33 Year Production Run
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- Dodge produced the B-Series van from 1971 through 2003, a 33 year production run that was TWICE as long as the 1979 - 1993 Fox Mustang and 2008 - 2024 Dodge LC Challenger. What made the Dodge B-Series so popular was its extreme adaptability to dozens of tasks. Here, Steve explores a classic school bus conversion.
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My Grandpa served in North Africa in World War II and came back with a Purple Heart that eventually became a wheelchair. A Dodge Tradesman carried him through the rest of his life.
May God bless your Grandpa
@@kevinruble6858 thank you
Your grandpa's service will not be forgotten!! May he rest in peace
@FarmerDrew Man that was a reliable Van. Thanks for your Grandfathers Service. 👍
Cool school Bus. I drove school buses for 16 years. And trained the new drivers. Side note I was a special Ed student. So the joke is not only did I ride the short bus to school. Now I drive the shot bus. Best job I ever had.
Im still the proud owner of a 2001 Ram Van 1500. Best vehicle I ever owned.
Obviously all you ever owned is crap.
@@AdamWaffen That’s it, tell us how you really feel, brah!
That made me laugh!
@@AdamWaffenshots fired
We had 7 kids and owned a B300. 2 of my kids learned to drive in it. 15 passenger. Pulled a 32 ft camping trailer behind it.
Wow learning on a Big Van that makes everything else super easy to Drive. 👍
Based on the color, the lights, and the equipment that is probably a school paratransit van. Mainstreaming kids with disabilities started in the 1970s, at least in New England, which meant schools needed vans. I had a friend with muscular dystrophy who attended regular public schools from first grade in 1970 to graduation in 1982. I worked my way through school as a paratransit driver, mostly Fords but a few Dodges like this one. GM vans were rare, I only remember seeing one and it was a cab/chassis minibus. I preferred the Fords because they had more room for the driver's feet. The high roof allows the driver to move around to assist passengers and tie down wheelchairs but it also made the vans noisy, flexy, leaky, and more dangerous in a crash. Wheel chair lifts were a constant worry, a stuck lift ruined everybody's day and a passenger falling off the lift was a nightmare. Braun lifts rattled constantly but everyone used them because they were relatively reliable. This was also back in the days before manufacturers included extra auxiliary circuits so a lot of these conversion vans had butchered electrical systems. The last place I worked had two vans with constant intermittent shorts because the upfitter ran out of electrical tape and used duct tape instead. They didn't solder the connections or even use crimp terminals, just twisted the wires together and wrapped them in tape. The wrong tape, as it turned out.
I'm off shortly in my '91 LeBaron convertible. 3.0 Mitsubishi V6 @38 mpg. You should watch Adam @ Rare Classic Cars interviewed Bob Lutz... Yup, THAT Bob Lutz! They discussed the last of the stretched K Kars
Yup..just watched it last night
@CorvairWild haven’t seen your comments in a while. 38 mpg wow I hope it doesn’t have lots off RRRUUUSSSTTT. That was always your comment in the video’s. I had a 1962 Rampside about 6 years ago with the mystery shifter. Maybe it’s in gear maybe it’s not. 👍👍👍
Get well Steve. We miss you buddy. Although I can never watch these enough to refresh my memory and learn multitudes from you.
Good Morning 🇺🇸
A friend I know has a couple of these full-size Chrysler vans.
One is a 1976 Plymouth Voyager B-100 short wheelbase. 1977 Dodge Sportsman SE 112" wheelbase, 1978 Plymouth Voyager 112 wheelbase and comes from Canada 🇨🇦. That one has a metric speedometer which registers up to 160 kilometers per hours larger, miles per hour small. 1976 Plymouth Voyager Maxiwagon which was a van used by the United States Navy. The wheels were changed to the fancy ones. 1989, 1995 Ram Wagon and a 1997 Ram maxiwagon. The 1997 model is from Canada 🇨🇦 and has the metric speedometer which tops off at 200 kilometers per hours.
Sure looked like a giant crack in the frame above that leaf spring. The Dodge vans didn't last as long up north
By far the best van ever produced!
I got an eye for one of those vans used by a church to make it a period correct "dajiban".
The story of how the Japanese car culture adopted these imported vans sold after their use in US military bases has been a subject of many videos on RUclips.
If you haven't heard, as of 9/11/23 (the day I found out about it), Steve is in the hospital with a serious brain infection. There isn't much that we viewers can do other than watch, like, and/or subscribe any videos you may have missed. This would be to help him financially. I'm sure we all want Steve to get better, it would be a shame to lose this vast wealth of automotive knowledge. GET WELL SOON, STEVE!
In high school I shuttled folks to the airport in one of these. It was an 87 with a 360 and it was surprisingly quick
Would love to make a camper out of one of those!
Vans like that were used by schools and nursing homes along with churches. My guess judging by the color it wasn't a school bus as they are almost always safety yellow. Might have been a private bus line that used it for shuttling seniors around. As a former EMT that worked several different services the Ford van was by far the most common used for ambulances because of the full frame. They even marketed a factory chassis set up for that conversion with high output alternators, dual batteries and dual tanks. They would be shipped to the ambulance builder of your choice.
Ever worked on the engine in an ambulance with the 7.3 powerstroke? How that was put in I think before the body. Truly a royal pain!
I agree, I don't think think this was ever a school bus.
Steve would have crapped if the chair lift buttons still worked. I’d like to see Scott try and set something like that up just for humour sake. Thanks for all the great history all.
That is one hell of an A/C compressor on that engine! I'll bet that HVAC uniti in that van had the BTU's to heat and cool a small building - which is what this van actually was. Only on wheels.
Did not know about the Nissan Diesel, pretty cool.
I owned several of them the 318 was a very easy engine to work on
We're all pulling for you Steve. Hope to see you soon
I used to have one of those vans, ours was an ex church bus, used it as a hauler for my band equipment and drywall tools.
Oh boy drywall, I sure don't miss that.
Those van tops when made of fiberglass make great skiff boats
My parents knew someone had one a these. I remember it said Prospector on the side with the pick axe n shovel ⚒️
The Dodge van did have diesel engine, well thank you Steve , I learned something new today 😊
In Summer of '87 had a job driving Ram B-350 maxivans shuttling travellers and airport staff between BWI Airport and downtown Baltimore hotels. I loved these beasts! A/C and 360ci V-8! Don't recall having trouble with them, especially in the broiling Maryland summer.
Steve, The newspapers for my route were delivered by a Dodge van with a Slant 6. 😁
what a run for that product... 33 years of reliable service ! I believe they were heavily used as airport shuttles too.
They were popular "conversion vans" in the late 80's - early 90's. They'd put the fiberglass roof cap on"Captain's chairs" , little tables ect. More of a luxury cruiser than a camper. There was a company in Ocala Florida that did many conversion vehicles called Mark 3. I worked on many, both conversion and stock, when I worked at a Dodge dealer bodyshop in sw Florida. When they first started building the conversion vans, all the multi-colored stripes were painted on, with no documentation of the colors, real fun! VOC (volatile organic compounds) regulations forced them to change to vinyl tape stripes. We got a conversion van in that had taken a hard side hit, T-boned. The repairs required gutting the interior and replacing the fiberglass cap. We couldn't believe the hack job done to the roof! There was about 2 inches of original roof panel left, they cut through everything, roof ribs and all, looked like they did it hap hazard with a Sawzall! The cap was attached to the 2 inches of roof skin that was left, then hidden with moldings and trim. When we removed the cap, all the body panels, including the doors, were flopping in the breeze, what a hack job, totally structurally unsafe, in my humble opinion! What a nightmare to repair! We had to tack weld the new quarter panel on and temporarily install the cap, just to adjust and align the new parts. I did the paint work and wound up splitting the body repairs with the body tech, just so he wouldn't take such a hit on the labor. I had to paint it both inside and outside, I think that van was a major contributor to my copd. Lol
Correct, Mark III was in Ocala, FL on NW 44th off of I-75. That Ocala facility was just recently demolished. They closed in 2001.
It's a wonder insurance didn't total that van. This is what has happened to many of these conversion vans from the 80's and 90's. Insurance companies totalled these vans (no matter the damage) simply because body shops were spending an obscene amount of hours matching up 5 different paint colors on those vans, and.insurance companies grew tired of paying out all that loot.
A body man guy I know got a '93 GMC conversion van this way. Had some rear end damage. Insurance totalled it. 0:02 He bought it dirt cheap off insurance co. with R title. Only had 5000 miles. He still has this van, stripped off the 6 colors and painted it this pearlescent dark bluish purple. Beautiful.
@@michaelnazaruk4100 we tried to get the adjuster to total it, and he wanted to, but the estimate was at 70% value, and the owner wanted it repaired and didn't want to absorb the depreciation loss. But yes, soon after that they would total most, if they could.
Very interesting video. That looks more like a wheelchair transport van than a school bus. It doesn’t have the sash-type windows of a school bus, and no-one thought of wheelchair access for school kids in 1982.
That may have been true in backwards areas of the country but New England schools started mainstreaming kids in the early 70s when I went to school.
Toward the end of production (99-03) the deeper dashboard meant if you were a taller driver, you'd have the seat all the way back and your side view was obstructed by the door window frame/b-pillar. I had a 2000 Ram 1500 van and always had to lean forward to see oncoming traffic from the left side at an intersection.
Had an 86 and 90 B250, they had the same problem for me and I was only 5'9"
I've always wanted an old van. Preferably one with just the porthole windows in the back. Although the conversion vans with the captain's chairs throughout and the window shades are pretty cool
I remember many many more of these with two rows of seats. Not very many handicap vans. Usually city transit companies had the handicap/wheelchair accessible vans. But these things were everywhere.
I remember riding my Grandpa's van ramp up and down as it deployed and rescinded. Terrifyingly dangerous in hindsight.
I drove a dodge maxi van with low roof, (and I had to reach back to open the forward side door) van used by a large, over 500 van company with multiple contracts from public, seperate and private schools to transport "exceptional " kids (formerly called special learning disability) it had one 3 person and the 5 person benches in the back removed as well as the front passenger seat removed so it was only 9 passenger +driver so it could be driven with a standard 'G' car license, they also had 15 passenger van that required 'E' license, but could also driven on the seniors contracts by 'F' and 25 passenger mini school busses that were only drivable with the 'E' license that had lifts, and spots for 4 chairs, they also had a dozen 25's with lifts/4chairs that were exclusive for their VIA rail contract that needed 'F'
I've worked on a half ton big block version. A lot. Because the owner was a vehicle murderer. However, this one made me a believer in the 400 engine. One of the most difficult Mopars to wrench on underhood as everything is packed in so tight in my early experience. Beautiful as well, it was two tone metallic brown and tan with matching vinyl and cloth interior, owner all too soon turned this nearly show room condition van into scrap. I never worked on another of his vehicles.
Funny you mentioned carpet companies, that’s where I got my 72. Carpeted floor, walls,and roof, I installed a 6-way power seat from a Pontiac in the second row. Great for relaxing after a motocross race, letting someone else drive us home.
Uncle Rico had one of those. He can throw a football over a mountain!
Thanks for so much entertainment and knowledge... each episode is like a class day.. Thoughts and Prayers.
No, that's not correct. It was a Mitsubishi (not Nissan) diesel because Chrysler and Mitsubishi were partners in the small car imports, so they would have gone to Mitsubishi for an engine, not Nissan. Off the top of my head it was only available in 1978-1979 and was quickly dropped as it was rarely ordered.
We got the VIN, we win: B for B Series Van, 3 for 1 ton rated, 5 for extended body van, K for 8,500 to 10,000 # Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, P for 5.2L (318 CID) V8 with four barrel, A for 1980 model year, X for Missouri Truck Assembly (St. Louis, MO aka Fenton) and the rest is the production sequence. The Fenton plant complex operated from 1959 to 2009 and was the main minivan plant for a time. Off the top of my head, 1980 was the last year the vans were assembled in Missouri. They had been assembled at Pillette Road, Windsor Ontario Canada from 1974 onward and that would continue through the end of the run in 2003.
No, that's "Maximum Cooling" (bigger radiator, better fan clutch, etc.), not "Maximum AC". Exterior paint is Impact Yellow, code DT2606. "TON" means "Truck Order Number" and has to do with scheduling and how the truck was ordered.
There were many bus upfit companies over the years. Collins Bus of Hutchinson, Kansas is a big school bus upfitter and is part of the REV Group and was started by the Collins family. I have met Robert "Bob" Collins several times over the years at one of the REV Group facilities in Florida, and he has since retired as of 2019.
Yes, Braun Corporation is still in Winamac, Indiana and was started by Ralph Braun who himself was disabled. He invented a motorized scooter around 1963 at his farm shop and then branched it out into a mobility business, which still operates today. Braun Corporation was started in 1972. Yes, I believe 1979 on the Dodge Ram logo "re-introduction".
Never knew about that diesel option in the vans. I think it was offered in pick-ups but never realized you could have gotten it in a van. I think that would have been cool and got better mileage. 0-60 was probably only a dream...
@@LongIslandMopars Yes, it was used in the pickup too. It was short lived, and yes, the power band rivaled a Briggs and Stratton equipped push lawn mower.....
@@googleusergp 🤣
@@LongIslandMopars Many of the diesels were like that back then. The lack of turbos and intercoolers (which came later on) made them slow, noisy and crop dusters. LOL.
My wife bought the Plymouth version of this, 1980 PB300 that at one time was a Airport shuttle and then when we got it, it had been used as a church bus... that thing is a an absolute brick with the extended wheel base but I tell you what, those 4:10s with the 360 and a good Carb, that thing hauls when you get on it and you can hear the secondaries open up and watch your fuel gauge go down...
Thank you Steve
I had a 1983 Dodge B150 Prospector Royale SE. Cool loaded down van!
Keep bringing the great vids Steve!!!!
I had the camper special, It was cool.
In laws had a 1979 maxi, the same color as this one. Also a 1990 regular sized Dodge conversion van, like what was in a previous video.
I remember Fords maxi having the side marker light 3/4 of the way back, was covered, like they added the maxi section on and just covered the standard marker hole.
I had an 83 ambulance. 360 cop spec engine. Cat exempt. HD oversize everything.
33 years ??!!
Its amazing how many different versions of these Dodge vans , were offered
I think you're right Steve
Chrysler may have done ✔
some those upfits
Im not sure about that
specific bus in front of you
That would be worth buying and restoring.
Oh, absolutely! Sticking $35K into the restoration on that turd would be a great investment. 🙄
Steve, you are an automotive encyclopedia. Keep em coming.
Great info Steve! I used to weld the front frame pieces together at Dana in Thorold Ontario, Canada.
Get well soon!
In Japan, they race them. It's called "Dajiban", and, the most popular vans for racing are Dodge B Series vans from the 80s - 2000s.
Seems they just chsnged the front end designs only a little over the years.
There is a band named 'Short Bus'. I drove a bare bones 73 Maxi. Hauled frozen meat to customers homes. Some days I did over 500 miles in the snow. Had to put a plywood partition between me and the meat to stay warm.
I'm guessing those latches on the back windows are for emergency egress.
Drrr…I️ rode one of them to school!
Nice to see you, and Shane, back at it Steve! Man, that little 318 ,must have been working all it’s testicular fortitude off, up hill ,when fully loaded! Unless it had 4:56 gears in the rear! I stand corrected 4:10 gears!
Kids were a lot skinnier back then, they actually played outside, in dirt ,with sticks, and rocks, like wild animals!
Come to think of it, I was quite a bit thinner myself! LOL!
It sure hauled some Avocados 🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑✓
God bless that man a real hero thank him for his service and ur family 🙏❤I'm sure he's passed we losing the greatest generation fast
4:10 it was on the build sheet.
@@will7its Thanks,I must have missed that part!
@@jeffreycarleton1535 No problem man.....
Outstanding content on this video Steve!! The way you give discarded vehicles a new life (or voice) is truly a lost art, and you are amazing resurrecting it!!!
I live a couple blocks from the Braun Corporation of Winamac, Indiana. They are still going strong today. It is pronounced Win-a-Mac (like a game at McDonald's!)
In September of 97 I was transfered to a new elementary school and one of the busses that picked me up was one of these. It was orange Laidlaw.
Alright and thank you 👍
The GM G van went from 71 to 95 which isn't too bad either.
1996, not 1995. 1996 was a split year of "old G" and "new G" as the Express and Savana vans were phased in.
Had a very tired long wheelbase one as a HVAC service van frame developed stress cracks at the steering box ignored it too long box separated from the frame in the middle of a busy intersection!!!!
My cousin bought one of these a year ago and has lived in it since the day he got it 1976 model
You forgot one of the major types of the industrial van conversions with the tall roof. The Dodge van with the raised roof was the main vehicle brand for Handicap Disability vans. Dodge had a special design for disability vans for transport and even for people with a physical disability to enable them to drive themselves. Dodge was so aggressive in the disability van design that Dodge vans are still the most common van even in 2023 with the Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town And Country, and the Chrysler Pacifica. My wife has to use a wheel chair and her van was conversion was by Braun Ability.
Great video, but I have two notes to make: First, the short-lived diesel option came courtesy of longtime Chrysler partner Mitsubishi, not Nissan.
Second, right around the time Chrysler sold its European operations to Peugeot (1978), it released the Dodge 50 Series line of trucks, which used heavily modified B-Series cabs mounted on separate heavy truck frames ranging from 3.5- to 7.5-metric ton ratings. Peugeot actually operated the UK factory that produced the 50 Series jointly with rival Renault for a brief time, with the latter eventually acquiring the factory and the rights to the design in 1987, renaming it the Renault 50 Series and producing it (with updates) through 1993.
Great video thumbs up amazing the upfitters work modifying job,and it's still there to see
We made that frame at Hayes Dana frame solutions in Thorold South Ontario Canada
When I moved to AZ I rented a Jartran truck. It was a 79 D350 dually. It had a 440. Made the cross country trip pretty good.
I have disabilities and went to school in vans like this, but they were generally Ford Econolines.
I came to see more Hub Caps !
If the Chevy Express makes it to 2028, it would equal or surpass the Dodge B-Series, Ford's E-Series has already equaled the the B-Series' 33 year run starting in 1992 for the current generation (2024 models in production now), but with a footnote: chassis cabs/cutaways only after 2014. The 1992 generation was a heavy reworking of the 1975 E-Series.
My bus was a covair van 1968 San Andreas California.
Some were even longer. Mine had the extended body (behind the rear axle) as well as a fixed panel between the front passenger door and the two side cargo doors. I remember it being about a foot long.
318 in a Dodge Maxi-van.?? Way underpowered... Awesome video!!
According to Steve,there WERE a 6-banger diesel version, with a Nissan diesel !!
There were millions of Dodge pickups built with 318s that hauled more than that van had to. Especially with that 4.10.
@@DuneRunnerEnterprises
It was non turbo, so it was a slug. However the Nissan diesel crank was highly sought after by the Nissan Z cult for their gas Z engine builds.
@@DuneRunnerEnterprises Mitsubishi, not Nissan diesel. He was mistaken on that.
@@googleusergp Right. There was however a Nissan diesel six (SD33) optional for the International Harvester Scout from 1976 to '80, including a turbocharged version installed in a few '79s and '80s.
My current hauler is a 97 light duty 2500 ( 5 lug wheels ). 5.9 Magnum with 3.55 gears. Still under 100k miles. White cargo van with barn doors on the side with windows there but no windows on the quarters. You need the door windows for lane changing.
I keep my eyes open for a LD28 because I would love to have one someday its a inline 6 diesel with 2 oil filters and OHC
I miss seeing all the vans running around. Now, most contractors just run pickup trucks and the ocasional Transit or Express. While fascinating a model like this could run for 33, I think it's also probably a contributing factor to why this market slowly faded away- people became more interested in comfort and styling even in work vehicles, and no-nonsense packages like having radio delete probably wouldn't fly with workers of 2023.
We love our transit hi tops, you can fit a lot of plumbing gear and actually have space for it...and stand up inside.
Do bongs on the yellow bus!
Braun Mobility still does handicap conversions.
My father had two vans a 1976 and a 1977 very good vans with the 318 bullet proof engine.
I wonder if one of the reasons for continuing the 85 mph speedometer was inventory and possibly give the gauge manufacture and its suppliers time to set up their manufacturing process, ie: take your time, we can wait for the new (more expensive) gauge? ;-)
That wasy thought exactly
The gauge manufacturer probably sounded like Steve...." No more 85mph?!...what do you mean no more 85mph?! You know-how many of them we have in stock!!??"
16.5 wheels. I remember those.
The diesel option was the 6dr5 Mitsubishi diesel, not a Nissan. It was only available in 78 and 79 in pickups and vans.
Correct, because Chrysler and Mitsubishi were tied at the hip and they would have gone there, not to Nissan for an engine.
Morning Steve....
There was a company out in Cali that would take your Dodge van, cut it down the middle and add either 6" or 1' width for small busses. Called Wideone.
A 318 four barrel in a school bus. Never figured that would be on the option list for a school bus. Anyway, I never really cared for the Dodge vans (or any van), but you brought up a few interesting points I never knew despite having spent several years occasionally having to drive them. I started a job down around the border in SoCal in the early 90s and there was a significant number of B350s, probably 1984-85 vintage. Seems all of them had over 100k of hard miles on the clock by the time I entered that work force. They were probably 360s, carburation unknown. They got used as off road vehicles when all the 4x4s were broke and at the shop waiting for parts and a place in line for repairs. The unit body construction makes sense because one particular specimen seemed to be permanently twisted enough that I’d go home with a bruise or two on my left shoulder from having to “shoulder slam” the driver’s door to get it open. We also had some 1988 E350 Fords that drove like BMWs compared to the B350s. Due to the aforementioned issues with 4x4s being in the shop a lot, the vans got exposed to duties they weren’t intended for over a lot of rough terrain. The Dodges had suffered a lot of abuse longer than the Fords and were still running at the time. They ended up getting replaced when $$$ finally started getting allocated and we got some 93 B350s to fill the niche where the vans were needed. The new vans with fuel injected 360 magnums ran pretty good (plus better handling suspensions, radial tires, and working AM/FM radios and air conditioning). One co-worker claimed to have clocked 125 on the highway, but in retrospect he might have been confused and was looking at the kilometer scale in the speedo. But anyway, as I’ve said before, your junk yard crawls have a bit to offer for everyone.Now if there’s a square body Crown Vic police interceptor retired to that lot…
Looks like a carter thermoquad on there. Usually not found on 318 engines as far as i know.
I had a 1983 Ramcharger with a Thermoquad on a 318. 4X4, NP 435 4-Speed trans. I had alota fun in that
when do we get to see super shane? he deserves some shine too as always great video steve
Van Conversions! Pete Ellis Dodge, Long Beach Freeway, Southgate!
Sweet
dang 4 10s, i need that for my 47 im upgrading from 225 with 904 and 8 1/4 to 360 727, here in central illinois, needing an 8 3/4
Dad has several Dodge vans.
Alot of hubcaps in there!
Wow didnt know that...
Braun is still converting Chrysler minivans for handicap access. The vans have 'Braun Ability' on the back and sides. They're not pretty, but they definitely function
Correct, and there are Braun ambulances. Braun Mobility is in Indiana as shown on the wheelchair controls in this video and Braun ambulances are made in Van Wert, OH, the hometown of Kennedy. I've met the folks from Braun in Van Wert several times over the years.
So which is it Steve, aluminum or fiberglass top?
If you look at GM, They’ve only had two generations in a span of 52 years. The first gen ran from 1971-1995 and the 2nd from 1996-present. Even Ford’s Econoline vans remained un changed for almost two decades before being discontinue.
1971-1996, not 1995. 1996 was a transitional year with "Old G" and "New G" vans.
The Chevy Express has already lasted longer than the earlier Chevy Van.
See you tomorrow, Steve
Our Evangelical church had one of these along with the Ford version. And yes, both had the chuch name painted on the sides.
That looks a ot more like the Ambulance conversion, I wonder if someone rebuilt one into a schoolbus
We used many Dodge vans (and Fords) in our El Paso United States Border Patrol Station in the 1980's. One shorter wheelbase version was a favorite of the agents because it was really quick! Don't know what powerplant it had. Of course, a female agent eventually wrecked it on duty and only the longer wheelbase, slower vehicles were left. We had to really overload those vans, appending over 1,000 aliens every day.
They would still be building them but the Daimler thugs terminated them with extreme prejudice as one of the first actions taken during the "Night of the Long Knives" portion of the takeover in order to force Chrysler to adopt the Sprinter platform and bleed off the robust cash reserves that Chrysler had accumulated during the previous decade.