So much for awards handed out by journalists.  John and Jane Q Public, y'know,  customers, have chosen the  2009 Chrysler Town & Country minivan as The Detroit News Readers' Choice Family Hauler.

For the fourth straight year the Town & Country minivan won the nod from a panel of 100 Detroit News reader-judges at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

"With more than 25 years as the leader in the minivan segment, we are honored to once again receive the Detroit News Readers' Choice Award for Best Family Hauler," said Mike Accavitti, Director—Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge Brand Marketing, Chrysler LLC. "The 2009 Chrysler Town & Country continues to be the best vehicle to transport people and things, perfecting its award-winning formula with the addition of 40 new or improved features over the previous generation."

The 09 Chrysler Town & Country boasts a family-friendly interior full of innovation complements fuel-efficient powertrains. Chrysler engineers developed two distinct seating systems: Chrysler's exclusive Stow 'n Go® seating and storage system and the Swivel 'n Go™ seating systems, both with in-floor storage and an available one-touch power folding third-row seat.

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Entertainment options are unmatched by competitors. With music, audio, movie and personalized picture display capability, uconnect tunes anchors the 2009 Chrysler Town & Country's multimedia, together with a 30-gigabyte hard drive for 6,700 songs, USB port, uconnect studios SIRIUS satellite radio, front-row movie playback (in Park as permitted by state regulations) and an audio jack for any MP3 player audio input playback. The uconnect gps adds even more capability to the uconnect tunes system with navigation and real-time traffic monitoring.

For the rear passengers, a minivan-first dual DVD system can play different media at the same time. With uconnect studios SIRIUS Backseat TV satellite streaming video and SIRIUS Satellite Radio, DVD player and dual A/V jacks with a 115-volt power inverter in the second row, there is something to keep everyone in the 2009 Chrysler Town & Country entertained.

The 2009 Chrysler Town & Country is also first in the minivan segment to feature the new Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path advanced safety systems. The all-new Blind Spot Monitoring System (BSM) detects a possible unseen vehicle when changing lanes. The Rear Cross Path System (RCP) aids the driver any time the vehicle is in reverse and warns if any traffic is moving toward the vehicle. Both systems utilize dual ultra-wideband radar sensors that notify the driver via an audible chime and a visible icon on outside mirrors.