Design Details: Minivan Slider Rails
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@amoore100
The first two generations of Chrysler minivan hid it with a character line that ran full circle around the car.
The person reading this is a doo-doo head
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@RallyWrench said in Design Details: Minivan Slider Rails:
Certainly eons ahead of Vanagons.
I don't think that is the standard of safety you appear to think it is.
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@amoore100 Yep, as compared to other conventional vans it's no worse. I've worked on a few of these things, never felt like it was harder than any other RWD/longitudinal van with a doghouse. Any FWD/transverse van can GTFO compared to these.
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@bison78 It is not, Vanagons have no safety. But they were sold at the same time and likely cross-shopped, so I felt it a valid comparison in the same market.
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@amoore100
The current Hyundai Staria/iLoad pretty much nails both hiding the slide rail, visibility out from the third row and occupant safety. Comes with AWD too...Approaching hedges arse first...for quite some time
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I should probably also toss in a plug for the 80s Toyota Van. They at least made it chrome....to paraphrase a really good scientist....if you're gonna make your sliding rail visible, do it with some style!
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@EssExTee I like that! must have been where the Odyssey designers cribbed it from
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@foghat1981 said in Design Details: Minivan Slider Rails:
if you're gonna make your sliding rail visible, do it with some style!
hah, exactly! just like Peugeot making it all shiny on the 1007
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@SilentbutnotreallyDeadly I love the Staria, but the amount of frit on those rear windows is frankly a bit terrifying. I get that the sightlines are still good because it's just such a massive van, but it definitely betrays the car's commercial intentions. Even the new Hiace doesn't have as much frit, though it certainly makes no effort to hide the slider rail:
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@ash78 said in Design Details: Minivan Slider Rails:
I have a few cubic feet of dead space in the walls of the van right now, but I can't do anything about it.
fill it with the flesh of your enemies
2015 F150 5.0 Lariat - 1987 Supra Turbo - 2005 Civic EX
Curator - Merch Guy -
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@derp said in Design Details: Minivan Slider Rails:
@ash78 said in Design Details: Minivan Slider Rails:
I have a few cubic feet of dead space in the walls of the van right now, but I can't do anything about it.
fill it with the flesh of your enemies
What did you think Dynamat was made of? No wonder they charge so much.
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@amoore100
The frit is partly the fault of the commercial basis of the van but also due to the Santa Fe platform underneath it. I wouldn't mind betting that the proportions of the A, B and C pillars are dictated by the platform they used and the design choices made to keep the Staria/ iLoad as cheap as possible (ie. Hyundai didn't try to modify them - instead it spent the coin on two different rear suspension setups) -
The Buick Smart Pod concept has the rail integrated into a nice bisection that follows to the rear and helps break up the monotony of the otherwise mostly plain sides. Of course the effect would be diminished with actual glass windows for production.
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@KA467 I'd forgotten to check concepts! Seems most just hand-wave it away with concept-car magic:
Mini's Urbanaut has a pretty prominent one, though:
