9 Minivan Features You Wish Your Hot Rod Had

 

We Love To Poke Fun At Minivans, But The Truth Is That They're Nice To Drive Because Of Features That Could Improve Our Classics And Hot Rods.

 

The word minivan is typically enough to send shivers down the spine of most self-respecting hot rodders. After all, a minivan is pretty much the polar opposite of a hot rod. They are "practical," which is something way down on the list of what hot rodders feel is important in their rides. But, there are aspects and features on the unfairly maligned minivan that would certainly be nice to have on our hot rods and muscle cars.

 

 

At a recent Dodge drive we got to drive the new 2021 AWD Chrysler Pacifica minivan. We were there to drive the Hellcats, but the vans were there for us to try out, so we thought ,"What the hell." Say what you want about minivans, but anyone that has driven a nice one can attest to one thing: They are damn nice to drive around town and on the highways. This was the case with the Pacifica we piloted; it was as nice and fun as a minivan could be. All that practicality is what makes them so popular with soccer moms (and dads so I don't get hate mail) and families. We saw quite a few features that we would love to integrate into our projects cars. So for fun, here are a few trinkets from a minivan that would be great to have in our hot rods.

 

 

LED Lighting If you're being honest then you would have to admit that the lighting system on our old classics and hot rods sucks. Dim taillights don't do a good job of knocking other drivers out of their stupors, and that leads to accidents, but worse are dim headlights. Nothing is worse than being on a dark road at night and "overdriving you lights." Wondering if you're going to slam into a cow standing on the road at any moment sucks the fun right out of the party. Modern LED lighting has been migrating to our hot rods, and this is a very good thing, indeed.

 

 

Charging Ports Yeah, your classic has a 12-volt "cigarette lighter" plug, and—if it works—it can be made to slowly charge your phone. But having a few built-in ports that can quickly charge your phone, run a navigation system, or do whatever else you need sure is nice. The Pacifica even had the newer USB-C ports, which can charge a phone much faster. Definitely a feature that's nice in our older cars.

 

 

Seat Memory OK, time to break that fourth editorial wall. I'm a really picky driver, and I keep messing with my seat position to get it just right. Then someone jumps in my car for some laps, and all that tinkering and adjusting goes out the window. On those occasions I would love to be able to hit a button and have the seats go back to my perfect settings. The Pacifica takes this even further by adjusting a host of items, including the seats, when the memory button is pushed. I would be happy with just the seats, and maybe the mirrors, but I don't want to seem greedy.

 

 

Heated Seats Since we're on the topic of seats, heated ones would be great. This is especially true since many of our Pro Touring builds don't have A/C and sometimes not even a heater. Is this more of a luxury item? Yep, but that doesn't mean it can't be something we wish our play car had. And since we're wishing here, let's put cooled seats on the list as well for that next sweltering Power Tour.

 

 

Cameras The 2021 Pacifica had cameras all over the place, but we would be happy with just one on the back of the car. Some of our muscle cars have huge rear blind spots, and having a camera back there would make life way easier, just like it does on our newer daily drivers. A front camera would be nice, as well, especially if there was a way to record track day laps.

 

 

AWD Yeah, this one is tough to pull off, but all-wheel-drive is just a good time waiting to happen. In the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica, it's a safety item that made the van easier to drive, especially in bad weather. For our hot rods, it would be for performance. We've seen builders pull this one off. It's expensive and on a scale of 1 to 5 wrenches it's an 11, but we can still dream about an AWD 1969 Pro Touring Camaro or (insert your favorite car here).

 

 

Removable Seats The 2021 Pacifica had Stow 'n Go seats that folded into the floor to give more cargo space. Hell, you could pretty much convert it into a cargo van in a few minutes. But wouldn't it be nice if you could easily fold down your rear seat for cargo and just flip a lever to remove your passenger seat to carry larger items? First-gen Camaros got this right by offering a fold-down rear seat, but this is a feature that would be nice to have in any hot rod.

 

 

Technology The 2021 Chrysler Pacifica was loaded with tech. Hell, it could practically park itself, and while much of that would be nearly impossible to graft into our classics there's still some modern tech that would be very welcomed in our classics and hot rods. Things such as ABS and computer-controlled shocks are starting to show up in hot rods, but we can envision other high-tech wonders like air bags, crash avoidance, and tunable electric power steering becoming easier to migrate from minivans to our hot rods. Consider it trickle-down tech.