Canadian Cassiar

2002 Canadian Cassiar LPE Legionnaire

The **Canadian Cassiar** is a minivan produced by Canadian between 1996 until 2006. Beginning as a front-mid-engined minivan, the Cassiar through the late 1990s and early 2000s became a mainstream minivan that was replaced by the Claremont in 2006.

## Overview

### Also called

Canadian Essence (Australia)Canadian Albatross (Japan)

## Powertrain

### Transmission

4-speed manual (1996-1997)5-speed automatic

## Dimensions

### Weight

1668 kg (3679 lb)

The first generation, originally designed by Canadian designer Akamatsu Hanshiro and designer Branson Simpson in 1992 (patented December 1990) as a brainstorming session, was concepted on November 1995, and had only one sliding side door for the rear passengers. It featured a front mid-engined platform, where the V6 engine was positioned behind the front axle of the minivan. Installing the engine in this configuration allowed moderately easy access to the spark plugs, which were located behind a panel in the middle of the firewall of the vehicle, after removing the front center console, the carpet and an access panel.

The Canadian Cassiar began production in early 1996, aiming to create a foothold in the North American minivan market. Offering consumers a 3.6L V6 and automatic transmissions in a cheery egg-shaped package, it soon became a smash hit with consumers; over 40,000 of the minivans were produced. Initially, the minivan only had a sliding door on the driver's side, and it wasn't until 1997 that dual sliding doors was offered.

Fleet markets that were looking for a cheap egg-shaped minivan had the base model of the van, which was initially offered with a 4-speed manual transmission. However, it was soon replaced with the 5-speed automatic found in the higher trim levels as it was found consumers had a distaste for manual transmission minivans.

While the Cassiar proved to be more popular than contemporary minivans of the time, it did not acquire meaningful market share from contemporary competitors - due to its higher price, controversial styling (for its time), lower fuel economy and engine performance—and also due to contemporary manufacturers launching redesigned minivans around the same time.

The mid-engine design also proved to have a significant limitation—the inability to incorporate engine sizes larger than 3.6L, which proved a problem as American drivers were used to having more power; the competitors' models were sold with available larger V6 engines with slightly more power. At the same time, this layout granted the Cassiar greater interior space than the American competitors. However, the lack of availability to have larger engines with more power is what caused the downfall of the first generation model in mid to late 2001 causing a drop-off in sales, and forced Canadian Motors to redesign the minivan to have a more contemporary style and design in late 2001 for the 2002 model year.

## Overview

### Also called

Canadian Essence (Australia)Canadian Albatross (Japan)

## Dimensions

### Weight

1483 kg (3271 lb)

On January 6, 2002, the second-generation Cassiar was unveiled to the public at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. Production of the second generation minivan was moved from Canadian's Oshawa plant to their manufacturing plant in London, Ontario.

Canadian Motors management assigned chief engineer Katabuchi Tadayoshi for the updated Cassiar project. Tadayoshi and his family drove a 2001 Cassiar over 60,000 miles (96,000 kilometers) throughout the United States and Canada to find weaknesses from the design.

Changes from the first generation model included a 5 inch (127 mm) shortening of the wheelbase, which brought about a 23% decrease in volume overall and a 21% decrease in cargo space overall. The seats were in the 60/40 split configuration, and the flat-folding third row seat was offered even on the highest trim level. The engine was an updated ULEV certified 3.8-liter V6 paired with a refreshed five-speed automatic transmission carried over from the previous generation Cassiar. The gear selector was moved from the steering column to the center console and had a gated shift pattern. Seating for eight was optional on lower-level trims, and the third row seating was fold-flat, allowing the van to transport 4x8 feet (1.2x2.4 m) building materials like plywood and drywall sheets.

Trim levels, in order of increasing standard and available features were: LT, LTE, LP and LPE Legionnaire (renamed Legionnaire in later years). The most distinguishable difference on the LPE Legionnaire model was the horizontal chrome bar placed above the rear license plate. The LT had black trim there, while the LTE and LP had body-colored trim.

Standard features included remote keyless entry, tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel, and high solar energy-absorbing glass (HSEA) on the windshield and front windows. All 2003-2006 Cassiars had a factory tow package installed and a 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) towing capacity.

Options, depending on the trim level of the minivan, included HID Xenon headlamps, adaptive cruise control, parking sensors, a convex rear view mirror to enable the driver to see the rear passengers, a voice-activated navigation system (not voice activated for the 2003/2004 model year) which included a backup camera, 10-speaker Bong & Jefferson audio system and rear-seat DVD entertainment system with two 110 V outlets.

The Cassiar came standard with anti-lock braking system, brake assist, electronic brakeforce distribution, traction control and a tire-pressure monitoring system. Side torso airbags and side curtain airbags were standard on certain 2003 and 2004 LTE and LPE Legionnaire trims while optional on others, but became standard on all 2005 trims. Vehicle Stability Control initially optional on lower trims became standard for 2006 models.

## Discontinuation & Replacement

The Cassiar was replaced with the Claremont in 2006 for the 2007 model year following sluggish sales and labor disputes in the various plants that made the minivan. Sales of the minivan dropped off significantly after 2003 when consumers noticed that the Cassiar cost more to have the same equipment than a competitor's minivan. Additionally, the platform was 10 years old, already starting to show its age and weaknesses. So Canadian felt it was best to simply just discontinue the minivan and replace it with another platform.