Fenton car plants change direction

Workers at the Chrysler minivan plant in Fenton start cranking out the first version of the new Dodge and Chrysler minivans next month. In 12 months, they’ll probably make about 300,000 of them, making the Fenton plant the biggest North American producer of those vehicles. Company minivan planning manager Greg Blindu says the minivan market has become highly competitive since Chrysler changed the car-buying public’s taste in the mid ’80s. He says the minivan has survived the popularity surge of the SUV, although there were predictions a few years ago that it would not.