Prototype for the new Astro

[ihatemybike]

Of the European vans the VW wins in the looks department, MB comes in second. The others were beat with an ugly stick.

[wkastro]

Well, I have often said the M/L van was the best product GM ever turned its back on. When I was inside, my few suggestions were not met with enthusiasm, and working on any van was not a not a glamour assignment (still isn't!), so the Astro/Safari received little respect. It was a uniquely sized product, especially after the Aerostar vanished. Even the GM I6 truck engine family was designed in part to correct the passenger footroom issue, for the next generation M/L product than did not happen. Even now my adoration for an AWD box mystifies some of my friends who are still "active." I have great admiration for the creative Astro/Safari fans on this web club, and I am happy to be a member!

[Kabey's Van]

I really like that Mercedes Viano but it's not avaliable in North America and it's a little pricey at a starting price of 28,000 GBP's.
By the time you got one over here you would be looking at $70-$80,000 a unit.

[Logan]

I could be wrong and don't quote me on this, but somewhere I heard or read or even made up, but one of the reasons the M/L's were killed off was because of the pending highway safety stuff like curtain airbags. They hadn't really changed a whole lot from the front doors back since they were introduced in '85 so adapting curtain airbags and "next generation" safety features would've been a joke on such an old platform.

I do in home appliance repair and I love my van. Most guys around here use Econolines, but there's just something sweet about my van that I can't explain. My brother does appliance repair too and his company hooked him up with a Ford Transit and he HATES it. The stock suspention just isn't cutting it for him. Having said that, I wouldn't mind trying one out for a month just to see. :-)

[mdmead]

or even made up,

[wkastro]

The GMT800 full-size-truck brakes were added in 2003 for MVSS compliance. The M/L was scheduled for termination in 2003, and received a two year stay. The offset barrier results were never very good on the M/L, look at some of the videos out there. I am not an airbag-supplemental restraint engineer, so I don't know what remediation would be necessary with the 1985 era door rings, A and B pillars; it would have commitment that was not there. The M/L replacement did go through a few iterations, and I better leave it at that.

[wizical]

yeah like all id like to see the astro/safari made again
but alas it will never be
you see it was only the body style that was deleted
the drive train and sub frame was moved to the express/savanna 1500
minus the 4.3 and replaced with the v8
so technically you could say it was just a change in body style
i recon you could put the astro/safari badges on it and no one could really dispute it

just my 5cents

[wkastro]

The GMT610 - current full size GM van - has little in common with the late M/L product. The 1500 light duty series (7200lb GVW I think) has, for example, rack and pinion steering, and a four-joint steering intermediate shaft, so the front subframes are not simple transplants.

[wkastro]

Here is a nice Delco summary of the GM truck product nomenclature and timelines...

http://www.acdelco.com/pdf/appcat_buyer ... cation.pdf

The full size vans were unibody until the GMT600 was introduced in 1996, when it went to body-on-frame. This was done in part to make the product more truck-like, so component sharing could reduce cost, and to accomodate the upfitters - box vans are easier with body-on-frame vehicles. The steering on the GMT600 was dual-idler & recirculating ball steering gear, like its predecessor, and our favorite M/L vans. The 1500 series GMT610 vans came out in 2003, and used rack and pinion steering for both RWD and AWD versions. The GMT610 and M/L and GMT800 full size trucks shared some brake and electrical components, and I'm sure some other things, but there was no wholesale frame grafting or anything like that. Fun times...

[MountainManJoe]

Here is a nice Delco summary of the GM truck product nomenclature and timelines...
http://www.acdelco.com/pdf/appcat_buyer ... cation.pdf

So when GM calls the Astro 1/2 ton, what does that mean? It doesn't seem to reflect vehicle weight, payload capacity, or towing capacity.


I wonder why they switched to rack&pinion from 600 to 610

[wkastro]

"1/2 ton" is a rough classification of the payload - the curb weight of an Astro is something like 4900 lbs, and its GVW is 6100 lbs (from memory), so 1200 pounds is more like a half ton than a full ton.

Oh, the 4.3L V6 lives on as the base engine for the Savana & Express.

The switch to R&P was done to reduce mass and cost and complexity, although the steering intermediate shaft in the GMT610 has four Cardan joints and a jackshaft to get things into alignment. The piston area is a bit higher in the GMT610 than the GMT800 RWD pickup. The learnings from the R&P in the GMT610 were used in the GMT900 full size truck.

[MountainManJoe]

Rough classification indeed.

I volunteered my van for my best friend's stag night. I had both benches in and every seat was filled, +2 unofficial "seats". I'm pretty sure we were over 1200 lbs

Also interesting: A GVWR over 6,000lbs makes a vehicle class 2 by law, which is restricted on some roads.



You also get tax breaks.
http://www.slate.com/id/2104755/+Vehicl ... y+roadways

[wkastro]

...and what would you expect to happen at a load of 1201 pounds?

[MountainManJoe]

...and what would you expect to happen at a load of 1201 pounds?

The van explodes of course.

[wkastro]

Of course. I have to stick to the party line - "Always follow the manufacturer's recommendation for loading your truck, lest you find you and your family and friends and luggage sitting in a puddle of molten metal, smoking rubber and plastic and burning fuel before you even leave your driveway."