Anyone born after the 1900s is usually completely against anything the elders of Gen X and Gen Y (or Millennials, whatever) are in favor of. The minivan, however, is the one thing that seems to be a multigenerational pariah, even though it tends to check the boxes under the “need” column for car buyers. You know, things like comfort, cargo room, number of seats, charging ports, etc. Dillon Gabriel, a 24-year-old NFL rookie, is looking to change that image as the new ambassador of an oldie but goodie, the Chrysler Pacifica.Â
Not gonna lie, I chuckled while typing that last sentence. It just hits different. A standout quarterback, Gabriel broke NCAA football records and is second in all-time passing yards. He wrapped up his college career by finishing third in voting for the prestigious Heisman Trophy, then heard his name called during this year’s NFL Draft.Â
Okay, so it was the Cleveland Browns who rang, but Gabriel was drafted nonetheless. With his sporting credentials, you’d think he’d have his pick of partnerships, especially in automotive. Yet Gabriel walked past the performance cars, beefy trucks, and shiny SUVs. He also didn’t linger on the bougie luxury marques.Â
Instead, he chose the most sensible family vehicle out there and signed a deal to rep the Pacifica. Last playing for the Oregon Ducks, Gabriel actually drove around town in, you guessed it, a Chrysler. As reported by Browns fansite, Dawg Pound Daily:
Although generally made for families with children, Gabriel drove a Chrysler Pacifica minivan in Eugene, Oregon, instead of a flashy sports car. He would use this car to deliver things to practice or to get a whole batch of teammates together so they could spend time during long commutes.
Prioritizing camaraderie and experiences over material goods? Okay, now he’s sounding like a Gen Zer. But it’s a smart move as minivans are having a banner sales year so far. During the second quarter, the Toyota Sienna enjoyed an eye-opening 61% year-over-year increase, with the Kia Carnival right behind with a 57% jump. The Honda Odyssey also enjoyed a YOY bump of 28%.
The Pacifica, however, was the only one in the segment to experience a sales slide. But that’s okay. Although not as recently refreshed as its competitors, the Pacifica was the 2024 sales champ as the only minivan to sell in six figures. Perhaps there’ll be a comeback in the second half?
During a guest appearance on the Keep It Aloha podcast, Gabriel said his college ride was a leased Pacifica hybrid, which he would fuel up about every three weeks. Despite the fact that “people will clown you,” to Gabriel, the soccer mom status symbol passed his vibe check:
“The minivan was fire. People don’t understand, the minivan’s legit. Space. It’s efficient…it’s a great decision.”
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Not as great as having to play pro football in Cleveland. But, hey, at least Gabriel’s new minivan can comfortably fit all the QBs currently on the Browns’ roster (which is five for those of you who don’t follow the handegg league). Hmm, since the Pacifica can seat up to eight, there might even be room for Deshaun Watson’s notoriously bloated contract!
Jokes aside, though, as a fellow member of Team Minivan, I wholeheartedly agree with Gabriel. Perhaps he can normalize the term “minivan enthusiast” and make it an appealing car choice to everyone. Now that would be fire.
Top graphic images: Stellantis; ESPN
But is it the Cadillac of minivans?
I travel frequently for work and the Pacifica is my favorite rental car. It’s quicker than it needs to be, comfortable, all the controls are logical and outward visibility is excellent. It’s compact on the outside but huge on the inside. It absolutely slaughters a mid-size SUV in functionality.
I like minivans, and in no way I am diminishing Dillon’s NFL career, but it would take at least a Tom Brady-level ambassador to make the large crowd see them as COOL
I’m 23, my wife is 27. Wife had a 2012 Tiguan when we met, and over the last year that thing started having issue after issue and we knew it was time to move on. We wanted something bigger, but every single SUV costs a jillion dollars these days, new or used. You know what has more space and doesn’t cost a jillion dollars? The Chrysler got-damn Pacifica.
It’s roomy, comfortable, reasonably grunty, and IMO quite well-styled for a minivan. It looks like a yacht and gets alright gas mileage. It fits our dog in her crate, plus all our luggage, and enough room to haul back several extra boxes of crap that we’re destined to pick up whenever we go to visit my great aunt in Huntsville.
We don’t have kids yet, but we’re trying and we’ll be prepared if and when that happens. In the meantime, we have a pretty sweet setup for shuttling ourselves, friends, and family all over the place.
The Chrysler Pacifica fucks.
I have some thoughts.
His tattoos look very Hawaiian and I have found Hawaiians to be very practical people.
And while my kid did his undergraduate stuff at UW, I didn’t, so I don’t have a deep hatred of UO.
And I rented a Pacifica back in 2020 and put 400+ miles on it and it was a very pleasant vehicle to drive, haul four people around and put a lot of luggage in.
No. No no no no no.
They are right where they need to be. Under the radar, just popular enough for the manufacturers to keep building nice option, just unpopular enough that the price and used resale remains attainable for the average schmuck.
Don’t get me wrong it’s nice to see anytime someone “gets it” the way this guy does. But minivan owners don’t want recognition.
We just want the kids to STOP SPILLING CHEETOS AND FRUIT LOOPS BETWEEN THE SEATS
Anyone born after the 1900s
I don’t know, lumping everyone born after 1909 into one group somehow feels a little broad.
Ehh. The One thing that I, a 25 year old hillbilly, a local lesbian couple in thier 50s, and a 95 year old guy in my town had in common: We all three had Dodge Caravans the same color parked at Bob Evan’s one morning, and we all agreed our cars are the shit.
The minivan trancends genders, genres, and time itself.
I’ve never met anyone from the 1800s driving one, though. So he’s probably spot on with that typo.
My dad became a cop in 1973 (retired 2021), and he says it used to blow his mind to pull over people and see 19th century birth dates on their licenses, like how are you still alive, let alone driving? It maybe is technically possible for someone born in the 1880s or 1890s to have bought one of the early modern FWD minivans new, but maybe just barely. I know a guy who bought a recentish Caravan in his 90s, because it was getting harder for him to climb in and out of his RAM pickup, and he explained that he could fold the seats down, slide in a plywood sheet, and use it as an enclosed truck. Also, he startrd running a shuttle service to pick up elderly people who cant drive anymore and take them to/from church and doctors appointments. There had to have been at least one guy like him in the 1980s.
Depends on whom you ask. I have yet to find a GenZ colleague who is aware that there was a generation between Millennials and Boomers, let alone is able to name it.
Hell, people dont even know that there was a generation before the Boomers that’s also still around. Primarily in politics.
But, they do tend to be pretty quiet, almost too quiet, in a way
Custom Chevy Express with an airbrushed depiction of Bud Bowl I or go home!
“The elders of Gen X or Gen Y” sounds strange to these ears.
Bad sign for his game to game availability
Okay, that’s actually pretty cool to have an NFL QB repping minivans.
If only they were repping ones from a
livingnot dyingbrand with a more hopeful future.Chrysler has been a “dying” brand since the minivan was born. Never count Chrysler out, like it’s vans, they are unkillable cockroaches that should die but just won’t.
Now they just need to do a refresh and fix the reliability issues.
I loved watching the building next to me get a gut-rehab. You’d have about 4 construction guys show up daily in their F250’s, Titan’s, and Silverado’s, spend about 15 minutes to find street parking within 1/4 mile, but as their work truck to deliver lumber, plywood, concrete, stone, etc. they used an old beat up Toyota Sienna that had no mirrors or operating door handles on the driver’s side. That thing apparently has a payload capacity that’ll put a 3500 class truck to shame.