Good morning! Today, in honor of the big Oasis reunion, we’re partying like it’s 1994 and looking at two American minivans with very different design philosophies. Which one is a better place to listen to your cassette of What’s The Story, Morning Glory? We’ll find out.
It looks like you all thought that Eldorado yesterday was as ridiculous as I did. It lost in a landslide to the Olds Toronado. The seller of the Caddy says it’s one of only 100 of its kind; that’s 101 too many of them if you ask me. That thing has aged about as well as a free shrimp cocktail at Caesar’s.
And yeah, the Toronado’s styling had calmed down and gotten less interesting by 1970, but it’s still a cool car, and it’s before GM softened up the suspension, but after the switch to disc brakes, so it should be a good driver. Just find some blue bucket seats out of a wrecked Cutlass or something, and go drive it as-is. That would be my plan, anyway.
The success of Chrysler’s minivans in the mid-1980s caught the rest of the auto industry flat-footed. GM and Ford rushed to design competitors by pointing a shrink-ray at their full-size vans, Toyota and other Japanese makes brought over weird toaster-shaped things with the engines under the seats, and Volkswagen soldiered along with the rear-engine Vanagon. Eventually everyone settled on the same transverse FWD layout as Chrysler, but it took a while. In 1994, you could still get a wide variety of chassis configurations under your box on wheels. Let’s check out a couple of them.
1994 Oldsmobile Silhouette – $2,800
Engine/drivetrain: 3.8-liter overhead valve V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Topeka, KS
Odometer reading: 120,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Whenever a new type of vehicle comes along, it doesn’t take long for someone to make a luxury and/or sporty version of it. After the Chevy Astro and GMC Safari failed to make a dent in Chrysler’s sales dominance, GM tried again with the U-body “Dustbuster” vans. Following closely on the heels of Chrysler’s own Town & Country luxury van, Oldsmobile’s Silhouette brought leather seats, power everything, and in 1994, a power sliding door to the minivan market. The “Cadillac of minivans” was born.
Oldsmobile didn’t just add luxury to its Dustbuster van; it upped the power ante by shoehorning a Buick 3800 V6 into its sloped nose. The result was the most powerful van on the market at the time – and an absolute service nightmare. A ninety-degree V6 with one bank buried under the dashboard is not something you want to try to work on. Luckily, this one has had a bunch of recent work done already, and it runs and drives just fine.
If you’ve never driven one of these vans, it does take some getting used to. There’s a lot of dashboard between you and the windshield, and you can’t see where that long pointy nose ends. The seats are comfy, though, and overall the visibility is pretty good. This one is in good condition inside, and thanks to a new air conditioning compressor, it should be nice and cool in there.
The styling of these vans has always been a little controversial. Personally, I like them, and I think they have aged well. They looked like nothing else on the road when they came out, and all these years later, they still stand out, especially with so few left. This one looks clean and shiny, and would surely be a hit at an ’80s-90s car gathering – or a screening of Get Shorty.
1994 Ford Aerostar XL – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 3.0-liter overhead valve V6, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Castle Rock, WA
Odometer reading: 158,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, but has a battery drain
Ford’s answer to the Chrysler vans, the Aerostar, appeared in 1986 and hung around for eleven years. Like the Chevy Astro, it was rear-wheel-drive and used drivetrains from the Ranger compact pickup. Because of the RWD and the truck drivetrain, the Aerostar could tow a whole lot more than the Caravan and Voyager, and Ford milked this in its advertising. Even the ad for this Aerostar makes a mention of it.
By 1994, the Aerostar’s engine options were down to two, corresponding to the Ranger’s optional V6s: the 3.0 liter Vulcan V6 from the Taurus, and the 4.0 liter Cologne engine used in the Explorer. This one has the 3.0, mated to a four-speed automatic. It runs and drives well, the seller says, but the dome light sometimes stays on and kills the battery.
The seller claims this is the Eddie Bauer trim package, but I don’t think it is; I think it’s just green. Eddie Bauer Ford trucks have badges all over to that effect, and a much fancier interior. This is an XL model, according to the badge on the back, though it has some options like power windows. I’m not sure why the seller would misrepresent it like that, but people write weird things in car ads.
It is in mighty nice condition, and it’s the less-practical but better-looking short version. Not short wheelbase; unlike the Chrysler vans, all Aerostars had the same wheelbase and just added on extra length behind the rear axle for the long versions.
Old minivans aren’t usually this well-kept; as practical, working vehicles, they tend to get used up. These two seem to have escaped that fate. But I’m not sure what you’d do with them now; they’re too old to be used as family haulers and too nice to be used as trucks. Someone must be able to come up with a use case for them, though. Pick the one you prefer, and then tell me in the comments what you’d use it for.
(Image credits: Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace sellers)
I have always sort of liked the Dustbuster vans,I remember a white one from when I was young that I always thought looked cool.
Changing spark plugs probably suck, but that probably goes for the Ford as well,which is boring as well.
This was easy- The Olds looks to be in great shape and comfortable. The Fix Or Repair Daily is ugly junk. I would use the Olds to “live in a van down by the river!”
My family had an Aerostar when I was a kid, an 86 I believe with the digital dash and the 5ft long auto on the floor. It was a good small quad hauler with the rear seats removed, but it started doing all sorts of weird shit. Auto choke not shutting off and killing the engine, and it rusted worse than any other car we’ve had in SW Michigan. I’m going with the dust buster today.
I’ll take the ‘Cadillac of Minivans’ from Oldsmobile.
Sadly around here most Aerostars ended their hard working days hauling and displaying rust. I haven’t seen one in ages. I do occasionally see a dustbuster in the wild still.
Dustbuster for me. Drop a Series II or III 3800 for a nice boost in power over the Series I under the hood. It’ll need some wiring trickery. Likely the transmission will need some new steels to put up with 40 more horses.