent ink would have cost extra."

.... plus the power tailgate mechanism self-destructed (and jammed on the warping bumper pad) and it failed to start several times because of some problem in the starter system.

Sounds kinda crappy to me... or to use Scott Oldham's words, "crapmobile".

^^ Also, from June to September '08 the Caravan had 4 dealer visits to fix problems, including recurring brake issues.

It quickly gained notoriety among the staff:

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2008/09/2008-dodge-grand-caravan-car-board-comments.html