Chrysler Mocks Up Possible Town and Country Replacement

More 2012 Detroit Auto Show Coverage

A year ago, Marchionne said there was no point in having two minivans that were essentially the same — the Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan — competing against each other. From the looks of the 700c, Chrysler’s “van” would be slightly smaller on the inside, but with big improvements to the interior quality.

Marchionne acknowledged that minivans aren’t going to storm back into popularity anytime soon: “It’s a defined market,” he said. “It’s not going to grow by leaps and bounds.”

He conceded that quality ratings for the current minivans have dropped over the past few years, but he said the automaker “has done a lot of work” that “needs to put us back in the box” for minivan shoppers.

A new minivan could come as early as the end of 2013 after going through consumer clinics in late spring of next year, Marchionne said, adding, “We need to get there a lot faster than we thought we had to.”

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