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There probably isn’t one for the same reason minivans in general are unpopular. You could say the Model X is pretty close to being a minivan. Granted it’s near

There probably isn’t one for the same reason minivans in general are unpopular. You could say the Model X is pretty close to being a minivan. Granted it’s nearly six figures in price.

bluejekyll 3y ago
One of the things going on in the market is CAFE rules in the US encouraging trucks and suvs as it allows them to make a larger profit than standard pedestrian vehicles. The car companies market these vehicles very aggressively. I thought that was about gas engines, but because there are so many on the road now people want bigger vehicles to be “safer” from everyone else on the street, which is a vicious cycle. The minivan was very popular until car companies started pushing the suv as a way around CAFE. The thing we need to do is remove the CAFE exemptions for trucks, and this problem might start correcting itself.
- toast0 3y ago
  Pretty sure we did remove CAFE exemptions for trucks and it made things worse. Unified CAFE standards by footprint mean small trucks are unsellable, a 4 cylinder, single cab, 6 foot bed truck is all the truck a lot of people need, but they don't get enough mpg for CAFE, so make it wider, longer, and give it a bigger engine, and make it taller while you're at it.
  - bluejekyll 3y ago
    Hm, I know that the Obama admin set more stringent standards, and then the Trump admin reduced them, did the truck exemption get removed? Here’s the Biden admins rules, which really seems like putting lipstick on a pig at this point, “ The rule’s impact would vary among different types of vehicles. Mileage requirements for passenger cars would rise 2 percent a year from 2027 to 2032, and 4 percent a year for light trucks and SUVs over the same time period. The requirement for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans would rise 10 percent a year starting in 2030.”
    - toast0 3y ago
      Ok, I looked again, and I was fairly widely off. Small footprint trucks (s-10) do have a very high mpg target for a truck, but it's still less than a car of the same footprint. Not far enough lower to encourage their production, of course. Large 'small trucks' like the current Ranger have a target that's lower than a car of similar footprint (which is the largest footprint listed for cars); and larger trucks have even lower targets.
- decafninja 3y ago
  I disagree that that is the primary reason for the minivan’s demise. They were plain and simply viewed as supremely uncool, even during the height of their popularity. Most people bought them because they had to, not because they were beloved. Now, the typical modern CUV isn’t exactly considered cool either, but they are the byproduct evolved from SUVs that were often seen as being cooler than minivans. Ironically real SUVs have become a small niche product too nowadays.

There probably isn’t one for the same reason minivans in general are unpopular. You could say the Model X is pretty close to being a minivan. Granted it’s nearly six figures in price.

bluejekyll 3y ago

One of the things going on in the market is CAFE rules in the US encouraging trucks and suvs as it allows them to make a larger profit than standard pedestrian vehicles. The car companies market these vehicles very aggressively. I thought that was about gas engines, but because there are so many on the road now people want bigger vehicles to be “safer” from everyone else on the street, which is a vicious cycle. The minivan was very popular until car companies started pushing the suv as a way around CAFE. The thing we need to do is remove the CAFE exemptions for trucks, and this problem might start correcting itself.

toast0 3y ago
Pretty sure we did remove CAFE exemptions for trucks and it made things worse. Unified CAFE standards by footprint mean small trucks are unsellable, a 4 cylinder, single cab, 6 foot bed truck is all the truck a lot of people need, but they don't get enough mpg for CAFE, so make it wider, longer, and give it a bigger engine, and make it taller while you're at it.
- bluejekyll 3y ago
  Hm, I know that the Obama admin set more stringent standards, and then the Trump admin reduced them, did the truck exemption get removed? Here’s the Biden admins rules, which really seems like putting lipstick on a pig at this point, “ The rule’s impact would vary among different types of vehicles. Mileage requirements for passenger cars would rise 2 percent a year from 2027 to 2032, and 4 percent a year for light trucks and SUVs over the same time period. The requirement for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans would rise 10 percent a year starting in 2030.”
  - toast0 3y ago
    Ok, I looked again, and I was fairly widely off. Small footprint trucks (s-10) do have a very high mpg target for a truck, but it's still less than a car of the same footprint. Not far enough lower to encourage their production, of course. Large 'small trucks' like the current Ranger have a target that's lower than a car of similar footprint (which is the largest footprint listed for cars); and larger trucks have even lower targets.
decafninja 3y ago
I disagree that that is the primary reason for the minivan’s demise. They were plain and simply viewed as supremely uncool, even during the height of their popularity. Most people bought them because they had to, not because they were beloved. Now, the typical modern CUV isn’t exactly considered cool either, but they are the byproduct evolved from SUVs that were often seen as being cooler than minivans. Ironically real SUVs have become a small niche product too nowadays.