hey guys, we made it thru our first summer without my trusty old 91 aerostar xl, ext., but boy its been an adjustment. i've been stranded at the hardware store with a load of lumber when i found out i couldn't stow it under the seats of my wife's windstar ,since they only sit half as high. i've scrapped bottom with a load of concete mix in the (now my)old dodge caravan since it only has half the ground clearance the aerostar had. i've had to disperse loads of luggage and stuff thru-out the cabin of the windstar on our vacation,as i can only put half as much behind the seats any more. i feel as if i can only do half as much these days.even the dog is confused because he can no longer crawl under the seats to look out the back window! you guessed it, he can only get half as far!
i knew i'd miss that aerostar, but i didn't know how much. now as i reach for the floor shift lever thats not there, or try to open a side window that can't, or stand out in a parking lot with half a load of stuff i can no longer haul, i realize how much. the way i figure it, these other vans are only half an aerostar.
so, if you are out there spinning a wrench on an old aerostar, wondering if its worth it,.i say.." he-- yea!!" oh yes, my wife loves her windstar, but at 60 thou miles its already burning oil! boo hiss. my aerostar had 117,500 miles on it and wasn't burning any,i guess we'll only get...half as many miles on it!! i'll be looking for another aerostar then. keep'em rolling!! rick

 

I know how you feel Rick.

When my wife and I were looking at mini-vans, it seemed like everyone (except for the Astro and Aero) had major shortcommings. Yes the were cool looking and car like, but the best they could do was hold a light load, and were designed to hold 0-11 yo kids in the back, anything older and there would be trouble if you had more than two. Forget hauling any home improvement projects home from the lumber yard (which we do alot of.)

What took the Astro out of the running mainly was that I don't fit in the drivers seat (I bang my knee constantly on the dash, common issue with 90s GM cars and Vans,) its reliabilty record, and lack of space behind the third row.

Unless someone comes out with a mini-real van, I am going to keep mine running for the next 40 years.

 

<snippage>

I've told this before, but a year ago I went to the hardware store to buy a riding lawn mower. Taking the tape measure along, I made sure it would fit in the back of my Aero. I purchased it and asked the head-honcho to help me load it. She promply told me "these do not fit in a mini-van. It's been tried before many of times". I measure again and told her it would fit in MY mini-van. She again told me it would not.
I got the last say when she helped me load it in my van and she was still looking at me as I drove off. AND, there was room to spare I may add.
My wife and I have ridden in the back seat of our neightbor's Windstar and we both commented how it was very short of room. I'm 6'5" and my wife is 6'0", so we both are conscious of vehicle room or lack thereof. My advice is to run the Aeros until they die, because there is nothing to compare them to.

 

Want to really irk other minivan owners? Go to Home Depot and buy three 12 ft pieces of lumber. While other owners are laboriously lashing down 8ft studs that are hanging out the rear of their vans, you simply open the Aerostar, slide those 12 footers inside, close the rear hatch and watch the incredulous stares you will get.