FAD 1: The Second Generation Chevrolet Astro AWD

It was probably 1986 when my dad purchased the first of two 80’s era, down-sized Buick Skylarks. Now don’t hang up or dismiss me—not yet! This is not a post to nominate the Skylark as a Fine Auto of Distinction. Because, it wasn’t—not by a long shot. In fact, it was that car and its sibling that caused me to appreciate the relative reliability of dad’s 1976 VW Karman Ghia, which repeatedly doubled as the family hauler while the shop rebuilt the Buicks.



Perhaps one day I’ll spend some time reminiscing about the Karman Ghia. But for now, I mention the shame it was to own an 80’s era GM vehicle only to emphasize the truly stunning nature of this first nominee. Because in spite of springing from the minds of engineers wearing the badges of the General, this vehicle distinguishes itself from the field so much that I was able to overlook my prejudice against GM vehicles. I would willingly part with my hard earned cash to acquire and maintain one of these bad boys.


So it is with pleasure that I nominate the first of hopefully many “FADs” the 1995–2005 AWD Chevy Astro with “Dutch Doors.” For those of you whose eye for fine vehicles is so clouded that it is not immediately apparent what makes this vehicle so great, allow me to enlighten you. I have two words for you: “style” and “utility”.

In terms of style, the Chevy Astro, sports a snub-nosed grill and upright cab. The straight lines, softened edges, and slightly rounded nose, convey a rugged beauty not far removed from that of a battleship complete with homing, surface-to-air missiles. It’s tough.


And if that weren’t tough enough, as a direct, lineal descendant of the A-Team’s original swagger wagon, the Astro boasts the same genetic makeup that made its ancestor tough enough for the likes of Mr. T.

The second generation Astro motates using the 4.3L Vortec V6, an engine based on the venerable Chevy small-block 350 V8. Admittedly, driving the Astro, as I have on occasion, it becomes apparent that you will clinch no land-speed records safely ensconced behind its tiller. However, the old push-rod mill clearly has the moxy necessary to tow and haul just about anything this side of industrial-grade windmill components.


This brute strength and the body-on-frame construction, make this van an ideal alternative to everyone’s perennial favorite, the Suburban. Where else, other than perhaps in the hallowed appointments of the Suburban, can you load a passel of kids, your stunningly beautiful wife, camping gear, bikes, and food for a small army and still have torque enough to tow a ski boat over Snoqualmie Pass? Nevermind you can enjoy that experience from the privileged vantage point of a truck, thereby allowing you to see over all your unfortunate fellows caged in their Accords, Camry’s and other passenger appliances.

You may ask: “If that truly is the ideal, why not jump straight to the Suburban?” Well, I can think of a few reasons. Apart from the not insignificant disparity in cost ($7,000 versus the $15,000 you’d pay for a similarly worn and equipped Suburban), the Astro offers very comparable mileage, safety scores, and storage capacity. But the short front end, renders it less difficult to navigate (extending the battleship metaphor) in garages, parking lots, and drive-thru’s.

And then, let’s not forget the “Dutch doors.” These babies represent a three-way engineering marvel. And . . . they look cool. In terms of mechanics, the glass portion of the door, pivots upwards and the bottom of the door open in the center and pivot outwards. Like so:


Pretty neat, huh?


The advantage to these having the upper portion rotate upwards is that you lose the pillars in the center of the door that would otherwise block your view out the back window. Plus, you gain the ability to access “stuff” in the rear cargo area of the van without having to open both doors—much like you see on some sport utility vehicles. That may be one of my favorite features of this van.

But don’t take my word for it. Ask anyone who has owned an Astro, especially those in construction or a service industry that would really put the Astro through its paces. These folks relate experiences of reaching well over 200k in an Astro without problems. And, probably the most telling endorsement of the Astro, these same people continue to seek out the vans even though the General has long since ended their production runs.

I first got turned on to one of these bad boys last year when our regular vanpool van was in the shop. King County lent us a base Astro as a loaner. For a while, I thought my interest in the van would wane. The more time goes by, the more I think about the Astro as a potential candidate to replace my current daily driver when the Nissan finally gives in, hopefully no time soon. Unrivaled reliability, AWD, truck height with truck height visibility, towing capacity, skads of interior space, easy access to the cargo space, a robust mill, and a clean set of exterior lines, what’s not to like?