Almost 30 years ago, when Chrysler first started their modern minivan segment, it was expected that their vehicles would be quite modern. Since the audio cassette player was the most high-tech equipment during late 1983 when the minivan made its first appearance, Chrysler was forced to focus offering superior space and ergonomics few other vehicles replicated at the time.
As 2012 comes to an end, the one-time novelties that the first Dodge and Plymouth minivans used to focus on are now properties of so many crossover vehicles as well as a few other minivans. Out of Detroit’s three rivals, the Chrysler Group survived while General Motors and Ford Motor Company had pulled the plug on the segment.
Chrysler product had remained appreciated in terms of a family’s pocketbook considering they face expensive foreign auto company choices in the market from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. A top-model Dodge Grand Caravan that costs less than a Toyota Sienna was the only under-$20,000 minivan sold in 2013. Competed in the premium family hauler market, the Chrysler Town & Country also shares the Grand Caravan’s low operating cost. Chrysler’s innovative path in the minivan segment is attributed to 78 firsts for the vehicle class. Chrysler’s 2013 minivans will try to to preserve their place as an innovative family mover by having a high-tech edge far more advanced from the cassette deck on the original vehicle.
Scheduled to release on 2013 model year will be the first entertainment system to utilize Blu-Ray DVD technology will be providing passengers with near-cinematic delight for the Dodge Grad Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country’s segment. Second and third row occupants inside of the Chrysler minivans can now watch HD quailty movies as well as regular DVDs through a very rare factory installed Blu-Ray player. In addition to Blu-Ray compatibility, nine-inch overhead-mounted screen are included to broadcast content in a picture quality four times greater than previous technology. In having two screens built in, Chrysler’s new Blu-Ray entertainment system can play two different movies at the same time.
Along with high-definition monitors, the system includes an HDMI port that can allow popular video gaming systems to be played by backseat passengers in all visual glory. Other than a RCA input and a 12-volt outlet that are included in this system, the system has two USB slots so you can connect your laptops, digital cameras, tablets and other electronic devices to the Blu-Ray enabled Chrysler allowing multimedia connectivity as well as charging.
Children who ride for hours in the backseat while their parents search for a classic rock or news station on the radio will definitely want this van on their Christmas list, but this could cause the car to get unbelievable noisy right. Wrong, thanks to two wireless headphones connected to the Blu-Ray player, the sound in the car is drastically minimized.
Blu-Ray’s introduction into the automotive entertainment market is coming on the advent of a home theater revolution. Online serviced such as Netflix and Apple’s iTunes has allowed many of us to evolve beyond the physical disc or storage in order to consume popular media. So in a year or two, the next major step will obviously be the first vehicle to incorporate a video on-demand system.