Thanks for posting the link, I should have thrown that in. It is a pretty good article, and everyone can always use a little more ZomBee in their day!

What was the Jensen's tie in to Mt. St. Helens? I still haven't worked that bit out. It was fine in the 70s but exploded by the 80s?

I have driven some new version rental Caravans and T&C's on work trips, and they seem better, like the cupholders made a comeback. The console definitely makes a difference. Ours has no console, and the lack of the door panels cupholders you mention I find ridiculous. We had a 2000 LH with door cupholders, but seriously, none on the minivan?!

I am with you, I'd gladly roll about town in one. Plus I hear the 90s are back already, and I dare say there are but a few vehicles that scream, 'It's 1997! And I am so money, baby.', like a purple Plymouth Prowler.

I am not claiming this as a guess, but I thought it looked a bit AMC-ish and so typed in 'gremlin craigslist rusty' to the google images, and this is what the 6th image was:

There have been show cars that elicited high levels of want from me, and then severe disappointment when the end result was not as awesome as the vision, to be sure. But if we are being realistic typically those cars are ones that I have little chance of actually owning, so the feelings of disappoint are really just impotent pissing and moaning from an enthusiast perspective.

My personal big let down is much less interesting than a highly touted concept design, and involves a Dodge minivan I bought for my wife. Does anyone remember the Caravan ads of the 90s that focused on the stupendous quantity of cupholders? I think at one point they were up to something like 26.

Well, we bought a 07 used, right after the 08 redesign, so it was a decent deal. I admittedly not a huge fan, it is a driving appliance, and as such has few redeeming qualities. But the biggest disappointment is the lack of cupholders! The one area I never expected it to be deficient in, and it irritates me to no end. The van has six--Six!--cupholders, and that's it. Even worse, two of those six are way down low on the sides of the middle seats, and effectively unusable, especially for children. In the front, there are only 2 pop out holders below the climate controls. This rears its ugly head entirely more frequently than it should, whether it is needing a place to set the kids' drinks for a few minutes in the drive thru, or someplace to set my delicious milkshake as well as my drink.

The Prowler still garners a double clutch from me, even with all that plastic up front. The engine and transmission were undoubtedly a serious disappointment, I totally agree. There was certainly the opportunity for it to be Plymouth's Viper, and they totally squandered it.

Well, I mean, he was in, uh, you know, that thing with Jackie Chan right?

You blew my mind with that, even had to go to the googles to make sure I wasn't crazy.

There will be a bi-weekly test required to successfully navigate the jump.