- Minivans!
You might not think that they're the coolest type
of automobile out there.
Truth is, minivans are awesome.
Today, we're tearing down all the negative minivan stigma
and looking at nine of the best minivans of all time.
One of 'em has got a frickin' F1 engine in it.
So grab a seat in the third row
and drop a bunch of McDonald's
French fries frickin' everywhere.
This is The D-D-D List!
Big announcement, Nolan and I
have been turned into collectible figurines.
Got Nolan in his Mustang.
We got me in my Golf.
These limited edition vinyl figures are on sale right now.
And these aren't like our other merch.
They are real collectibles,
and once they are sold out, that is it.
We are not making them.
So they're not gonna make any more.
So if you want your own James and Nolan collection
in your garage or your office, or I dunno,
on your bedside table, so you can kiss us,
you know, into bed every night,
make sure you click the links in the description.
The first link is for me.
And the second link is for Nolan.
And I don't know, just get both of us before we're gone.
(engine roars)
Nolan's little catchphrase, be kind.
This packaging is really cool and impressive.
Ooh, this is Nolan's Mustang.
I love that, that's going right on my shelf.
I love that.
Now, the unboxing of my toy.
There says, I love you, (awwing)
my catchphrase.
And I am riding in my Mark-3 Golf.
It's very accurate.
It's even got the little rotor forms on it.
I love this.
Oh, it's even got the door to the office right there.
And then the set of Up to Speed.
So you can have a little, a little Up to Speed set
in your home. (engine roaring)
I am so excited about this.
When you get yours, please post photos with them
and tag me because I'm a fricking action figure, you guys.
Back to the show!
- [Woman] Mercedes R63 AMG.
- Mercedes R63 AMG is not your average
soccer practice carpool caravan.
Nothing against mommies,
mommies are the bee's knees.
I love mine.
Stay safe, Liz.
But the R63 AMG is in a whole different class of minivan.
And the class that it's in is a classy class.
Rewind to 2006.
Mercedes took their first stab at a luxury minivan
with the R class.
Initially, the base model has the 3.5 liter V6
with about 270 Hertz pers.
And it was priced at 48 large. (record scratch)
Shockingly, there's not a huge market
for snobby tall station wagon looking minivans.
And the R class was total sales flop,
but instead of bailing, Mercedes doubled down like KFC
and made the R63 AMG.
This power mini flaunts a 6.2 liter V8,
it gives this boy 507 Hertz pers,
507 Hertz pers in a minivan!
And 465 pound feet of torque!
The engine can send all 5,300 pounds
of this big beautiful Benz to 60
in about four and a half seconds.
It's got 15.4 inch brakes,
that is larger than Domino's second largest pizza!
The interior is spacious, plush, and luxurious.
It's got individual con control in all three rows,
literally zero other minivans can hold a candle
to R63 AMG's total package.
It's so cool, they don't even call it a minivan.
They call it a Grand Sports Tourer.
But we all know what it is,
it's a minivan.
It's fast minivan, but it's a minivan.
One thing that is not mini about it is the price tag.
The base R63 was originally listed for $88,000.
And I don't know about you,
but I wouldn't want my spoiled rich
four-year-old spilling his Gogurt all over the backseat
of a hundred thousand dollar super van.
Which is probably why only 200 of these most niche vehicles
were ever made, making it part of an ultra rare club.
- [Woman] Brubaker Box!
- Now it might be a little bit of a stretch
to call this second boy a minivan.
But it's mini and it's vanny,
so, it's on the list.
In fact, lots of folks out there consider the Brubaker Box
to be the first minivan ever.
So, it certainly deserves a place on our list today.
In the early '70s, a dude named Curtis Brubaker
designed the pioneer "minivan"
and called it the Brubaker Box.
The whole idea here was to create a modern reimagining
of the VW Microbus.
The Brubaker is made entirely of fiberglass panels
and it has wooden bumpers that stick way the heck out there,
but that's not even the weirdest thing.
There's one door for the whole car!
A couch backseat with a fricking ottoman.
And honestly, one of the craziest dashboards I've ever seen!
It looks like what you'd find
in a submarine themed escape room.
I'm not talking about one of those nice escape rooms.
I'm talking about the one that
you get a four for one deal on for Groupon.
That is the last time we let Chris pick our double date!
It's a kit designed to bolt directly
onto an unmodified VW Beetle chassis,
but Brubaker did not have the smooth talking charm
of someone like Ryan Reynolds.
And he failed to reach an agreement
with Volkswagen to sell him just the chassis
and drive train.
And the poor guy was forced into bankruptcy.
All in all, only 19 B-Boxes are still known
in existence today.
- [Woman] Renault Espace!
- Look, Europe needs minivans too, okay?
Over there, they call 'em multipurpose vehicles.
They also call garbage cans rubbish bins,
and semi-trucks lorries.
So, I don't know what the heck they got going on over there.
The Espace, which sounds like an Italian soup,
is one of the earliest and most beloved minivans
in the whole entire world.
And since it made its debut in 1984,
it has been constantly evolving,
reinventing, and updating, like Madonna
or the Taco Bell menu.
Granted, the most current Renault Espace
resembles more of a crossover than a minivan,
but we're not gonna like take it off the list for that.
It's a frickin' van legend.
But the real reason we put the Espace on this list
is because of this, the Espace F1.
In 1994, Renault celebrated the 10th anniversary of the van
by creating this insane concept.
They took a traditional carbon fiber reinforced Espace body,
combined it with an F1-style lightweight chassis,
bringing the total weight down to 3,000 pounds.
Then they threw a V10 F1 engine right
in the frickin' middle of the van,
surrounded by four carbon fiber racing seats,
which made for a sick soundtrack of engine purrs
while you drive around.
On the outside, normal-ish looking family van,
on the inside Formula One race car
that makes your ears bleed!
This thing went from zero to 60 in 2.8 seconds.
It's max speed was a certified bonkers 194 miles per hour.
And it looked like the Disneyland monorail,
without a doubt one of the best minivans of all time!
- [Woman] Bertone Genesis.
- When you name something the Genesis,
you mean some serious business.
Ask God.
And baby, did Bertone mean business with that.
This Bertone designed concept car was first displayed
at the 1988 Turin auto show.
And no less than 30,000 hours went into making this thing.
Now, they say it takes 10,000 hours to master something.
You could have mastered three things.
Guitar,
dancing,
(gulps)
and-
Breakdance.
New York ballet.
The Genesis is a Goldwing door minivan
made with Lombargine Machine parts.
It's powered by the same 450 Hertz per V12
from the frickin' Countach Quattrovalvole.
Paired with a three-speed torque flight
automatic transmission, which might not sound
like a cool transmission to you, but let me assure you,
it is a very cool transmission.
Google it, all right?
It's for racing.
Just like all of the vans on this list,
the outside of this thing looks
like the front of the Disneyland monorail.
And in 1988, that was the future.
The rear door slides open to reveal an interior
that is maybe more draw jopping than the exterior.
There were two front-facing rear seats
and one rear-facing middle row seat.
And the front seats were captain's chairs
that swiveled around, so you and the rest
of your traditional Italian family can chat.
So, why didn't this insane V12 powered minivan
ever actually get made?
Well, it was mainly created as a design study
and since Lombargine already had the LM 002,
there wasn't room in the market
for this badass monorail car.
- [Woman] Ford Sho-Star!
- The Ford Sho-Star was an exercise
in performance minivan design put forth
at the Detroit auto show in 1995.
It's a real portmanteau of car.
The first part of the Sho-Star's name
comes from the Taurus Sho,
'cause it's got the fricking Yamaha V6 from it.
The Star part comes from the Ford Windstar.
Maybe one of the most straightforward minivans
in the history of minivans.
If your mom didn't drive a Windstar in the '90s,
I guarantee you that your best friend
or your cousin's mom or your neighbor's mom did.
If you had to draw a minivan blindfolded,
it would probably look like a Windstar.
But then, one fateful day, Ford did something wild.
They introduced the Taurus Sho to the Windstar.
They dated, they fell in love.
And nine months later, had a beautiful little
6,000 pound baby minivan named the Sho-Star.
And it is really frickin' cute!
The Windstar body gives it that satisfying
smooth and round minivan shape.
Plus some sweet fiber optics added some spunk
to the tail lights and the oval grill logo.
But the Sho's dual overhead cam,
24-valve three-liter V6 is the kicker on this concept.
It's got a five-speed manual transmission
and 220 Hertz pers.
That was a lot in 1995, especially for a frickin' minivan.
Gas also cost fricking a dollar and 15 cents a gallon,
and Michael Jordan came back to the Chicago Bulls
and Post Malone was born!
So, what I'm saying is 1995 was the perfect year,
it is the exact opposite of this year!
- [Woman] Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear!
- Number four on this list is another mashup
and an absolute beaut!
Mitsubishi first introduced the Delica back in 1968.
And the name is actually short for delivery car.
That's right, hey were designed to move stuff
from one place to another place.
That's what delivery is.
But the fourth generation Delica released in 1994 is known
as Space Gear!
And it's far more spacey than your average UPS van.
Plus, they were never sold in the United States
which gives him that hard to get appeal
that makes everybody creep.
The space gear has the same engine and transmish
as the Mitsubishi Pajero.
There were several engine options and configurations,
but the highest spec, the Royal Exceed,
is a lifted four-wheel drive turbo diesel powered
Disney rail from mono-land looking beast van.
And it's got mud flaps and a bull bar,
which let people know this is a little off-road monster.
If someone needs to deliver something
to the other side of a muddy, rocky,
totally unlevel patch of terrain,
the Space Gear is the van for you!
And inside is just as accommodating,
with a high roof in an array of skylights called-
- [Japanese Speaker] Kurisutaru raitoru ruufu-ya.
- Just like the powdered lemonade,
but spelled different and tastier.
And thanks to the 25 year import rule,
these guys are finally old enough to be imported to the US,
so now you can be the captain of your own
JDM Disneyland monorail on US soil.
- [Woman] Mazda MPV!
- You might not think that the Mazda MPV is the coolest van,
but you know who is cool?
The f(gunshot)ing Wu-Tang Clan.
And you know what they used to drive?
Mazda MPVs.
And it wasn't just Wu-Tang,
a lot of other iconic rap cats were driving MPVs as well.
DJ Premier's MPV, which he modified
with big old aftermarket speakers
was rumored to be the legendary listening station
for rappers to first test out their tracks.
Later, the Wu-Tang clan shouted out the MPV
in their song, "Cream,"
with "Catching keys from across seas,
rolling in MPVs, every week we made 40 Gs."
But Biz Markie claims to be the first to start the hype
on the two-door four-wheel drive minivan
with his song, "Bad By Myself."
Check out the complete list of rap cars
in this episode of Wheelhouse.
- [Woman] Ruf Vanagon!
- The Volkswagen Bus is easily one
of the most beloved vans of all time.
It's the hippie mobile, the cultural touchstone,
it's looks like the Scooby Doo van.
Although I do think that was a Ford.
And if you ask me, yes, I think that Ryan Reynolds
should have played either Shaggy or Fred
in the live action version of the film there.
Third gen VW Bus was called the T3,
it was sturdier, boxier, and with its water cooled engine,
it was a huge improvement
over the previous air-cooled generations.
But Ruf, yes, that Ruf,
decided to take it a step further and equip it
with the same 3.4 liter Twin Turbo Flat 6
from the fricking yellow bird.
What is this?
The Disneyland monorail?
imagine how fast you could transport you, your bros,
your surfboards, down to the beach, catch some sick waves
and stare at all the Betties.
Or how fast you, Scooby Doo, and Ryan Reynolds
could solve the curse of Viking Lane!
I'm telling you, anybody that's working
in Hollywood watching this, I'll be Shaggy.
Ryan Reynolds is Fred.
And the kid who plays Spider-Man can be Scooby Doo.
- [Woman] Ford E350 Centurion!
- This next one's kinda weird,
but it's number one because it's the one
that I want the most.
Yeah, maybe I want an Espace, but I can't fricking
drive a car with an F1 engine.
This is the one that I want in my driveway.
And at the end of the day, I'm the one saying this stuff,
so-
Also, so this is just a list,
it's not necessarily ranked.
Even though I just did say that this is the best one.
Hoo boy, this is is probably the weirdest pickup truck
on God's green earth.
And I know what you're thinking.
Pickup truck, James?
What the frig is this doing on the list of the best
video type video, what is this doing on a list
of the best minivans of all times?
Have you lost your marble?
Maybe, I don't know.
Yes, I think I'm going crazy.
But it's unrelated.
The Ford E350 Centurion is actually a truck van,
a van truck, a vuck, if you will!
This vuck is all minivan business in the front
and pickup truck party in the back.
It's the van truck that Ford was too chicken to make.
And just like my personal preference for mayonnaise
on hot dogs, it's wrong in all the right kinds of ways.
This Franken-van was made when the conversion company
Centurion Vehicles thought,
hey, let's take an Eocnoline van,
fuse it with an F-series truck bed,
and add a fifth wheel for towin'.
America!
Being that these vucks are not Ford manufactured,
and are essentially patchwork projects,
every E350 Centurion is a unique and beautiful snowflake.
But they all had few things in common.
A maximum of 10 miles to the gallon.
An engine that sits in the center of the cab,
encased by a solid wood console.
Quaint little curtains for the windows.
Back seats that double as pullout beds.
Turret lights for nighttime poetry reading.
Miles and miles upon miles and miles and miles of carpet.
You might find a CB radio here, maybe a television,
sometimes even a little refrigerator.
For your soda?
Anything you wanna keep cold, son.
Probably suspicious stains and a troubling smell.
But just like Van Wilder after his final exam
with Professor McGonagall at the end of the first film,
you just don't know what you're gonna get.
Well, there you have it.
We hit all the best minivans that ever existed.
Proof that minivans aren't all diapers and handy snacks.
They can be cool.
Check out this episode of Wheelhouse
on cars in rap and check out this episode
of The Bestest on vans.
Like please, if-
(laughing)
Subscribe or I'll bite no one.
I love you.