1996 Chevrolet Express VanA dream come true for the Chevy faithful. By Jim McCrawOverview The Chevy Sportvan is gone, long live the Chevy Express. This is the newest full-size van on the market, all new from the ground up after a 25-year wait, and for Chevrolet, it's a chance to catch up to the Ford competition. That's because this is the first Chevrolet full-size van to have body-on-frame construction, after a quarter of a century of welded unitbody design that's difficult a... Read Full Story

1996 Chrysler Town & Country LxiThe gold standard in minivans. By Ray ThursbyOverview It goes almost without saying that the world of minivans is Chrysler's turf. Since 1984, the company has been building--and the public has been buying--the vans other manufacturers love to emulate. Whether sold with Plymouth (Voyager), Dodge (Caravan) or Chrysler (Town & Country) badges, these not-so-boxy boxes have set industry standards for value, comfort and space utilization. Now, thanks... Read Full Story

1996 Dodge Ram Wagon SLTA passenger van built to truck standards. By Jim McCrawOverview The full-size Dodge Ram Wagon passenger van is among the oldest vehicles on the American car and truck market, having first hit the showrooms in time for the 1971 model year. A quarter of a century later, the Dodge full-size passenger van is still plugging away, in the same size and shape as the original 1971 model, but with about a million product improvements baked in. Walkaround Like the Ford ... Read Full Story

1996 Ford Aerostar Rear-drive virtues in a solid survivor. By Lynn HenningOverview Bad enough that Johnny Carson had to retire. Tougher yet--for men, anyway--when Madison Avenue's idea of maturity forced Cheryl Tiegs off magazine covers. Considering all the emphasis on youth in America, it's nice to know a few traditions remain untouched, such as that roomy old reliable, the Ford Aerostar minivan. It's a big minivan with a folksy ambience--a family dinner table on wheels--a... Read Full Story

1996 Ford Club Wagon The body-on-frame King of the Road. By Jim McCrawOverview The undisputed market leader in the full-size passenger van segment is the Ford Club Wagon, the passenger version of the Econoline van. The Club Wagon, until this model year the only full-size passenger van with body-on-frame construction, has always been head-and-shoulders better than the Chevrolet and Dodge full-size vans, which are built with unitbody construction techniques and simply aren't as stiff o... Read Full Story

1996 Ford Windstar LXLast year's champ is still a top contender. By Ray ThursbyOverview There's a real struggle going on for supremacy in the minivan world, a battle being fought largely between Ford and Chrysler, with GM currently bringing up the rear. With each new model year, the opponents exert themselves to the utmost to increase performance, comfort, style and utility value without driving prices beyond competitive levels. Chrysler was the first to stake a claim in this fi... Read Full Story

1996 Honda Odyssey Nimble, versatile and the most car-like of them all. By Michelle KrebsOverview For many years Honda buyers could start with a small Civic, then graduate to a larger Accord as their need for room grew and their incomes increased. But once they began having larger families and required vehicles with even more room, there was no place for them to go within the Honda family. And there were plenty of places for them to go outside of Honda--specifically, Chrysler, Ford, Gene... Read Full Story

1996 Mazda MPV Four doors and removable rear seats add practicality. By Mitch McCullough, Editor-in-ChiefOverview Oh, what a difference a door makes. Mazda has added a fourth door to the MPV this year. The new rear door on the driver's side means back seat passengers can get in and out from either side. It means the driver no longer has to run all the way around to unbuckle the baby from the back seat. It means the MPV is even more carlike than before. The Mazda MPV is certainly not... Read Full Story

1996 Mercury Villager GSGlobal player in a changing world. By Bob MarkovichOverview Once upon a time in the car business, it seemed Japan could do no wrong and America could do almost nothing right. America's Big Three carmakers figured if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. So they partnered up with their Japanese competitors and built vehicles here using much of the same engineering that had given Japan an edge. The Mercury Villager is a product of just such a partnership. I... Read Full Story

1996 Plymouth Voyager Better than ever. Better than most. By Marcia RuffOverview It has been smooth sailing for Chrysler ever since the company launched its minivan in 1984 and took ownership of the genre. The only other company to challenge Chrysler's dominance has been Ford, whose Windstar briefly became the darling of the critics with its cleaner looks and greater cargo capacity. But that was last year. This year Chrysler strikes back with the first ground-up redesign of the mini... Read Full Story