Chrysler ecoVoyager Concept

This is one car Chrysler should have made. Sure it came at the worst possible moment back in 2008 when the bottom fell out of the world of economics, but in retrospect the Chrysler ecoVoyager Concept probably would have been the best move Chrysler could have made. Why they didn’t pull the trigger on this early crossover is confusing. Not the least being that the ecoVoyager received rave reviews across the board. But there are a truckload of reasons its even more confusing.

For starters it was ahead on every track of every trend curve you could imagine. About four years ahead to be specific. It’s a cool looking family crossover, it’s an ecologically minded hybrid and an economically geared vehicle. It was spacious inside with a convenient layout. The doors were rear hinged and designed to open at 90 degrees for easy access. There was a panoramic sunroof and contoured seats with added storage beneath them.

To power the car there was an electric engine producing a satisfying 268hp and was capable of doing 0-60 in roughly eight seconds and a top speed of 115mph. Not bad for a family vehicle. Running on fuel electric power the ecoVoyager was capable of 40 miles on its own. But it also had a hydrogen fuel cell that extended the range to 300 miles before having to refill the tank.

Many electric concepts up to 2008 weren’t practical vehicles. In fact most were still very much in the experimental phase. But the functional capabilities of the ecoVoyager along with its not overly futuristic looks put the car right on track. And now, 4 years later, the technology has advanced that much further and most available production cars come with an electric motor hybrid option than ever before. All this can only make us wonder even more what Chrysler is waiting for to put a crossover such as the ecoVoyager into full production. Especially when you take into consideration the hot trend of families dumping the minivan in favor of the crossover concept. It’s hard to imagine what the production of the ecoVoyager would have done for the bottom line for Chrsyler. Perhaps they wouldn’t have needed the government bailout. And as it stands they’ve peeled their production down to a handful of models and not one of them is a hybrid. It’s like their trying to put themselves out of business.