2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT: Where Did I Put Those Memory Seats?
Our long-term Grand Caravan has a whopping $12,665 in optional equipment. So when I couldn't find the buttons for the memory mirrors and seat, I assumed that, like virtually everything that's come into my possession, I had just misplaced them.
So for a week, I'd go to hop into the van crank my knees on the lower dash, compress my thighs on the lower portion of the steering wheel and curse the size differential of my wife who, it can be revealed, is petite, and your author, a descendent of overgrown Black Forest-dwelling oafs. Reluctantly, I checked the owner's manual. And there it was on page 157, an illustration of the Driver Memory Seat Switch (with a handy black arrow pinpointing its location on the door panel just aft of the door handle).
How did I not see tha...er, wait. There's no buttons on my door panel. It's just an uninterrupted expanse of cheapish plastic. I consulted the options sheets. Nope, no mention of memory seats in any of the Premium Interior Groups or the omnibus Customer Preferred Packages.
This is because, although the vehicle is available with a power-folding third row seat, second-row seats that swivel 180 degrees, a hard drive as large as that of my antiquated iPod and various other doo-dads that I haven't figured out yet, the Dodge Caravan is not available with memory seats. Confirmation of this comes from a public relations professional in Auburn Hills, MI. He noted that it is available on the Chrysler Town & Country and will be offered on the VW version of the van, both of which are built in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. All Caravans are built in St. Louis and our PR man reckons that the option's unavailability is to reduce build complexity in that plant. Hmmm. He was sure to clearly state that the option was not available for "'08." Oh, so it'll be added for '09? "I can't say that," came the response. Um, okay.
Seen above are the memory buttons from the much less-expensive Kia Sedona minivan that I callously called ugly a post or two ago. Sorry Kia.
Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit @ 1,248 miles
Posted by Daniel Apr 22, 2008 11:59 am
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Categories: 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT
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Daniel, in addition to sharing a very tasteful and distinguished name with you, I also have a wife who is much shorter than I (a foot shorter in fact).
I have come to believe that memory seats should be standard in every vehicle that offers power seats. At the very least is should be an available option.
Since we share a single vehicle, one or the other of us is constantly changing the seat.
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estreka
- Apr 23, 2008 10:01 am
(#11 Total: 12)
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subarctic north - Great Falls, MT |
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You can option $30K on a Ferrari Scaglietti.
You can option $220K on a Maybach 62.
As far as a percentage of base pricing goes, I'd say either American trucks or the Mini have the trophy on that.
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Greatest range in amount of dollars would probably be the SL at over $100K. An SL550 starts at $95k, and an SL65 can go for over $200k. And if we got the cheaper small V8 & V6's Europe does, it'd be even greater. And, of course, the SL65 Black Series will make the divide even greater. But as for greatest multiple of base price, I'd have to agree with full-size Pick-up. $15k OTD for a base F-150 all the way up to $60k+ for a loaded F-450.
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louiswei
- Apr 23, 2008 8:08 am
(#9 Total: 12)
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"I wonder what car has the most range in options that can be added to it."
How about the Mini Cooper. A super uber loaded Cooper S would run you north of $40k...
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Public relations professional? I would hardly call that guy a professional. Professional idiot, maybe.
They don't offer memory seats because its too complex for the St. Louis workers? That's the most absurd comment I've heard in a long time. He sure pulled that out of his you know what.
Anyone who believes that guy, let me know, and I've got a great deal on a bridge I'm selling...
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Yep...skier...I work for cfc...when i went to look at vans, Chrysler wanted 500-1000 more for the same van as a dodge...why because Dodge is the blue collar brand and Chrysler is the high end name plate.
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firstwagon as a member of the car sales club such as yourself thats correct. Also this is a common oversight on the dodge brand. Want memory seats? get the Chrysler version. Want a power tilt and telescoping wheel on a Charger R/T? get a Chrysler 300 C. They always leave some things off the Dodge on purpose to get you into a Chrysler version. People always ask why does the Chrysler cost more for the same car? Well your missing memory seats are the answer.
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"I wonder what car has the most range in options that can be added to it."
I'll bet it would be any of the big 3's pick ups. You can triple the price of a base 2wd reg cab if you buy a maxed out diesel.
"the profit margins on options must be through the roof."
Yep, that's where all the profit is. Back in the mid 90's I worked for Mazda. I remember the profit on a base Protege was only $300 if we got list for it.
I also remember the profit on an automatic was $400, A/C was almost $500 and option packages like the LX and ES were much more then that. Our commision was based on the profit on the sale (1/3), not the selling price so you knew which cars we were going to push.
I remember selling 2 cars in one day once, one was a base Protege where I only made $100 commision and the other was a loaded 626 where I made almost $1400. (If I had more days like that, I would still be selling cars).
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Daniel... I get the impression that you would rather not be rockin the minivan, or at least not the Grand Caravan. So far you dont seem to like it. Is it that you are not a minivan person or is it the van itself?
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tmanz
- Apr 22, 2008 2:59 pm
(#3 Total: 12)
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CA United States of America |
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LOL opfreak, I was going to make a kia comment too.
I wonder what car has the most range in options that can be added to it. It is generally depressing to be car shopping and find a "starts at $28,000" car and on the dealers lot all they have are $45,000 versions of the same car.
I guess it is a nice idea that they can fit a lot of peoples needs but all they seem to sell are loaded ones. I ran into that when I was looking at Minis. They advertised as starting around something like $17,000 but the cheapest I could find was around $24,000
The goal must be to get you on the lot and then explain to you(convince you) that all the extras only add a bit to your monthly payment.
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opfreak
- Apr 22, 2008 1:18 pm
(#2 Total: 12)
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12k in options can buy you a kia :-p
or like 10 tata's.
the profit margins on options must be through the roof.
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Definitely a sorry oversight in an otherwise loaded vehicle, which is very likely to be driven by both parents many times throughout a typical week. Not saying it's an essential feature, but it at least ought to be offered and included in one of those ridiculously expensive option packages.
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