The Chevrolet Astro was born in 1985 as a truck/van hybrid (a van body on a sturdy truck frame). Its 6-cylinder, 190 horsepower engine lets the Astro easily tow heavy objects. Its roomy interior and 8-passenger seating is popular among its owners, who can still park it as they would a car.

For 2000, Chevrolet made several improvements to its Astro, including a redesigned anti-lock braking system (ABS), battery rundown protection, retained accessory power, a new 27-gallon plastic fuel tank, a quieter engine, and a remote keyless entry system with a panic alarm. Chevrolet revised the transmission, adding a tow/haul mode to reduce transmission burnout when hauling or towing heavy loads. Finally, the 2000 Chevy Astros have lockout protection and headlights that activate automatically in dim light and that have a flash-to-pass feature.