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I love my minivan - 4x8 sheets of plywood/drywall fit in it, you can put a double air mattress in it to camp in, etc.

I'd forgotten that the original Chrysler vans only had one sliding door that opened on the passenger side. The idea was that you didn't want young kids opening the driver side door and stepping out into traffic.

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> The idea was that you didn't want young kids opening the driver side door and stepping out into traffic.

I always heard that was sort of a retroactive justification, and the real reason is that a driver's side sliding door would have interfered with the fuel filler. The second-generation Chrysler minivans solved that problem by introducing a mechanical interlock, so that you couldn't open the driver's side slider while the fuel door was opened.

Interesting! I just tried it on my 2013 van, and indeed, it only partially opens but doesn't slide back.

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