2023 Chevy Astro Van Springs Back to Digital Life Based on Silverado Duramax

Both the Astro and Safari were based on the General Motors M-body platform, used standard RWD (with AWD becoming an available option since 1990), and were available to consumers in numerous configurations, including passenger minivans and cargo van options. They were only produced by the Baltimore Assembly in Baltimore, Maryland (the factory’s final model line), and more than three million units were manufactured in just two decades.

As such, it might be easy to imagine they built a dedicated cult following during that time. Well, you would not be far from the truth as far as ‘vanlifers’ are concerned, but I am afraid that regular folks might have forgotten them after the storm of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks hit them during the past decade or so. Alas, there is at least one person – who is not even a fan of vans, actually – who thinks they should be treated to a revival. Even if only a virtual one.

So, here is yet another collaborative effort between digital automotive artist Oscar Vargas (aka wb.artist20) and YouTube’s Brian Mello, and this reborn big van bets on High Country style above all, of course. But what is it, because it certainly does not fit the label of a ‘minivan,’ mostly because of its humongous dimensions? Well, the idea behind their collaborative effort would be to spring back to life the Chevy Astro van using a tough architecture – and the 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 truck platform fit the description pretty well.

Disregarding the peril of eating away at the market share of “boring SUVs and crossovers” (including from General Motors itself), Mello and Vargas imagined the 2023 Chevrolet Astro High Country van could make ample use of the Silverado’s 3.0-liter Duramax inline-six turbodiesel mill. Hey, it even might retain the same towing and cargo capacities of the full-size pickup truck to lend a killing blow to other minivans on the market, such as the Chrysler Pacific or Toyota Sienna. That sounds pretty cool, right?

Well, there is more. Given that MSRPs are high anyway, they went straight to the top of the High-Country pyramid. So, the Chevy Astro would feature ritzy six to eight-passenger configurations with electrically powered sliding rear doors. That is a big trump card for minivans, as folks with big families already know – it makes ingress and egress so much easier, including in tight spaces, like shopping mall parking lots.

Unfortunately, as much as this sounds like a compelling package (3.0-liter Duramax, truck chassis, 4x4, big space inside, practical and tough yet luxurious), it is nothing but wishful thinking. After all, General Motors would probably not jeopardize the Tahoe (and GMC Yukon) or Suburban (and GMC Yukon XL) sales in any way with such a potentially neat minivan revival. Still, it gets our CGI hall pass!