You’ve got a Chevy AND its GMC twin, but no Aerostar? Seriously?
Hard to argue with 1980s Toyota, but there’s a reason the Toyota Van didn’t sell well here. Gotta go with the Astro.
Moist_Arm_7860
The caravan or the ford
Pup111290
Definitely the G20 Beauville. Beauvilles were nicely equipped and comfortable
I_amnotanonion
Astro or Caravan
TheCuddlyCougar
Drove an astro 4wd once and it was a blast, real quick. You could steer the whole van by blowing on the steering wheel it was so sensitive. It made whipping it around so easy.
MrEpicMustache
As a former Toyota VanWagon owner… a Toyota VanWagon.
TacO_Tudesday
Toyota van all day. Looking for one now but the prices are soooo high. Also that Nissan van is neat because they were all bought back and crushed, so that’s probably the most rare if any are left at all
Con5ume
Looking at my current market, the VW and nothing else is even close when looking at the best long term investment.
For $15,000 I can find a heavily rusted high mileage westfalia that runs like shit. For $20k – $25k I can find one in great condition, either with the original engine or a Subaru swap. One set for the junkyard is still like $8k here.
The Toyota just isn’t around anymore, they all died out. And the other vans are dirt cheap in comparison to the westfalia.
SquidsArePeople2
The Astro if it’s AWD.
lrlr28
The Toyota: I remember thinking how luxurious the moonroof, velour and electric windows were when I was a kid
X-tian-9101
Definitely going with the Ford van with an inline 6. Durability will not be an issue. A second choice would be the Volkswagen van. And I’m not going to lie it’s just because I like them.
petros10v
Ford
Roboticpoultry
For practical purposes the Chrysler. For my own selfish weird car loving self, the Toyota, Mitsubishi or Nissan
Turbulent-Today830
Yoda ALL DAY
thebostman
The Toyota
JEStucker
As someone who watched a 1988 Ford Econoline E150 hit 400,000miles with a manual transmission and a 300i6, I’d have to go with the Ford.
I also had a 92 Econoline that was at 300,000 before I had an oil pump failure that seized the 351v8 that was in it.
PresidentElectFLMan
I owned a 92 AstroVan. At 101k miles it almost literally fell apart
Drzhivago138
Probably what my dad chose that year: a SWB Caravan/Voyager with the V6. Same woodgrain as that one, but white.
hokeyphenokey
Definitely the Dodge 250. I had the cargo version. It was a tank. You could beat the shit out of it and it didn’t care. I straight up abused it and it never left me stranded. Took it all over the place. I always had a come-along and a shovel just in case and I never got stranded. (obviously it was not a 4×4)
It had so much room for things and activities.
Drank a lot of gas though.
We also had the Caravan (actually it was the Plymouth, and it was maroon). It was definitely not as tough but I had no complaints. People say dodge and plymouth suck but they didn’t suck for me.
Both were 1987s. We started with the launch version of the ’84 Voyager with a manual transmission. It was simply underpowered with the little 4 banger. We upgraded to the ’87 and the 6/auto. It was more comfortable than most of the other cars on this list.
I just saw the Mitsu a couple of days ago, jacked, bullbar, roof basket. Very clean.
HectorZapato
Toyota Himedic 😂🤙
reasonablevanner
I’d get a g30 and put bench seats in it
SirMild
Awd astro, one of the few vehicles that could have had 3 generations in a row conceived in it, and it’ll still drive across the country another 10 times
EmbarrassedDeer5746
Literally any one except the Chrysler. Seriously, why do all Chrysler mini vans burn oil to the point of smoking continuously?
SteveTheBluesman
The full size Chevy, GMC and Ford will still be rolling after the last cockroach is dead.
Pearlthepoodle
Number 5 Mitsubishi Van bought one used in 1991 and was very nice for 4 as 2 seats up front and 2 captain chairs in the back that swiveled and reclined you comfortably could sleep in those back 2 in comfort. 4 speed auto got over 20 mpg and was smooth and not loud inside like most of the Era. Had a sunroof electric that went from front to rear seats. You could drive without engine or wind noise. More space inside for everything to go camping for days at a time. Sold as brakes were not as good as wanted. 1994 vans stopped way shorter distance. Sold with over 100k for same amount as bought years later. Handled good and never needed any repairs mechanically. See them around imported from Japan with 4wd and very popular in Northern California. Very capable in 2wd bet 4wd was way better with extra ground clearance. Sought after to this day a rare sight in the USA
![[Ferrari F40] spotted in Zurich, Switzerland](https://www.evshift.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4zt0sgy576vd1-770x515.jpg "[Ferrari F40] spotted in Zurich, Switzerland")
![[Ferrari F40] at a gas station in Hinsdale, IL](https://www.evshift.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/eyn3d23bm5vd1-770x515.jpeg "[Ferrari F40] at a gas station in Hinsdale, IL")
35 Comments
Definitely the Dodge Caravan
You’ve got a Chevy AND its GMC twin, but no Aerostar? Seriously?
Hard to argue with 1980s Toyota, but there’s a reason the Toyota Van didn’t sell well here. Gotta go with the Astro.
The caravan or the ford
Definitely the G20 Beauville. Beauvilles were nicely equipped and comfortable
Astro or Caravan
Drove an astro 4wd once and it was a blast, real quick. You could steer the whole van by blowing on the steering wheel it was so sensitive. It made whipping it around so easy.
As a former Toyota VanWagon owner… a Toyota VanWagon.
Toyota van all day. Looking for one now but the prices are soooo high. Also that Nissan van is neat because they were all bought back and crushed, so that’s probably the most rare if any are left at all
Looking at my current market, the VW and nothing else is even close when looking at the best long term investment.
For $15,000 I can find a heavily rusted high mileage westfalia that runs like shit. For $20k – $25k I can find one in great condition, either with the original engine or a Subaru swap. One set for the junkyard is still like $8k here.
The Toyota just isn’t around anymore, they all died out. And the other vans are dirt cheap in comparison to the westfalia.
The Astro if it’s AWD.
The Toyota: I remember thinking how luxurious the moonroof, velour and electric windows were when I was a kid
Definitely going with the Ford van with an inline 6. Durability will not be an issue. A second choice would be the Volkswagen van. And I’m not going to lie it’s just because I like them.
Ford
For practical purposes the Chrysler. For my own selfish weird car loving self, the Toyota, Mitsubishi or Nissan
Yoda ALL DAY
The Toyota
As someone who watched a 1988 Ford Econoline E150 hit 400,000miles with a manual transmission and a 300i6, I’d have to go with the Ford.
I also had a 92 Econoline that was at 300,000 before I had an oil pump failure that seized the 351v8 that was in it.
I owned a 92 AstroVan. At 101k miles it almost literally fell apart
Probably what my dad chose that year: a SWB Caravan/Voyager with the V6. Same woodgrain as that one, but white.
Definitely the Dodge 250. I had the cargo version. It was a tank. You could beat the shit out of it and it didn’t care. I straight up abused it and it never left me stranded. Took it all over the place. I always had a come-along and a shovel just in case and I never got stranded. (obviously it was not a 4×4)
It had so much room for things and activities.
Drank a lot of gas though.
We also had the Caravan (actually it was the Plymouth, and it was maroon). It was definitely not as tough but I had no complaints. People say dodge and plymouth suck but they didn’t suck for me.
Both were 1987s. We started with the launch version of the ’84 Voyager with a manual transmission. It was simply underpowered with the little 4 banger. We upgraded to the ’87 and the 6/auto. It was more comfortable than most of the other cars on this list.
Astro or the Chevy van
Westfalia Synchro, they can sit on the floor.
3 or 9, I like Chevy vans
VW
Transformers G1
Transformers ROTB
Lighting McQueen
A-team
The Toyota, hands down.
I just saw the Mitsu a couple of days ago, jacked, bullbar, roof basket. Very clean.
Toyota Himedic
😂🤙
I’d get a g30 and put bench seats in it
Awd astro, one of the few vehicles that could have had 3 generations in a row conceived in it, and it’ll still drive across the country another 10 times
Literally any one except the Chrysler. Seriously, why do all Chrysler mini vans burn oil to the point of smoking continuously?
The full size Chevy, GMC and Ford will still be rolling after the last cockroach is dead.
Number 5 Mitsubishi Van bought one used in 1991 and was very nice for 4 as 2 seats up front and 2 captain chairs in the back that swiveled and reclined you comfortably could sleep in those back 2 in comfort. 4 speed auto got over 20 mpg and was smooth and not loud inside like most of the Era. Had a sunroof electric that went from front to rear seats. You could drive without engine or wind noise. More space inside for everything to go camping for days at a time. Sold as brakes were not as good as wanted. 1994 vans stopped way shorter distance. Sold with over 100k for same amount as bought years later. Handled good and never needed any repairs mechanically. See them around imported from Japan with 4wd and very popular in Northern California. Very capable in 2wd bet 4wd was way better with extra ground clearance. Sought after to this day a rare sight in the USA
The club, Texas chainsaw vibes
Ford econoline conversion van. With curtains.