Chrysler products from around the year 2000 have a bad rap for being unreliable. And some of it is deserved, especially where transmissions and electronics are concerned. But not everything that Chrysler sold during this time period was a hand grenade with the pin pulled for the consumer. I can personally attest to the crash-worthiness of a 1998 Dodge Intrepid, walking away completely uninjured from a full-total accident that involved a Honda CRX striking the driver-rear door, the durability of a couple of Dodge Stratus rental cars, and the comfort of a Chrysler LHS. But it’s probably the minivans that held up best. Built by Chrysler to specifically stand up to the ultimate torture test, the family with kids, the Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town and Country, and the Plymouth/Chrysler Voyager were actually pretty well regarded when the new model debuted in 1996. Chrysler had bet billions on keeping the minivan crown that they had earned with the first boxes that rolled out of the factory in 1984, and they managed to meet that tasking. Given that the nearest competitor at the time was the genuinely awful Ford Windstar, that might not be saying much.

But let’s look at one minivan whose final act was to prove reliability. This later-model Plymouth Voyager is beat. It’s rusted, it’s been hit in the back, and by all accounts, it’s an absolute pile of a mud-choked minivan whose time for the crusher has come. However, two Alberta-based individuals have some rather nefarious plans for the Voyager, which involves steel plates on a wood-planked car trailer, a “fast idle stick”, and a fire extinguisher. Take your pick, folks, as to what the failed component will be: will the infamous Ultradrive automatic pack it in first? Maybe the engine will launch a piston into the sky? Or will the nerves of these two fail at the first sign of fire? Whatever the case, this Voyager holds off a LOT longer than it ever should have. Maybe Chryslers from this era weren’t so bad after all?

Language warning: plenty of it. Find some headphones.