Here’s how the Ford Aerostar tried to unseat Chrysler for the title of best minivan

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In this episode I provide the history of the Aerostar, Ford's first minivan, made to compete against the Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager from Chrysler, but was more in common with the Chevy Astro/GMC Safari vans since they were more truck based. The Aerostar was supposed to be replaced by the Windstar in 1995, but outcry from fans kept the Aerostar in production for three overlapping years with the Windstar. The Windstar had two generations, followed by a third where it was renamed the Freestar, but was discontinued in 2007 with Chrysler's vans still outselling them in a shrinking minivan market.

[@kcindc5539]

A friend from college’s parents bought a first-year Aerostar. For a long time it was the only one in Morgantown, WV. We officially dubbed it “the Ford Anteater”

[@georgeh6856]

My brother had an Aerostar. We used to joke at how large the top of the dash was, that if you bought a pizza you could put the box on the top of the dash and still have room left over. It was a very cool van at the time.

[@J.Gainez]

the aerostar didn’t have a long enough hood to be called a dustbuster, but the lumina van was an exact embodiment of the dust buster, it was no mistaking it

[@sqweezzstr]

mans on the money!

[@jkeelsnc]

I am still not accustomed to the gm Dustbuster vans. Apparently, they sold well for a while though.

[@xmanhoe]

I live in Belfast Northern Ireland and a local guy has a Lumina ! Must be the only one in county

[@auntbarbara5576]

It was also trash.

[@jkeelsnc]

@@auntbarbara5576 yes. I didn’t care much for them.

[@chrisherman7531]

I owned 2 Aerostars. Loved them. Useful, spacious and comfortable. Both were V6s but had to make access holes to change the right rear sparkplugs...lol..

[@Golbez1991]

Aerostars began to pop up at antique car shows, and they are people magnets. It's cool to see them again.

[@benjaminjung5226]

We had a 91 Arostar 4.0 with the 4WD. That thing was a tank. It took us from WI to Florida several times. Was used around the farm like a truck. I remember taking it out mudding and keeping up with jacked up 4x4s. It went through snow like nothing. You could take the middle bench seat and turn it around and face backwards and face the 3rd row seat. I do believe we got over 200,000 miles out of it before it died.

[@Forestdawg1791]

The Aerostar really is one you don’t see anymore. These and the 1st gen Taurus were the cars of my childhood and they just disappeared. Which is odd because you still see a good amount of Chevy Astros on the road.

[@rockypintozzi5957]

I took my AWD Aerostar in one of the most horrible winter storms in Chicago. 12 inches of snow. The Aerostar passed everyone on the road. Made it into the city and back with no problems. The thing was a tank. Miss that van.

[@RipRoaringGarage]

Friend of mine had an Aerostar. It was a stick...and fairly big for a minivan. I remember driving for the first time over the George Washington bridge going to Great Adventure...or Action Park. I was taking a pilot and his family there (he was a famiy friend, flew A310s and flew with him a few times. Great guy, great pilot). This episode just brought back all those memories.

[@LynxStarAuto]

Lmao a fellow New Jerseyan. You mean *class action park* 😂😂😂

[@josephtome9600]

I worked for a construction company for ten years. All our trucks were Ford. Maintenance was spotty, especially for the oldest trucks - both Aerostars. As former postal trucks they had high commercial mileage. Mine covered territory from New York to Richmond. It was finally scrapped when the company changed hands, still running strong.

[@shantefrancess5174]

Good video . I have a 94 Ford Aerostar XLT 4x4 with 199,000 miles that my dad bought brand new in late 93 and it’s still running like a top and the 4x4 is amazing in the snow, mud and sand and it rides like a cloud down the highway .

[@kingkatradio]

These videos have become a Saturday tradition for me, For a future episode I wouldn't mind seeing The Chrysler cloud cars. The Plymouth Breeze, Dodge Stratus, and Chrysler Cirrus.

[@artjonessr3879]

I have been suggesting this for quite some time now. I owned a Stratus back in the day.

[@kingkatradio]

@@artjonessr3879 back in the late 90s when I was growing up, we had a neighbor that had a black one if recall right. Later on, a co-worker had a purple Plymouth Breeze. Most of those cars have met the crusher by now.

[@nothing18872]

@My Old Car Do Mazda Xedos

[@Henry_Jones]

Ford tried to split the difference between the chrysler vans and the astro here, assuming buyers wanted something smaller than the astro but keep RWD for towing. In the end it gotten beat by both. Keep in mind this was when the minivan was a new idea so it wasnt really a mistake to try that. Unlike the chevy it didnt carve out an unexpectrd nitch like thr astro did with cargo vans and conversion van buyers. It did beat rhe chevy in sales for a while but sales showed for a family van the chrysler design was the way to go.

[@paullee8349]

I absolutely love the original Ford Aerostar vans, very best reliability, unsurpassed!! If you are in the minivan market, Buy Aerostar!! Much much better and always bigger than Chrysler and dodge minivans, with added, unsurpassed reliability!!!

[@zackc.8015]

@@paullee8349 I had to put 2 transmissions in mine, and on its way to a 3rd... The Astro was the better van.

[@shaunrutherford7764]

I was brought home in a Camry, but my parents were looking for a minivan in 1994. They absolutely hated the Dodge in Plymouth because of the square bodies, so they went with the Windstar. It was a fantastic vehicle for what we needed. There were three families at the end of our cul-de-sac; we were one of two families with a Windstar, while the other had an Aerostar. When we needed to move across the country five years later, the head gasket problem doomed that van in the middle of Wyoming with a 7-year-old and two cats. The dealership had only one Windstar to replace it, an SE model with leather and a power sliding door. We kept that until Cash for clunkers. Windstars were my home away from home during my childhood, and they will always be special to me, no matter how bad they were for quality.

[@customkey]

Good post!

[@MrCozin-kd9mb]

Man that's a cool post. BTW I'm so sad that this program cash for clunkers ever existed. So many cool cars from that era have been destroyed.

[@awsomo53]

Same here. My parents bought a 94 aerostar before we were born. The van was a POS. Only kept it ~8 years. Then they got a Plymouth Voyager (even bigger turd). The tranny gave out when we took it off the lot. Finally got an Odyssey and that lasted forever.

[@michaellovely6601]

@@MrCozin-kd9mb I know right?

[@paullee8349]

@@awsomo53 Ford's Aerostar minivans, were bigger.the back seats in an Aerostar was over 1 foot longer, than any dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth minivans, back seats!! Was always roomier

[@fishernate]

We had a 1989 Ford Aerostar. I remember it had bucket seats in the centre row which was amazing as a 12y/o as well as the ability to change the radio station from the rear. I felt like a rockstar back there being chauffeured around. We called it the anteater, not a Dustbuster.

[@MrTPF1]

I bought a brand new '92 Aerostar for my growing family while in the military. That van was fantastic and super reliable, and we put 178K miles on it including going cross country twice, and up and down both coasts packed with kids, toys, and household goods. We were all sad to see it go. We replaced it with a '01 Windstar which literally cost twice the price as the Aerostar but was half the van even though we had opted for a higher trim package on the Windstar. I didn't think the Windstar would make it to 100K (but it did) but there were several major repairs to it along the way costing me thousands.

[@robbalinski1606]

Your one of the few who did have a good experience with the Aerostars then, my parent back in the day traded ours off 2 months into ownership because it was such a pile and bought a chrysler mini van in its place. The chrysler was an amazing van never broke done on us once or had any real problems, we had it until 450,000km then gave it to a neighbor in need and he ran it until 530,000km before the original trans died.

[@jimfarmer7811]

I bought one of the last Aerostars made and put more than 170,000 miles on it. It was one of the most reliable vehicles I ever owned. The engine and transmission were still running like new when I sold it. The biggest problem I had with it is that it got stuck in snow easy and it wanted to swap ends on a slippery road.

[@barryervin8536]

I rented an Aerostar back in around 1995 to take myself, my wife, our daughter and 2 of her friends from PA to Disney World. It was the extended version and quite roomy and drove really well. I was impressed and thought about buying one. About 5 years later I was working at a Ford dealership as a technician and was surprised at how many mechanical (and rust) problems I saw on them though.

[@brotherdj777]

After you take your last breath are you going to heaven or hell? Please ask yourself that question. Jesus can save your soul from hell. He will forgive your sins. He said whoever calls upon his name shall be saved. Call upon Jesus today. Repent and believe the gospel.

[@MemoBar100]

Ha, ha, ha, that was a really piece of cr…!!! I had same experience in a Ford workshop.

[@mida8261]

@@brotherdj777 You got all that from reading a story about the Ford Aerostar?

[@sudmuck]

@@mida8261 Its the only van that Jesus himself would drive!

[@mida8261]

@@sudmuck That would be sacrilege. We all know Jesus drove an Accord, for it says in Psa 109:26: "Help me, LORD my God! Deliver me in accord with your gracious love!"

[@KerrijaGryphon]

We had an Aerostar when I was growing up. I think my favorite feature of those vans is the sliding glass windows in the rear which opened really wide unlike the windows on the Caravans that just had a small hinge to "pop-out".

[@Novusod]

The Aerostar was superior to the Caravan in just about every way. The biggest advantage it was ride height. It was much taller than the Caravan and could see over other cars. In the days before SUVs this was a big deal. Caravan was basically just a glorified station wagon while the Aerostar was genuine mini-van. The Aerostar also had better performance, although not quick by any means it could keep up with traffic and even screech the tires when floored. Compared to the underpowered Caravan's 4cyl this was a sports car.

[@jeffc7486]

I always say behind the driver seat for that reason. YESS!

[@zackc.8015]

@@Novusod lol you must not understand the original Chrysler minivans, the whole point was a lower ride height.

[@TheNuje]

Honestly, I think GM was more inspired by the Renault Espace. Not only did they share a sharply raked front end, but they also had a suspiciously similar design when it came to seating.

[@auntbarbara5576]

It was also a piece of junk.

[@zackc.8015]

@@auntbarbara5576 The Astro?

[@EJohnDanton]

We had our '92 extended van and at the end of its life, it had 450,000 kms. (bought at 250). It towed our tent trailer yearly over the rocky mountains. The original trans gave out at 300,000 and the rebuilt was still shifting fine at the end. They NEED an auxiliary cooler and regular oil changes to last. It only gave us trouble once when it had a massive vacuum leak, which was fixed for under $200. We only got rid of it because the engine was tired and was a little down on power, and a bargain replacement came into our life. I drove it to the crusher when no one would give me the $400 I got for the metal value. Cons - the brakes were only adequate and would wear quickly. More truck than van which was fine for us but not for some.

[@tig3rhawk27]

My mom had one it was good van she drove it up until 2014 when the floor started to rust out. Then it was parked in the back yard until 2020 when she finally got it taken to the scrap yard. Lots of good memories in that van. Kinda sad to see it go but it had a very good run.

[@gcaprice406]

Biggest thing I remember about the Aerostar as an 18 year old starting out repairing cars was that it had an aluminum driveshaft. That really impressed me, at the time you never seen them except on a select few performance cars.

[@secondmouse9458]

Thank you for this great video, my dad had an extended length all white Aerostar with the 4.0 liter V6, we called it the white whale, he bought it primarily to pull our 20 foot boat, which it did with no problems until many years later when the transmission puked out all it's fluid while he was pulling it up a boat ramp, but that was many miles and years after it was new, in general I liked driving it and it was a great long hauler, on our maiden trip with it we drove it from New Jersey to Prince Edward Island and back with no problems and very impressed with how well it did on the highway. My dad, being the tinkerer that he was, ordered the base model with no options except the larger engine and extended length and then proceeded to add power windows and power door locks that he purchased from JC Whitney. He also added curtains in the back and converted the rear bench seat to a fold down bed so him and my mom could sleep in it on long haul vacations. Your video has brought back many fond memories of using that van for fun and work around the house, keep up the good work!

[@BELCAN57]

You can get the small Transit Connect with passenger seats. It's actually quite nice.

[@stephenj4937]

Yep, that's a mini-minivan (although probably similar in size to the original Plymouth Voyager.

[@julianbrelsford]

My aunt had an Aerostar 4WD for quite a long time. She lived part-way up a very steep mountain road, one that was covered in snow for many months of the year. During the time she owned it, I had the impression it was rather reliable but definitely got some rust on it by the end. At the time, her husband drove a 4wd F-150

[@matthewbond5028]

My dad had a cargo version of the Aerostar. He sold it after putting 300K miles on it back in the mid 90's, my dad and I still saw it around town until 2009.

[@richardnottelmann58]

That is very Cool.

[@harrygaul4475]

I've known two other people with the same results with over 300,000 miles on their vans. One guy sold his for over $1000

[@harrygaul4475]

I have a 1993 Green Ford Aerostar van with only 119,000 original miles on it. @6:40 my van has the same bucket seats 4 of them. Great vans, and I've owned one before. The previous van had over 238,000 miles on it and the only issue I had with it is once the air compressor went out on it but that was still around 230,000

[@deanhillman7220]

As someone who lived for two years in a 94 Quest, please do an episode! I miss mine. Best car I’ve ever owned.

[@chriscornelius2518]

The Quest and Villager were both as good as the Toyota Sienna with reliability and comfort. After they stopped working together, the quest became a problem just like the Villager

[@Henry_Jones]

84-01 Jeep Cherokee!

[@MrErichonda30]

X2

[@Heywoodjablowme420]

XJ alllll dayyy! Lol

[@arturoashanti5787]

The AMC history with Jeep Cherokee xj 1984-2001 please

[@Cultureshockcrew]

I had a 94 that my uncle bought new in 94 I wish I woulda took care of that thing man

[@lowryder3209]

And its replacement the liberty

[@garthlundquist3623]

After reading through the comments I think I am the only person still driving an Aerostar van! My 1992 4wd extended model is the perfect dogmobile for daily hikes on the mountain. The low rear deck height makes it easier for my older Labrador to get in and out. We never get stuck in the snow and mud, and the Labradors each have an opening side window to hang their heads out of. The ride is pretty comfortable on rutted roads. When I have a repair that costs over $500 I will have to junk it, but in the meantime we just keep on truckin.

[@highlypolishedturd7947]

My father had an 86 Aerostar, with the 2.3L four banger which couldn't get out of it's own way. A drag race with a four year old on a tricycle would have been a coin toss. That was with a 5 speed stick. On the plus side, it was roomy, we travelled a lot in it, and my old man carried half the world in it at some point or other. It was a good vehicle to bring to the lumber yard. I was learning to drive then, so it has a place in my heart no matter what.

[@chrisbeaver6305]

Back in 2004 my school had one 1997 Ford Aerostar van and a fleet of new Chevrolet Astro vans. I got the Aerostar since I was a new teacher and I actually liked loved it. It had about 200,000 miles when I left in 2007 and it was still running great!

[@GeeEm1313]

As a kid, I loved how these looked. I had my mom test drive an 88 when she bought her first Taurus, but she didn't like "driving a room around."

[@MrJasonshores364]

Our 87 Aerostar was host to so many wonderful memories that I can't be that mad that you took this long to do a video.

[@epicpandareviews]

This was my first car... so psyched!

[@samholdsworth420]

Same lol. Silver 91 XL 3.0 AUTO

[@larrylaffer3246]

A relative had one of these. Would start up no matter what but apparently didn't like to go up hills.

[@gnntech]

My dad purchased a top of the line Aerostar in 1986 for our family (the one with the digital gauge cluster and overhead trip computer). I remember loving this car. As a kid in the 80's, everyone wanted their own futuristic car (like KITT) and the digital Aerostar fit the bill nicely in terms of features. In hindsight, the car had a lot of issues. The first time my dad took the car in for service, the front dashboard fell out of the car into his lap as we left the dealer because they never put the screws back in. That should have been a warning to us. Over the years we owned it, there were electrical issues (lights in the dash/radio flickering and failing), transmission failures, fit and finish issues (water would enter by the rear window causing the plastic trip to pull away from the headliner and other things that just broke. All that being said, we owned the car from 1986 to about 1992 and it served its purpose as a family minivan.

[@raymondsmith6315]

I had a friend with an Aerostar as recently as the year 2012. It had a V6 under the hood, or should I say, behind the hood, lol. We quickly realized serviceability was not a part of the engine placement design.

[@donaldwilson2620]

It looks like most minivans are not made for the DIYers. I think the Honda Odyssey(and possibly the Toyota Sienna) is the only minivan that still serviceable for the average person. The Odyssey's engine bay is pretty spacious compared to most minivans. The only item where the Odyssey does need to be worked on by a professional mechanic is the timing belt but it only has to be done every 80K-100K miles depending on age.

[@waterloo123100]

@@donaldwilson2620 Dodge caravan or grand caravan is very easy to work on and their extremely reliable too

[@Bre2nan]

The R/T platform Grand Caravan also has a very spacious engine bay by minivan standards

[@demcomp]

I remember the trips we (family) took in the Aerostar. We had an '87 Aerostar that we took East across Canada, to the Maritimes. I also remember when we got stuck in a ditch when a driveway was miscalculated... Then in a 91 Aerostar we across the USA and up through Western Canada, into the Rockies... Great memories with those Vans!

[@alexandrecoallier7809]

My parents use to have one the 1997 extended AWD model. My father’s use to load it at the maximum of capacity for is business. He was also going to wooden trails with a trailer on the back of it all the time . He always say its the best vehicle he never had and was sad when the frame break up 10 years after . I also do remember the confort of that van and all the space we got . Now a day you will never find that kind of comfort.

[@Tnenamrep2]

We had a '92. Regular length. Light metallic blue. It was actually an excellent van. Very reliable. Needed winter tires, for life in Eastern Ontario. Only rusted on the rounded corners under the tail lights. It was surprisingly easy to work on as well. I have fond memories of this van, from my teenage years.

[@alexandriabeare4265]

My parents purchased a 1992 Ford Aerostar in 1994 right before my brother was born, I was 4 years old at the time and it was so roomy and set up high, I loved it!

[@davieS628]

I love the Aerostar. I've owned three of them. I really like the fact that the second row windows could slide back to open where Chrysler mini's had the rear windows that would pivot open at the back of them.

[@craigjensen6853]

I drove one in the late-90s for work, it was a '97 new old stock the boss found a good deal on. They already started making the Windstar but I guess still made them as commercial vans. I remember the A/C was ice cold for 3 weeks until the company removed it along with the radio, as was standard practice at the time. They kept the airbag and power steering though, I guess we were worthy of that.

[@1_Papa]

Another outstanding review! I knew a couple in Tacoma who had one. When it was completely dead and sold for scrap, one of the two men cried like a super wet baby in the middle of the night. He really loved that van. So I get how those who owned one say it was their favorite car. Again, great work! 🎥! 🐰

[@crlaw75]

My first full time job, I drove an Aerostar cargo van. I also remember a lot of Windstar wheels getting pitted, so they had to be replaced.

[@artjonessr3879]

I had one! It was the hardest working vehicle I ever owned. It took whatever I threw at it and was sad when the transmission went out on it.

[@voyfan99]

My neighbors had one of these growing up. They had it as long as I lived next to them (they moved in 2008) and I assume they still had it for many years after that. It was always meticulously maintained.

[@nathanjoseph4284]

Hey My Old Car, I'm not sure if you care but did you know this is the 50th video you made on this channel? Congratulations, and onto another great 50 videos! I keep looking forward to every video you put out. :)

[@CarringtonHollister]

My family had 2 Aerostars (1994 and 1995) the 1995 was given to my eldest sister and we kept the 1994 oh and the 1994 was cappuccino with a brown interior with a cassette player and the 1995 was sea foam green with gray interior without a cassette although both were XLT trim levels

[@ianhamer4494]

Had one of them when I was in the states in the 80s, was impressed with it at the time, down memory lane here.

[@optimus3305]

I had one, I was actually still driving it on 911, blown head gasket, no brakes, oil leaks, and more, literally lived maybe 2 minutes from work, started and ran for months like that, worked at Valvoline, fixed it up at work over time, but she kept goin!

[@Paramount531]

Back in the early 90s I purchased a very prisitne 1987 Aerostar XLT. It was a nice looking and nice riding van. It was also the biggest POS that I have ever owned. Two A4LD transmissions, two AC evaporators, two burned valves and numerous other problems including a driveline vibration that could not be eliminated. Getting rid of that thing was one of the happiest days of my life.

[@d.peters6075]

My dad had one as a van conversion so typical of the 80s and early 90s. It was a very comfortable and nice driving van.

[@flori5548]

I’m seriously addicted to your videos. My sleep demands compensation 😂 Thank you for your great videos!

[@davidpick1076]

My family was an Econoline van family. We owned a 3rd gen from 1992 all the way to 2010. We had a family friend who owned his own garage and was a Ford fanatic. But every time a customer showed up with a Aerostar,he'd always have an employee work on it and he'd never touch them. It was the only Ford model he could never find good things to say about them. But I respect there were others who did like them.

[@ronnybeech292]

I bought a 1989 Aerostar last year and use it for camping and pulling my dirt bike around. Love it!

[@Henry_Jones]

The ford 3.8 v6 was a reverse engineered Buick 3800. The ford had aluminum heads while the Buick was all cast iron. The Buick 3800 is regarded as one of the best gasoline engines of all time while the ford 3.8 one of the worst.

[@jrussellcase]

Owned two Fords with that engine. I wholeheartedly concur. Pure junk. In fact, that engine is what soured me on the so-called "Foxbody" Fords.

[@Henry_Jones]

@@jrussellcase i had a buick regal with the 3800. Power, fuel efficent, reliable as the sunrise. It definately deserves its rep. I donno how ford could take the golden example of a great engine and f it up lol.

[@jrussellcase]

@@Henry_Jones Exactly. That's why I've always traditionally been a GM guy. 😁 And yes, that Buick 3800 was a tough engine.

[@acelacrocker2958]

From what I remember reading - and I don't remember the source, this was decades ago - in 1988, whatever company was making the head gaskets for the 3.8 Essex had removed the asbestos from their gasket formula, and the engines would go on to eat their head gaskets from 1989 until sometime in the mid to late 90's when somebody finally got around to addressing the problem. Too bad, too. That engine wound up murdering the reputation of many otherwise decent cars.

[@waterloo123100]

@@Henry_Jones Reverse engineered is a figment of your imagination. Also fords 3.8 super coupe dominated Gm superchargered 3.8 in terms of power and reliability

[@JVHShack]

My dad once owned 3 Aerostars at the same time. Even in the mid-2000s, they were becoming increasingly unreliable and they were a total pain to work on. One of them met it's demise due to the transmission being replaced and the bell housing bolts not being tightened and transmission going off kilter which in turn broke the engine's crankshaft. It was impossible to remove the engine without lifting the body from the subframe. We never did fix it and it had nearly 300,000 miles on it by then and had gone through 4 A4OD automatic transmissions. A suggestion to anyone wanting to buy an Aerostar nowadays is find one with the manual transmission or find a way to convert it to manual. The 3.0L engine was underpowered for the van, but reliable. The reason why the 2.3L Lima/Pinto engine was dropped so suddenly was due to the sheer weight of the van and that engine's lack of power from being choked by 1980s emissions equipment. Also, hauling that much weight made it a really whiny pig. Also, a few years ago, someone got an Aerostar with the 2.3L engine and swapped it out for a Mustang's 5.0L. They did release a video of it here on KZbin. Finally, please make a video about the Ford Transit. It has a much longer history than most of us here in the USA may realize.

[@harrygaul4475]

@Martin Skoda You sir are correct about owning a Ford Aerostar van

[@johnjohnson7092]

@@harrygaul4475 thanks, it's getting back on the road soon. As I come here to watch this again, I note for others here that my comment was about my Aerostar and its M5OD and how much better it makes the van, recently fixed a grind between 1-2 gear by changing the transmission fluid and wired in a digital gauge cluster.

[@Waterboyofsuperman]

I always thought the wind star and villager were basically the same; didn’t know they were based on different designs. I grew up with an Aerostar. I really did go in dates in the Aerostar and generally liked it as the time. Good memories.

[@anilmisir7654]

I still have my 1991 4.0 Aerostar. Runs like a champ.

[@paulkalamba54]

This was our first car when we came to America in 01😂😂. Great van we had a short wheelbase. We drove it all the way from Maryland to Denver and back. We loved that van so much until 07. Then my dad bought a 98 windstar and after that we had an 01 windstar

[@vandal21891]

When the Aerostar came out I remember all the TV and print ads had that direct link to the space shuttle and it was heavily promoted. But when the Challenger blew up in 1986 all those ads went away and it was never associated with the shuttle again.

[@Badge1122]

I knew someone that had one of the older Aerostars and it had the most problems of any car I knew of. He finally gave it to his daughter and course it even had more. After one trip she called me and told me it wouild hardly and had 50 miles to go. I said as long as it moves keep going. She took it to a garage and its v6 was running on 4 cyinders and offered her $100 for it and she took it.

[@marcusdamberger]

Nice of her dad to off load it to her after his troubles. Did he expect a different outcome with her?

[@Gadgetman1989]

Had my dad's 91 Ford Aerostar Eddie Bauer edition for years but after he passed I didn't get to inherit it, was sold not more than a year ago and wish I could have kept that, lasted in our family for so long...and not to mention the sound system stock was amazing

[@jundialhaqiqa9907]

I knew a bunch of people who had Aerostars when I was a kid. I liked how the seats were higher up off the floor. As a kid I could crawl under them. Couldn't do that in other minivans.

[@gregcrabb3497]

I worked in the factory that made the side slider windows and rear stationary windows for that van. It's been 30 years but I could still assemble one of them in about 40 seconds!

[@dwbogardus]

I'm still driving my '93 Eddie Bauer E4WD stretch Aerostar, which I have been driving for the last 25 years. It now has nearly 280,000 miles with the original engine and transmission. I will shortly switch in a third set of front axle/CV joints, since the current ones are getting noisy. I recently made a 3,000 mile round trip from Oregon to Nebraska, and averaged 22 MPG, which I considered pretty good for a 7-passenger, AWD vehicle that is 29 years old. Loaded, with all leather, rear heat/AC, and rear stereo controls. Absolutely no rust on it. (I've been told that the odometer only goes to 300,000, and then rolls over to 0.) Too bad...

[@MikeMuncher444]

My grandfather has 5 aerostars, he probably has gone through 30 or so vans though the years and will drive across the contry to get a new one. He loves his vans

[@reallyrandomrides1296]

YES! I'm so glad you did an episode on the Aerostar (aka the "Errorstar" lol). I loved this van when it first came out, remembering the "Welcome to the age of Aerostar" commercials. I drove a few, and finally got my own in the early 2000s, a green and silver Aerostar Sport (regular length). Loved that van! Hadn't seen one in a long time, but I saw one a few days ago.

[@SpaceMissile]

that promo of the space shuttle transitioning to the van went hard for some reason. that marketing team did a good job on that.

[@ectofix8447]

Very interesting historical information about the Aerostar's development that I did not know. I transported my growing family in TWO Aerostars for over twelve years. From my kids being toddlers and up until our youngest graduating HS. We had a 1988 XL, 3.0L and then upgraded to *used*, extended 1992 XLT with 4.0L in 1994. BOTH of those mini-vans were the most practical vehicles for raising a family. We traveled East coast to West...and back again in 'em. In the latter model, I even hauled an entire bedroom set 1000 miles through all kinds of weather (seats removed, of course). Thanks for making this video. It really brought back some memories.

[@CSXIV]

I have memories of 2 Aerostars: one because a friend's mom had one and drove us around in it. The other? A different friend's first car was an Aerostar. He tried to drive it as a 4 wheel drive sports car, got it stuck in the mud, caught air hitting a speed bump and...drove it to prom. He also likely broke it further by trying to fix it himself.

[@catjudo1]

Some neighbors down the street bought an early Aerostar and really liked it. When my folks went looking for a new car, my dad was smitten with the idea of a Dodge Caravan, one of the early boxy ones with no power. Thankfully, my mom put her foot down and refused to drive a minivan; they ended up with a Subaru GL wagon instead. It didn't have a lot of power, but it did have a manual transmission and was a nice handling car. That is what I learned to drive on. For her credit, Mom replaced that car with an early Subaru Forester, which also has a manual transmission and handles well. She still has that car after 20+ years. To this day no one in this family has owned a minivan, and I'm kinda proud of that.

[@dmitryplenov1229]

My former foster mother had two Ford Aerostars, a red 1993 Aerostar XL Extended and a white 1997 Aerostar XLT. We traveled to California and back in the red 1993 Aerostar XL, back in 1995, as well as Calgary, Edmonton, Drumheller, AB, as well as other places later on.

[@jkeelsnc]

A friend of mine had one with the 3.0 Vulcan and aode transmission. It was not bad. He had an extendable ramp on the side because he is physically challenged. And although not really fast the 3.0 in 96 seemed to be powerful enough to do the job safely. It was an alright van. Nothing exciting but dependable and drivable.

[@samholdsworth420]

I had the same van the same motor it got to 220,000 mi before we parted ways. The transmission is the weak part on these vans

[@MrBakedDaily]

I drove one of these across the junkyard scales the other day,all the water pump bolts broke off when I tried to change it was running fine.

[@mathewmclean9128]

Thank you for doing this video about the Ford aerostar. Awesome video! My mom had one of these up until I was about 6 years old or so. Great van. I still remember it even though it's been about 25 years since it was sold.

[@votekyle3000]

Ah, my childhood. My mom had a 1990, ex Enterprise fleet Aerostar. Red and dark gray two tone.

[@warmstrong5612]

Back in HS a buddies mom had one. One time he borrowed it and accidentally locked the keys in it. His bright idea was to smash the little triangular window instead of the roll down one. After taking it to the autoglass place, his mother was told that it would've been cheaper to replace the roll down for $60 instead of the little triangle for $300. She was pissed.

[@TheDanMan01]

I had a 1989 Aerostar with a 3.0l engine and an automatic trans with the shifter on the floor. It was one of the most reliable cars I ever owned. I bought it used and in pristine shape back in 1994 with 60,000 miles on it. Managed to keep it around until 2001 and 210,000 miles. I had no rust issues, but I've seen others that did. I eventually got into an accident and totaled it when a Nissan cut me off on a damp curve, lost control and slammed right into a concrete divider. If I had the money and space, I would buy one if I find one in good shape.

[@bannedbycommieyoutube5time920]

We had one of these when I was growing up. Had issues with fuel pumps, was reliable other than that. One time we were out of state at a sports tournament, and I called the van “a stupid piece of crap” as we drove along and about 10 Seconds later it died 🤣

[@mbenz64]

Love your videos, please keep them coming!! I currently work for a car rental agency going on 33 years, so this brings back memories of some of our rental vehicles. We rented the Aerostar, Windstar and Freestar respectively. Thank you!!

[@grunkohlaktionar7474]

An Episode on the Mitsubishi Diamante or Galant would be great

[@williamsinger4124]

Auto auction rebuilds has a Diamante

[@grunkohlaktionar7474]

@@williamsinger4124 just watched that haha

[@williamsinger4124]

@@grunkohlaktionar7474 nice. I'm getting ready to watch it as well lol

[@RichardinNC1]

I only knew one person with an Aerostar as opposed to a good many with Caravans or Voyagers. I drove a 95 Windstar on a CA vacation for a week. It was a nice car to ferry the bunch of us around the Yosemite area.

[@sixerjosh]

Yeah! A new episode from My Old Car! Buckle up, it’s time for an other trip down memory lane. I’m looking forward to an episode about front wheel drive development and technology. Love this channel!!

[@aaronsalcido90]

My family owned 2 Aerostars, a 1987 and a 1995, back in 2006/2007. The 1987 had electrical problems and only lasted with us a couple of months until my dad sold it to the junkyard, still in running condition and we sold the 1995 to a family friend, who had it for a while; My family owned most of the vans you mentioned in this video, like the 1st Gen Dodge Caravan (we had the RAM van), Ford Aerostar, Ford Windstar and Nissan Quest (This lasted the longest, about 5 years)...

[@duckingtonedits2369]

I remember going to the super Chevy show in Montgomery Alabama 15 years ago. The coolest ride there was a Ford aerostar. It was named the airborne express. It had a blown Ford big block mounted to a V-Drive in the back. I know mid 9's in the 1/4 isn't super impressive but it did it on its rear tires. The moment that tree turned green the front end was airborne. It didn't land until the 1/4 mile mark.

[@krazi77]

fun fact, the 2.8 v6 was also from Cologne Germany. they originally debuted in Ford Pintos and Ford Mustang II's.

[@mbucklesnak]

I was a proud owner of a 1996 3.0l, white base model wagon with blue interior. We bought it new and sold it in 2003. Drove it from NC to Alaska and then to Las Veags. Used it to move entire household goods during a winter in Alaska. Replaced it with a 2003 Exlorer, still driving that.

[@tombig4011]

Oh the nostalgia! My mom had two of these while I was growing up in the early nineties. Both were extended length and they were awesome, slow but awesome.

[@torythefanman]

One ofvthe first cars I ever drove was a Aerostar Eddie Bauer edition..it was brown and tan and had the digital gauge cluster. I really enjoyed it as a 12 y/o kid..I drove it around on a farm. You gotta do the Villager/Quest as the next minivan episode or the Astro vans.

[@janderson8401]

I bought an Aerostar as my first new car. Ordered the wagon with the 2.8 L V6 and 5 speed manual. Used that for about 9 years then ordered an extended length cargo version with the 3.0 L V6 and 5 speed manual which I kept until early 2012. The 3 liter engine didn’t seem nearly as peppy as the 2.8 liter one. I had thought the supposed 10 more horsepower would make up for the added weight from being 14” longer. It didn’t. I really liked both vans. Thought briefly of getting a Transit Connect. Bought the last year for a real Ford Ranger instead.

[@jeffkaczmarek3577]

The Senior Trip clip at the end earned you my sub.

[@bustyrandit]

Coolest Aerostar ever was the BIGFOOT Shuttle. It rode on 2 ton axles with 48 inch "terra" tires. It ran the stock 3.0 V-6, but they equipped it with a nitrous kit for a lil extra pep. It was pretty nimble on and off road.

[@jhomrich89]

When I was a kid many of my moms friends had the Aerostar and I remember my parents were the first to get a new Windstar, I'll tell ya what it was a cool feeling to roll up to the carpool lot and everyone looks at the new car whether it was the futuristic design and sleek lines. Yes it was just another generation van but back then seeing that coming from the relatively boxy styles of many other cars on the road at the time it looked like a big deal.

[@dawson.strachan03]

Would love to see a Quest video, it was my childhood minivan till I was 13, was an 01 and had 400k km till the Canada winters rusted out the thing, never needed a major replacement and ran perfectly till the end, thing ripped too

[@SkeetMcRibb]

My buddy in high school used to drive his mom's Aerostar. It did THE BEST brakestands. No one-leggers and lots of smoke. His parents thought there was something wrong with it because it needed tires every month.

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

My dad had an Aerostar when I was in my early 20's. I drove it a lot. I'm not a fan of Ford but it was a pretty decent vehicle to drive. I really liked that it was rear wheel drive

[@nicolasbsmith78]

I remember when my mom came home with this! 😄 we loved it!