Quest improved but still not best

0 Comments | USA TODAY, September, 2006 | by James R. Healey

Nissan has belatedly discovered that minivan buyers want conventional, not quirky, and has tried to recast its Quest van as less weird. The effort is partly successful but doesn't solve all the problems. The 2007 freshening comes three years after the van was launched. You'd expect a company to wait four or more years before sinking money into a product in a static market dominated by three big players -- and it's not one of them.

Chrysler Group, Honda and Toyota, the Big Three of minivans, own a combined 72% of U.S. minivan sales, according to Autodata. General Motors and Ford Motor, the Little Two, together have an additional 17% -- although Ford says it will stop making Ford Freeestar and Mercury Monterey minivans next year. Kia dominates the Tiny Others, holding 5% of...