The Toyota and Honda are the only ones most people need to look at. Toyota offers 4WD models that double as a light-duty SUV. They also have some way-cool Limited luxury vans that could easily pass for a Lexus. Loaded with useful toys - power folding 3rd-row seats, rear-view camera, driver seat and mirror settings memory, remote power open-and-closing rear and side doors, navigation system, 12v and 120v outlets, HID/xenon headlamps, Bluetooth wireless phone connections with nav integration, roll-up sunshades for all the side windows, laser-guided cruise control, power fold-in mirrors with puddle, side marker, and backup lights, parking assist, loads more. The Honda Odyssey Touring has most of this except for the AWD availibility, and has a more powerful engine and some underfloor storage. The DaimlerChrysler vans (Dodge, Chrysler) have nifty 2nd-row seats that fold into recesses to fold flat into the floor; when the 2nd row seats are in place, a huge underfloor cargo hold is available. But the rest of the van is a generation behind the Toyota and Honda minivans, such as available safety equipment, ergonomics, and a missing gear in the transmission. General Motors are selling four nearly-identical minivans through different brands (Saturn Relay, Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac Montana, Buick Terraza). The four put together are being outsold by the Toyota alone though. Not hard to see why; this is an old 1997 design updated last year with a longer hood and a revised dashboard. The behind the 3rd row cargo space is tiny in these, because it lacks the deep storage well all the other manufacturers use now. So they actually had to build the floor *up* so the 3rd-row seatback could fold forward (not tumble back) and line up with the rearmost floor section. The whole thing is nearly a foot above the floor in the front half of the van, where the 2nd row seats begin. Likewise, the Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey are revamps of the previous Ford Windstar, also at least Ford ponied up for a new floorpan with a proper fold-rearward-into-the-well 3rd-row seat. Price (after steep rebates and incentives) drive most sales of these. The Nissan Quest is worth a look for its stylish, comfortable interior, which offers some elegant color choices and a neat aircraft-style 5-skylight and overhead console package that looks like it was pulled from a Learjet. The dash is a bit funky for some tastes (glovebox where the speedometer usually is), the 3rd row must be raised or dropped in one piece, and its reliability has been iffy. The 2nd row seats fold almost flat into the floor Kia has a redesigned Sedona van that is low-priced, and unlike the previous one, is reasonably conpetitive with the Honda and Toyota. Rich people can now buy a Mercedes minivan, the R-Class which is the only one with an available V8 (6 cylinder is standard). AWD is optional, RWD standard. Rear side doors open like a sedan's rather than being sliders, but they are just as wide as sliding doors, making them more difficult to open in parking lots than SUV or wagon rear doors would be. Configured alot like 10 year old Mazda MPVs. Competes with the Odyssey Touring and Sienna Limited, as well as the Chrysler Pacifica. The Mazda MPV is a standout for being smaller and shorter than most other vans. An again design, it still manages good design, a hint of sportiness, and lots of interior space in a small package. As for buying "American brands", be careful concerning recent changes in the automotive market. Dodge and Chrysler are now German-owned (DaimlerChrysler AG), and their vans are built in Canada, with 75% North American parts. Toyota is a Japanese-headquartered company, but they designed the Sienna in California, and build it in two U.S. plants with 91% North American parts. So despite the more foreign-sounding name, the Toyota is more an "American" vehicle than the Dodge is.

I'd take it to the dealer, or at least call and ask. There's a recall of a number of chrysler vehicles of that year related to cooling fan/relay problems. DR-1158 Chrysler 769 V 6/4/98 1997 & 1998 Dodge & Plymouth Neon vehicles built from V1 1997 through 9/9/98. (Fed) 97 VCR2.0VJGFEL 97 VCR2.0VJGKEK 97 VCR2.0VGFEM (CA) 97 VCR122VJG1EK 97 VCR122VJG2EK 97 VCR122VJG1EL (Fed) 98 WCRXV02.0VB0 98 WCRXV02.0VB2 (CA) 98 WCRXV0122V20 The solid state fan relay may fail because of heat related electrical over stress causing the fan to stop and the vehicle to overheat. (Fed) 40,000** (CA) 10,000

Take the headliner out of the car completely remove foam and fabric. Find a local source (Joann Fabrics, some auto parts stores, factory dealer) for replacement headliner fabric with foam already attached. Use a quality adhesive 3M makes several that will work well including one specifically for trim/headliners. Layout new fabric on headliner cutout for handles, domes lights, etc. Glue in place, replace in vehicle. Unfortunatley there is not easy fix that I am aware of that will look decent for any period of time. The foam tends to break down with age releasing the fabric which stretches very easy. Stapling is a possible fix, but it is sloppy and wont look very good (you will be able to see the staples and the fabric will still be loose). Do a google search there are a bunch of webpages with more detailed instructions on how to do this and remove the trim and such to get to the headliner.

Make sure you clean the battery terminals also, it is possible that you have a large voltage drop at the battery terminals and/or wires, this is also known as corrosion. Put some of the red and green felt looking battery terminal anti corrosion rings that are hanging on the shelf next to the new batteries. If the battery cables arent too difficult to change then change them also. You may also opt for an extra (redundant) ground connection from the battery negative to the body somewhere. As mentioned its most likely just a dead battery from sitting so long but get your alternator checked also, you can just check the output while running with a volt meter. In case you are wondering as it looks like you were, jumping it and getting it running made it run off of the alternator, the battery was so dead that it would not accept a recharge immediately after 10 blocks it started to accept a charge, then you turned of the engine. On the next jump, the battery was sucking up the extra juice and then some from the alternator so there wasnt enough outputleft to keep the entire car running, ignition, injection, accessories, input & output sensors and the rest of the stuff. Change the battery, add a few new tidbit items and as mentioned if it sits for a few days and you have starting probs, then you have a parasitic draw draining the battery, then you can troubleshoot for that, amp, radio, sticking relay, improperly wired something, security system???