Although the Astro was shot to death in 2005, it is still popular among current #vanlife-goers.
Are you a fan of the Chevrolet Astro? Even if you didn’t see the not so mini minivan debut in 1985, we bet you do. It survived for over 20 years and, along with its GMC Safari sibling, more than 3 million units eventually found homes. The front-engine/rear-drive platform never changed, and with available all-wheel-drive, they were pretty useful in low-traction situations. Yes, they had issues and let’s not forget, they endured the height of GM’s monochromatic plastic-for-everything interior design. These machines are now in vogue again thanks to the #vanlife revolution.
We present bringbacktheastro.com, a website devoted to convincing Chevrolet that a new Astro would be a smart move. Supporting the argument is a passionate “proposition of astronomical proportions” that’s actually a rather moving eulogy to the gone-but-not-forgotten van. It also highlights the #vanlife movement, which is using the Astro to create custom campers for all-terrain adventures.
It is evident that the effort was serious. The website is not the only thing that’s featured in this article. A cool retro video was also created to demonstrate its ability to be a desert camper. A Change.org petition was also launched two months ago to demonstrate to GM that thousands upon thousand of buyers are open to a new Astro. As of the writing of this article, only 200 people had signed up.
The Astro served many purposes over its 20-year life span, including as a family transporter. The #vanlife revival highlights some of the Astro’s strengths, but we think being able to purchase them at pennies per dollar makes them attractive for custom camper projects. We are a little skeptical about the Astro revolution, despite Chevrolet still selling its full-size Express van which people are already using for camper duty.
Is this skepticism a mistake? We’d love to hear your worst Astro / Safari stories.