QOTD: Can You Build an Ideal Crapwagon Garage? (Part VII: Vans)
In last week’s Crapwagon Garage QOTD, we combined truck and station wagon to create an SUV, picking five winners. In part VII of the series, we’ll combine truck and station wagon a bit differently and end up with a van.
That’s right, it’s time for some (ugh). Car-based minivans also apply, so we’re not limited to things like the sweet Safari GT above.
This week, the Forgettable Favorite Award goes to:
Ajla (again) and JohnTaurus’ suggestion, the Isuzu VehiCROSS. Concept styling meets capable SUV in a vehicle which is already commanding more money than other similar vintage used vehicles. Special recognition goes to the rarer Ironman Edition versions with their different paint colors. Delightful, and you probably won’t lose money if you keep it a while.
On to the vans! Let’s review the rules:
- A crapwagon must be a vehicle which is relatively easy to find and purchase using an internet.
- All vehicles in the crapwagon garage must have been sold as new, in the North American market.
- Said vehicles must be obtainable to the casual crapwagon collector (CCC). This means in clean, running condition each one asks $7,000 or less on a normal day.
- Your suggestions must fit into the vehicle category of the week. If you don’t like the category, that’s tough. We’ll get to a category you like eventually.
- There are five rules to this garage game, and that’s the maximum number of vehicles you may submit for each section.
And here’s my first selection; I’ve harped on it a few times here previously. It’s most fitting with my Nineties sensibilities, two-tone desires, and love of special editions. It’s the Mercury Villager Nautica, which was the fanciest Nissan Quest money could buy. Downsides include rust resistance, and a VG30 rather than VQ30 (it has a timing belt to change). They’re rare and worthless.
It was tough to pick just one more favorite to feature, but it has to be one of these. Another Nineties luxury wagon, Chrysler’s Town & Country. Lace alloys, gold scripts, and ruched leather abound in this fully-loaded van. Special love goes to the purple and gold combination shown here. They were also available in all-wheel drive, but that might be asking for too much these two decades later.
What are your van selections for the Crapwagon Garage?
[Images: GM, Isuzu, Ford, FCA]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Eagle summit awd Isuzu oasis
1961-65 Corvair Greenbrier or Corvan. Indestructible, easy to repair, good space efficiency, brakes superior to many of today's vehicles. You would not believe the stuff I have overloaded one of these with.