Years back, I got my parents' old '88 Voyager. I took the middle row bench seat out, turning it into a nice sleeper for camping with a ton of storage. They were indeed good times!
And they were safety nightmares. That's really what moved people from those vans to much safer SUVs.
Roll over any SUV today and the rear passengers stay in the seats, with airbags on the sides. In an old van those passengers got tossed about like rag dolls.
Even worse in a semi-frontal collision - those rear passengers f got tossed forward. Belts in those things could only handle so much lateral motion. Or they had bench seats and no one used the lap belts. Or captains chairs, and if you did use your belt, well, the chair could come loose.
Yeah, but there’s no reason any of those issues wouldn’t be solved with modern seat belts, chair attachments and air bags. Mini vans are safe AF. And less likely to roll over.
18 Comments
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 22 pts · 12d
People bought vans in the 70s just for fucking. Good times.
AiricaFyresong@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 13 pts · 12d
Years back, I got my parents' old '88 Voyager. I took the middle row bench seat out, turning it into a nice sleeper for camping with a ton of storage. They were indeed good times!
ruuster13@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 12d
I thought Voyager came out in 1995...
AiricaFyresong@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 11d
It did! However, the entire family is Trekkies, so we called her V'ger!
AiricaFyresong@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 0 pts · 11d
(double post, ignore)
PattyMcB@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 12d
And doing drugs in
Malyca@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 12d
Lots of murder too :(
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 13 pts · 12d
When my parents got our first minivan (a Dodge Caravan), I always imagined it was a shuttle from Star Trek, too. 🤣
givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 12d
Trading giant vans for SUVs was such a dumb idea...
Like, it feels like we've basically just ended up with a worse version of 70s/80s vans at this point.
sundray@lemmus.org · 7 pts · 12d
Vans for making babies; and then SUVs for carting them to soccer practice. Circle of life, I guess.
SolacefromSilence@fedia.io · 7 pts · 12d
Mini-van, am I a joke to you?
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe · 4 pts · 12d
You don't remember how bad those vans were.
And they were safety nightmares. That's really what moved people from those vans to much safer SUVs.
Roll over any SUV today and the rear passengers stay in the seats, with airbags on the sides. In an old van those passengers got tossed about like rag dolls.
Even worse in a semi-frontal collision - those rear passengers f got tossed forward. Belts in those things could only handle so much lateral motion. Or they had bench seats and no one used the lap belts. Or captains chairs, and if you did use your belt, well, the chair could come loose.
Those vans were bad from a safety perspective.
SolacefromSilence@fedia.io · 12 pts · 12d
Look, it was the parent's duty to reach out their arm and hold the kids against the seat, if there was a sudden stop or imminent collision.
The kids weren't sitting in the back unless there were other adults in the car. Otherwise who would light the cigarettes?
verity_kindle@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 11d
Or hold the steering wheel while Elaine applied her makeup?
I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 12d
Yeah, but there’s no reason any of those issues wouldn’t be solved with modern seat belts, chair attachments and air bags. Mini vans are safe AF. And less likely to roll over.
Korval@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 11d
Was Dodge going for a Klingon emblem there?
ruuster13@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 11d
dOdGe
sam_the_tech@lemmy.world · -3 pts · 12d
Now THATS a spicy meatball!