GM's old minivan doors pose a risk of slamming you in the face. The solution provided was merely a sticker.

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      I identify as an “elder” millennial. We’re those born in the early to mid-’80s—too young to be considered Gen X, yet old enough to recall days filled with landline phones and cassette tapes. Like many of my peers, I spent my childhood riding in the back of a minivan.

      In fact, I grew up in two different minivans, both made by Mopar—a late-’80s Plymouth and a 1994 Dodge—neither of which could be called perfect. The Voyager was decent, although it had a four-cylinder engine and lacked airbags, so we didn’t keep it long enough for it to break down; we then moved on to the Caravan. That model featured a Mitsubishi V6, which politely waited until it had around 100,000 miles before it really started to deteriorate. This happened just as I was headed off to college. Guess what I took with me.

      By the time I left for school, that Caravan was a total disaster, both in every sense. The air conditioning wouldn’t retain a charge, the engine leaked oil from various places, and the novelty of its manual windows and just-acceptable V6 had definitely faded. But hey, I had a car. And despite its shortcomings, I can confidently say that the greasy heap never attempted to smack me in the face.

      Yes, indeed. Right in the face. As evidenced in the clip above, GM’s badge-engineered minivans from the early ’90s featured a neat design touch. The trailing edges of the front doors were angled back, reminiscent of the winglets on a modern aircraft. It looked stylish. However, this design also resulted in the top of the door being much longer than the middle section where the handle was located. It’s not a drastic slope, but it does measure a couple of inches. You can see this from various perspectives in this vintage review shared by our friends at MotorWeek:

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      The issue became so significant that GM created an entirely new part to tackle it. It’s part #10186057. Go ahead and look it up. Yes, it’s a sticker… featuring a warning printed on it to remind passengers to be cautious while closing the door when exiting, to avoid hitting themselves in the face with the trailing edge of the frame.

      I feel the need to highlight that GM’s advertising for the Oldsmobile Silhouette included a claim regarding the company’s industrial design talent. I believe this qualifies as irony—and I would know, considering half of my friends are Gen X. They’re the ones who coined irony; just ask them.

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