We bought a new Aerostar because it was the only minivan rated to tow a small travel trailer. However, when towing the trailer up a moderately steep hill, the engine would howl, and the exhaust headers got so hot that my right foot was burning hot. That was OK, but... New Year's Eve, I (and the family) were returning home around 1AM on a dark country road. (My wife was driving as I had too much champagne.). At a stop sign, the Aerostar engine locked up. This was before cell phones, at 1AM, on a dark country road. After a few minutes, a car came up behind us and the driver asked what was wrong. I told him and he offered to give me a ride to the nearest service station/pay phone. So I left my wife and kids in the van, while I rode off with a total stranger. I had the tow truck driver tow the van straight to a repair shop. It turned out the a freeze plug at the back of the engine (under the bell housing) had rusted through and dumped all the coolant -- ruining the crank bearings. Paid $600 to have bearings replaced, and immediately traded it in on a Toyota Previa van -- which was totally reliable! That was the first, and only, time I'd ever been left stranded by a vehicle. That left such a bad taste in my mouth that I've never owned an American vehicle since. And just seeing an Aerostar still gives me the creeps...
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