2007 Minivan Marketplace

They're practical, sensible, versatile—and generally economical to drive. Why, then, do many folks still scoff at minivans and their owners? Should you ignore the "image police" and go for a minivan, despite anyone's taunts?


Ann Fandozzi, DaimlerChrysler's director of product marketing, believes the shunning of minivans, due to their tepid image as suburban "Mom-mobiles," is "kind of a '90s thing." People were "very image conscious" in that decade, but that attitude "doesn't exist today," except for ardent minivan foes who wouldn't be seen in one.

"Jane, 90% of this Job is Instinct."
Hollywood hasn't helped. In the recent comedy "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," for instance, Brad Pitt can't seem to keep the family minivan on course during a high-speed chase. Wife Angelina Jolie takes over, noting that she's a suburban housewife and can therefore drive a minivan properly.


Minivans take a 6.5 percent share of the vehicle market, said Yumi Takayama, product strategy manager for Kia, with more than a million sold per year. Sales have been stable for the past two or three years, Fandozzi advised, predicting a "flat to slightly increasing" market in the coming years. DaimlerChrysler sold more than 400,000 Chrysler and Dodge minivans during 2005, according to Automotive News statistics, making it the unqualified sales leader.


Honda ran a distant second in 2005, with 174,275 sold. Toyota came in third with its Sienna. General Motors' four current models took the Number Four spot, far ahead of Ford, Kia, Nissan, and last-place Mazda. Those figures gave DaimlerChrysler a 37.6-percent share of the total minivan market, while Honda managed 16 percent.