On the eve of our great roadtrip to Portland Oregon starting tomorrow I’d like to post this great news – the beloved VW minivan is returning to the U.S. market in 2008.

Its going to look like a Volkswagen and the horn will sound like a Volkswagen, but under the hood the VW minivan will be a Chrysler. VW’s contribution will be in the design and styling and have limited input in the characteristics, but aside from that they will not be involved in the engineering design in any way which is a shame. VW has promised that the new minivan isn’t just going to be a Chrysler minivan with a Volkswagen badge on it.

No doubt the new minivan will be a hell of a lot more economical to drive across countries and be better for the environment, but I’m hoping it will still retain that classic retro styling without that modern plasticy look the new Beetles have.