Another "why doesn't this exist?"

Why hasn't a brilliant company come out with a full-size SUV (ala Sequoia, Expedition, Armada) and changed one of the things that makes big SUVs not as good at people-moving as minivans: The very large rear doors and related more difficult 3rd row access (especially apparent in parking lots with other cars parked next to you) I would so totally rock our Sequoia if it had minivan-style sliding doors.

I'm sure the reason falls somewhere between "big SUV people don't want something associated with minivans" and "manufacturers don't want to take sales away from minivans" but it seems to be that it would be a pretty sensible thing from a functional aspect.

IDK, just a random thought I had today.

I think you're on to something. If it looked masculine enough I don't think the sliding doors would hurt the appeal. Heck, it could have a regular door on one side and a slider on the other.

I never really thought about it with the 4Runner, which had fairly short back doors....but the Sequoia doors are huge. I can hardly open it all the way when it's parked in my (fairly wide) driveway next to my subaru....

Market research/ market trends would seem to contradict your thoughts.
Chevy Venture:

Was "butched-up" to become the Uplander which had a more SUV-like appearence.

Which then became the underpinnings for the "full-butch" Traverse

Ford too got out of vans and into Flex w/ doors

Sliding doors = minivan = not cool. This is a reality. No "real" man wants to even think about minivans.

My buddy hates it when I remind him that his Pasifica is a minivan.

Pathfinder 4x4 van. Almost but not quite?

To be clear, I wouldn't expect to see the Big 3 do anything outside of the box like this... I would imagine it more as something Hyundai would do. Maybe Nissan, since they're kind of weird these days and willing to do something different.

Not sure what your storyline above really says though... What it really says is that the Venture and the Windstar were crappy minivans that couldn't compete with the Chrysler triplets and the new-arrivals from Japan. Didn't have much to do with being butch or having sliding doors. They just couldn't build a good minivan. I've never seen an Uplander in person (or maybe I did and it's so bland that I didn't notice). But I dont' see anything in that photo other than a minivan.

Re: Ford.....the Transit Connect. It's a minivan. In every way. They just don't use that term for it, they call it a "wagon." Ironic that the minivan made the station wagon uncool. Then the SUV made the minivan uncool. Then the "crossover" made the SUV uncool. And now apparently the "Wagon" is poised to come back.

In any case, I like reasonably "butch" cars and I'd definitely rock a real SUV that had sliding doors and 5000lb tow capacity....

Appleseed wrote: Sliding doors = minivan = not cool. This is a reality. No "real" man wants to even think about minivans. My buddy hates it when I remind him that his Pasifica is a minivan.

Real men like vehicles that are functional in all aspects, from towing to loading cargo to loading people.

People who worry about their image because of sliding doors are not real men, they're self-conscious posers. Most "real men" don't buy minivans not because of sliding doors, but because they can't tow a real trailer or go off-road. Men who don't care about those things do buy them (my dad, a career military officer, has owned about 5 of them in the last 20 years...)

And his Pacifica is really no different from any of the current crop of soft "crossover" SUVs out there right now (and it has regular side doors too). It's more like a Traverse than it is a minivan. Pacifica was killed by being overpriced and CHrysler trying to make it a luxury vehicle in a niche with no customer base, and then doing it half-assed and ending up with problems....

A minivan with sliding doors is not cool for more reasons than that.

A tough-looking 4x4 with sliding doors wouldn't be uncool. It would just look like any other SUV, but with a subtle horizontal track on the rear fenders....

I totally agree with Irish. Could you imagine an Expedition or Armada with sliding doors? How much more useful could you get?

From this review of the Uplander

The Chevrolet Uplander was introduced for the 2005 model year and Chevrolet calls it a crossover sport van in the mid-van segment, rather than a minivan. Chevrolet describes the Uplander as combining the bold styling of an SUV, the passenger room and interior versatility of a van, and the smooth ride and fuel efficiency of a sedan. Uplander is available in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations, and offers up to 7-passenger seating.

Though, I agree, GM (and Ford) were a companies with poor reputation in minivans but good reputations in Trucks. Therefore, out of the minivan business and rebody them into trucks.

Appleseed wrote: Sliding doors = minivan = not cool. This is a reality. No "real" man wants to even think about minivans.

JohnRW1621 wrote: From this review of the Uplander

The Chevrolet Uplander was introduced for the 2005 model year and Chevrolet calls it a crossover sport van in the mid-van segment, rather than a minivan. Chevrolet describes the Uplander as combining the bold styling of an SUV, the passenger room and interior versatility of a van, and the smooth ride and fuel efficiency of a sedan. Uplander is available in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations, and offers up to 7-passenger seating.

And Ford calls the Transit Connect a "wagon." So what? Transit doesn't remind me much of a Volvo 240 Wagon or a Country Squire.....

Transit Connect, Uplander....both are minivans.

I have to admit... I never thought much about the sliding doors on my Caravan until I went grocery shopping for the first time. "My gawd... these are freakin' awesome!" And the little hooks on the backs of the front seats for holding plastic grocery bags are neat too.

Is this the answer?

This?

ebonyandivory wrote: Pathfinder 4x4 van. Almost but not quite?

u mean like this, my old 76 460 quadravan?

See, I don't think it needs to actually look like a van though. Take the current Armada, and leave it exactly as it is in every respect, except put sliding rear doors on it.

If you make it look like a van (all pictured above still look like vans), it's still van. If it's a real SUV with towing and off-road capability with a sliding door, it's still an SUV.

In reply to irish44j:

Some of it is styling. Look at the rail in the middle of the panel. Now think about how that would look on your Sequoia. Vans are also fairly "slab-sided" where a lot of modern SUV's have more curves in the rear flanks. Lastly, the sliding door runs on a track on the bottom of the door. Most SUV's have fairly short rear door sills and the rear of the door follows the rear wheel well. A sliding rear door would only be able to open as far as that bottom sill length.

here...photoshop.

2005 Sequoia in sliding door configuration. Door handle relocated, track added. Looks pretty much the same..

Ian F wrote: In reply to irish44j: Some of it is styling. Look at the rail in the middle of the panel. Now think about how that would look on your Sequoia. Vans are also fairly "slab-sided" where a lot of modern SUV's have more curves in the rear flanks. Lastly, the sliding door runs on a track on the bottom of the door. Most SUV's have fairly short rear door sills and the rear of the door follows the rear wheel well. A sliding rear door would only be able to open as far as that bottom sill length.

looks like you read my mind, lol.

Also I think some vans have the door track on the roof, so the door sill issue isn't necessarily an issue. I'm not denying that there would be some cosmetic changes, but I dont' think they'd necessarily have to be very drastic. To deal with more flared fenders, use a cantilevered arm on the door that pops it farther out or something. They've figured out how to do electric folding hardtops that disappear into the trunk of cars. I'm sure they could figure out a mechanism to make the door slide without having to make the vehicle slab-sided.

I think minivans are more slab-sided primarily to maximize interior volume while not making the exterior larger than it needs to be. Plus they don't need to accomodate off-road tires and such, so there'd be no reason to flare the fenders much.

Besides, go look at the new Sequoia or 4Runner....they're just as slab-sided as any minivan IIRC....

Looks like you've found your next project!

However... look at it again. The actual door opening would be a bit less than you have now, although arguably more useful. Still... might be doable. I think you should try it.

In reply to irish44j:

Yeah... I was about to say... that was some damn fast photo-shopping.

The flares may be an issue.

IIRC, some early vans had the rail up top, but all of the ones I've seen in the past 20+ years have them on the bottom. There has to be some reason for it since being on the bottom means it gets crudded up...

Ian F wrote: In reply to irish44j: Yeah... I was about to say... that was some damn fast photo-shopping. The flares may be an issue. IIRC, some early vans had the rail up top, but all of the ones I've seen in the past 20+ years have them on the bottom. There has to be some reason for it since being on the bottom means it gets crudded up...

I'd bet it has something to do with crap getting in the upper rails (leaves, pine needles, etc).

Honestly if you just put a high-tensile steel frame on the track and door frame support areas, you could probably do it with a single-arm in the middle of the door. Sure it would cost more, but I've seen 10-ton steel hatches on ships that are plenty rigid using a central arm. Again, with today's technology and metallurgy, it would certainly be possible.

IDK, just working through the idea since I'm in the cold garage on a friday night. Also for posterity when 20 years from now a company does it I'll bump this thread.....and you will all bow down before my genius foresightedness mwahahahahaha...

Here ya go Irish; (excuse the text) [URL=http://s265.photobucket.com/user/derekrichardson/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-23.jpg.html][/URL]

I swear if Chip Foose had a handicapped "mark" on OVERHAULIN' he could figure out how to do this for him/her.

Ian F wrote: . I think you should try it.

If I had any amount of skill at fabrication, and a crappy old Cherokee or something to try it on, I probably would. Figure could cut out the track from some junked minivan, etc etc. I wonder if the actual track assembly on an old Caravan is a bolt-on piece that just mounts to the inner body. Next trip to the junkyard I may have to investigate just for the hell of it, acknoledging that I don't have the skill to actually try a project like this....

ebonyandivory wrote: Here ya go Irish; (excuse the text) [URL=http://s265.photobucket.com/user/derekrichardson/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-23.jpg.html][/URL]

yup, exactly what I had in mind. What is that?