Howdy to all....

I need a newer van next year. Unfortunatly I can not import a van older then 5 years so I need something made in '03 ore yanger.

So I think about Freestar and Dodge Ram Van with diesel.

What can you tell me about freestar?

Thanks.....

 

FWD, passenger mover. Not a real cargo vehicle, and definately not readily converted to 4WD if that's what you're after. My sister has one, I'm not hugely impressed with it. It has all the things that modern minivan customers want (two sliding doors, lots of cup holders, etc), but it isn't as well engineered IMHO, and it certainly is cheaper built then the Aerostar.

 

The Dodge vans are not impressive either. If you want something trouble free as a Cargo van, ford is the way to go, their first priority in vans and trucks is reliability and utility. Everyone else is just building theirs as label alternatives, and the quality isn't there. If all you need is a minivan to move people around, Honda and Toyota have the best FWD offerings.

 

yeah.... it is difficult to find alternativa for aero.... why ford does not makes aero? look.... my father drives ranger... but sometimes i use to sleep inside.Aero is very good for it! ranger is reliable but not so convinient as aero. good truck, but aero is better. So I want to purchaise cargo van and convert it to pass. van intalling aero's sofas + auxialy heater. well. so what to do? get e-150? sometimes it is too big.

 

Freestar and windstar.... and what is the difference?

 

Not much. The Freestar is an evolution of the Windstar. My sister's Freestar replaced the Windstar she owned previously. Same basic chassis, same powertrains. The Freestar also got some subtle styling changes and had some minor improvements and convenience features compared to the Windstar, but at the end of the day, they're more similar then not.

Why did Ford drop the Aerostar? Because by the mid '90s, it wasn't really competitive in the people-mover van catagory, it lacked the 2nd slider (although so did the Windstar), it was big, boxy, dated looking. It's RWD platform was probably less then ideal for Soccer Mom, and it was less fuel efficient then the competition. In short, it was everything that Marketing thought the mini-van buyer did not want. They had spent very little money on keeping it current, and the last nail in its coffin was the need to give it a passenger airbag to keep it in production. They weren't willing to spend the money. Ford Truck actually had a 2nd generation Aerostar on the drawing boards - very much a small Econoline - but it was cancelled before it could see the light of day. It would've been a great van, from the people I know that saw it.

Ford brass was sure that every Aerostar customer would run out and buy the new Windstar, and they didn't think that the customer buying it for its cargo, utility or practicality was big enough part of the market to matter. So they sent that customer to the Chevy store. The funny thing was, in the couple of years that the Aero and Windstars were sold side by side, the Windstar never outsold the Aero. I'm not sure, but I don't think that the Windstar or Freestar ever gained any market share either.

 

The Aero has a utility flavor and an honest durability unlike any other small van. In the Aero, one doesn't fold the seats into wasted space under the floor, for example, one removes them. I found out that my son flew our Aero over some nearby railroad tracks. No damage to the structure or the suspension. I never would have known had I not been told. Try that with one of the FWDs. Also, the Aero is fairly light, relative to most current minis, so it gives decent performance without mega power, and provides better fuel economy in actual use than most of the FWDs. A tough act to follow, Pablo, and the Freestar sure ain't it.

 

a Dodge/Freighliner/Mercedes Sprinter w 2.5 diesel
will carry a queen size bed and sofa in back and lots of women to go camping

getting stuck in snow is a clever excuse for overnight camping

 

Well.... I know, the market here needs other vans.... Interesting politic of ford in europe. Ford Transit was always at econoline's place in Europe, but it had turbodiesel only... 90% had 5st trannies. The smallest was a bit bigger then aero, other were like e150, e250. But it were cheaper built then the Aerostar, like e150 ore cheapper. Transit is noisy like a trucktor. And seats are not so comfortable.... when transit is old, there is a smell of diesel inside (no exaust leaks, fuel leaks but this smell). But to be hornest, I aero with diesel inside has smell too, but slite. Ok. What is going on now. Ford Transit has new small chassis - FWD! But runs like a trucktor. Big Transit has old RWD chassis.
Mercedes replaced RWD MB 100 with FWD Mercedes Vito. DC offers here Dodge Ram Van (and with 2.5 TDI). VW offers FWD Transporter/Caravella/Eurovan.... may be it is age of FWD... but I had FWD car. Yeah FWD is good for cars not for vans.

GM makes big FWD van too (Opel Vivaro), but trully it is Renault Master with GM engine.

So what to do? I dont like GM vans... and european ford vans.

 

Well, that does limit you a bit. An Econoline may be your only choice if it has be newer. But at least they're fairly readily converted to 4WD (you might even be able to find on that's already been done). They're the same size as the Dodge Ram van anyway. Also, the Ram Van has been out of production for a few years here - the only commercial van Dodge sells now are the Sprinters.

 

Seems Ch**y ran their Astro about 10 years longer than the Aerostar, so the market for a RWD mini van was there. The Astro advantage was wider body and pretty powerful engine, but the Aerostar advantage was looks. Astro was butt ugly, but the Aerostar is a good looking van. As for minivans, its a misnomer, they are built on automobile chassis. They really should be called mini station wagons. I hope I never own a front wheel drive anything, much less a FWD minivan. My wife's Aerostar only has 117,000 miles on it, so we should be good for another 5 or 10 years.

 

My has over 600 K! So it looses reliability.... my Ford goes to be Fix OveRhaul Daily..... well.... I need new aero, but I can import a truck of 5 years old.... what to do?

 

I think Ford stoped making the aerostars even though the demand was still there ,to offer the windstar (a cheaper made vehicle,and not a true truck as the aerostar) because ford saw more profit to be made. Windstars arent very reliable and they often have exspensive odd ball problems to deal with.

 

and ford has good profit with spare parts.....

 

The Aerostar is neither a truck chassis nor a car. It is a uniframe like a car, but it is is too trucklike to be called a car frame. The platform itself was unique to the Aerostar. I terms of GVW and weight handling capabilities, the Aerostar is a compact truck. They are designed to tow and haul heavy loads without the extra weight of the FWD minivans. According the Wikipedia, which is not the ultimate authority by any means, the Aerostar is a mid size van alongside the Astro. Fords marketing philosophy to sell them as passenger vans for the general public was stupid, especially considering that 70% of the vehicles they sell even today, are actually bought by fleets, not consumers. There are many professionals that would prefer the reliability and economy of an Aerostar over the econoline. Not the the E-series is unreliable by any means, but the repairs are generally more expensive than the Aerostars. We just had a complete tunup on my Aerostar done by a shop, since it is cold where I live and I don't have anywhere that is not covered with snow to work on it. The total cost, includeing the Motorcraft wires and plugs and the checkup on fluids and flushing the power steering was 385 USD. We just had our E-380 5.8L V8 with a complete tuneup, and the total was over 600 USD.