MotorwayAmerica.com

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

(November 20, 2022) The 2022 Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid minivan is impressive on first drive, and we can vouch for its ability to flawlessly undertake a 3,400-mile, 16-day cross-country trip. We reached that conclusion after a successful four-person road trip to eight National Parks and a myriad of other sites in the western United States a few years ago.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The minivan may be the greatest single invention for moving families and cargo from place to place. It was an instant success when it arrived in 1984 under Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth nameplates replacing the family station wagon as the most effective way to conduct the business of everyday living for dad, mom and the kids. And it remained the best-selling passenger-cargo friendly vehicle until the turn of the century. That's about the time the car-based sport utility crossover became America's new vehicular sweetheart.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

If you had to pick the most comfortable and economical summer road trip vehicle for four adults we think you would come to the conclusion that it's impossible to beat the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-in Hybrid minivan. The award-winning Pacifica has scads of cargo space, and gas mileage that no other minivan or mid-sized-to-large crossover could touch for a 3,400-mile 16-day sightseeing trip. We called it our National Parks vacation because we visited eight national parks and three national monuments in South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Chrysler made the right decision in abandoning the minivan names that have adorned their groundbreaking vehicles for more than 30 years. It was the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country (along with the long-departed Plymouth Voyager) that gave families a new way to travel in the mid-eighties, ushering in a segment that at its peak sold more than a million units a year.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

For nearly two years since the totally redesigned Chrysler 200 entered the congested mid-sized sedan segment as a stylish vehicle that stands out from the crowd, we preferred to bypass the base 4-cylinder engine in favor of Chrysler’s award-winning V-6. We still favor the bigger engine, but after our most recent experience with the car, we have come to appreciate the four as a suitable engine for those who seek fuel efficiency at an affordable price.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The large rear-drive Chrysler 300 that took the full-sized sedan market by storm in 2005 with its blocky-but-masculine, gun-slit window appearance, has lived on through the years without a full-blown total makeover. But if its in-your-face styling still strikes a chord with you, be advised that the 300 has undergone a fairly extensive refreshening for 2015, the first since the 2011 model year.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The mid-sized sedan, one of the largest and most profitable segments in North America has for years left Chrysler in the dust, its only entry, the aging and bland Sebring and the more recent 200. Non-competitive was an understatement.

To improve on the outgoing 200 was not even close to an adequate goal when Chrysler stylists and engineers began developing the new sedan. It needed to be competitive with such mainstream vehicles as the Nissan Altima, Honda Accord and Ford Fusion. To the rescue is an all-new 200 that is so much better in virtually every way than the outgoing model that comparison is an exercise in superfluity.