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Do Not Call This Minivan A MinivanPublished: 15 Sep 2009 17:50:32 PSTDETROIT — Millions of young drivers in their teens and 20s spent their childhoods strapped into the back of a minivan and grew to hate them. The last thing they want to drive now is another minivan.More From Forbes.com: Easiest Cars To Bargain For The Great Auto Industry ShakeoutWhy GM Will Go Bankrupt AgainEurope Looks For DirectionGermany’s Electric Car P.R. StuntYet you can’t beat their versatility for hauling people or cargo, which is why Ford Motor ( F – news – people ) and General Motors are tiptoeing back into the minivan market after pulling out of the segment a few years ago.As the so-called ”echo boomers”–those born roughly between the late 1970s and late 1990s–move into their family-rearing years, ”we really believe we’re catching this at the right time,” says Derrick Kuzak, group vice president of Ford global product development. But he’s all too aware of the stigma associated with the ”M” word, which is why Ford worked so hard to make the new Ford Grand C-Max, unveiled Tuesday at the Frankfurt motor show, a people carrier that’s aspirational. ”People will want to drive it, rather than feel they must drive it,” he said.Bold styling, combined with clever tricks like concealing the rails for the twin sliding doors into the shoulder of the vehicle, takes away the minivan look. Inside, the C-Max seats up to seven passengers in three rows, with room for a stroller–and little else–in back.GM has a similar people hauler in the works called the Chevrolet Orlando. It’s a seven-passenger crossover that leans more toward SUV than minivan. (The doors open out, rather than slide.) But both are aimed at the same young families, and both go on sale in 2011.These new vans might be more aptly called microvans. Popular in Europe, they’re based on compact car architectures that promote better fuel economy. The C-Max is a derivative of the next-generation Ford Focus, which will debut in North America next year. Ford plans up to 10 different models off the same compact car platform, accounting for sales of 2 million vehicles worldwide by 2012. The Orlando will share many components with the compact Cruze, which is already on sale in China and will soon debut in other parts of the world, including North America.The segment is still relatively small, with only the Mazda 5 and Kia Rondo competing so far. ”These are the kid haulers of Generation Y,” says IHS Global Insight analyst John Wolkonowicz. They will be an important part of carmakers’ strategy to achieve higher fuel economy standards, but are functional too, he said. ”You don’t need a full-size minivan just to carry kids. You can get along with smaller ones.”Erich Merkle, president of Autoconomy, a research firm in Grand Rapids, Mich., believes Ford is zeroing in on a sweet spot for the millennial generation. ”The Grand C Max might be a little ahead of itself,” he said. ”But by 2013 or 2014, it will be just right.”car sun shades 上海翻译公司 lithium battery FAX DM passenger elevator 乳化机 合法ハーブ ハワイ ウエディング cheap kitchen cabinets