We've talked about the possibility of this before, but as of the end of May it became a reality; the Chrysler Town & Country minivan will be discontinued in 2014.

Before we all lose our collective cool about that iconic "Town & Country" name going away forever, it should be noted that we're hearing the moniker will go right back into circulation once production on the minivan stops.  One early hypothesis is that Chrysler is planning on developing a new stylish crossover that will carry the Town & Country badge, and considering the success crossovers have had of late, that seems like a good idea.  Also, keeping alive a vehicle model name that's been around since 1941 is a similarly strong PR move.

Still, we'll miss the Town & Country, especially since that leaves the Dodge Caravan as the only minivan in our stable.  Once upon a time, we sold millions of those two minivans every year, but the truth is that they just simply haven't been as popular over the course of the last ten years or so while SUVs rose right on up.  Take, for example, the Jeep Grand Cherokee. San Antonio consumers have shown a heck of a lot more love for our top SUV than they have our minivans, giving us very little choice but to back the winning horse here.  That horse's name, in case you were wondering, is Sport Utility Vehicle.

It's a sad day to see such a great vehicle go, but at least we get a couple more years out of it before it hits the ol' dusty trails.  Then, we can look forward to seeing what vehicle the Town & Country name gets to work with next.