The first minivan comes off the line

October 03, 2017 01:00 AM

Iacocca, introducing the Plymouth Voyager in 1984, recognized the American family's need for fuel economy, roominess, comfort and function at a modest price, and long believed the minivan would be a success.

CHRYSLER

Lee Iacocca first campaigned to create the minivan while at Ford in the 1970s after the first OPEC crisis but didn't get to realize one of his major product dreams until he joined Chrysler. The Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager -- introduced in 1984 and quickly embraced by waves of Americans because of their low step-in height, roominess, decent fuel economy and noses with an engine up front to provide crush space in the event of an accident -- turned out to be some of the most successful products introduced by a Detroit automaker. They produced billions of dollars in profits for Chrysler over the years. "If you're not number one, then you've got to innovate," Iacocca often said of the strategy behind the creation of the minivan.

FCA

The Dodge Caravan nameplate, along with the longer Grand Caravan that came in 1987, became the top-selling minivan of all time, with U.S. sales of 6.29 million through 2015. The Grand Caravan eventually will be discontinued as part of a one-minivan strategy, the new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

The first minivan received plaudits from consumers and critics alike. Chrysler couldn't build minivans fast enough and some consumers waited months to buy one. Road & Track called it "a straightforward, honest vehicle. Honest in the sense that it is designed to be utilitarian. Yet it is clean and pleasant to look at. It doesn't pretend to be what it's not." Car and Driver called it "a sparkling example of the kind of thinking that will power Detroit out of its rut and may very well serve to accelerate Chrysler's drive back to the big time."

The final height of the first minivan was just 64 inches -- or 15 inches lower than the smallest van on the market at the time. The overall form of the first minivan was called a "one-box" design, as opposed to the "three-box" design -- hood, cabin, trunk -- of standard cars. Its versatility prompted some analysts to call it the "magic" van while others called it a station wagon killer.

FCA

One of the most identifying features of the early minivan was the sliding door. Later, minivans had two power sliding doors. The sliding door, as opposed to a hinged door, was considered a safer option for children. Initially, the sliding door was only installed on one side to lower manufacturing costs during cash-strapped Chrysler's tentative foray into a new market.

Hot on the heels of Chrysler, Chevrolet offered the Astro beginning in 1984. Featuring rear-wheel drive, the workhorse van based on GM's full-size Chevy vans was popular among customers who needed to haul cargo or tow a camper. But its old-school, box-on-wheels design placed the engine close to the passenger compartment, resulting in a cramped cabin that suffered from high noise levels. With a high step-in height and single sliding door, it wasn't the easiest vehicle for kids and adults to enter and exit. In Japan, the Astro enjoyed an almost cult status and even has a van club.

Ford, like Chevrolet, was quick to respond to Chrysler's new minivans and introduced the Aerostar in 1985. It was the first Ford truck to use a unibody chassis and shared many components with the Ford Ranger and Bronco II. It was sold through 1998, with U.S. sales peaking at nearly 292,000 in 1989.

Mitsubishi came out with a van in 1987 but it was short-lived. U.S. sales peaked at 6,700 in 1987 and it was phased out after 1988.

TOYOTA

Toyota joined the minivan wars in 1989 with the Previa but it never made much of dent in the market. The Previa's engine was placed beneath the front seats and it came with a supercharged option. It was offered in rear-wheel drive, all-trac, and all-wheel drive. Previa sales peaked at 52,099 in 1991 and it was replaced by the Sienna in 1998.

FCA

The 1990 Town & Country, complete with wood paneling, became the first luxury minivan when it was introduced in 1989. U.S. sales of the Town & Country peaked at 180,759 in 2005.

With the launch of the premium Town & Country minivan, the the Plymouth Voyager became Chrysler's value minivan over the years. When Plymouth was discontinued, the Voyager became a Chrysler again, from 1999 to 2003.

FCA

A minivan body travels through inspection at Chrysler's assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario, in 1991. Because of minivans' popularity, Chrysler also built them in St. Louis.

General Motors, in a more serious bid to market a front-wheel-drive family hauler, offered a new lineup of minivans starting in the early 1990s that were dubbed "dustbusters" because of their sharply angled noses.

The Lumina APV: "A bad idea," says Bob Lutz.

Much like Chrysler's minivans, GM's latest minivans placed the engine in front of the cabin and offered bucket seats, an abundance of cupholders, and other features aimed at families.

FCA

The minivan segment peaked in 1994 and 1995, accounting for 8.4 percent of U.S. light-vehicle sales. At the time, Chrysler offered five minivan body styles -- the Dodge Caravan and Grand Caravan, the Plymouth Voyager and Grand Voyager and the premium Chrysler Town & Country.

"If you're wondering, no, the Trans Sport did not slay the Dodge Caravan as GM had hoped," Jalopnik once said of the Trans Sport. "The Caravan went on to support Chrysler for years and years and years while the Dustbuster vans lasted only from 1990 to 1996, refreshed once to look more conservative and eventually shuffled off in favor of significantly more bland replacements."

HONDA

Honda -- which continued to market an Accord wagon years after Detroit gave up on the segment -- entered the minivan market relatively late with the Odyssey. The first generation had hinged doors like a sedan, and over the years the company's minivan evolved and become a strong seller.

A rebadged Honda Odyssey, the Oasis was the first U.S. vehicle Isuzu received under a product-sharing deal with Honda, Automotive News reported in 1995. As part of the pact, Honda turned the Isuzu Rodeo SUV into the Honda Passport, and the Isuzu Trooper became the bones for the Acura SLX SUV.

FCA

A driver-side sliding door was first available on a minivan in 1996. Power dual sliding doors with an inside-the-door motor came in 2001.

FCA

Chrysler was also the first automaker to offer so-called easy-out roller seats in minivans.

FCA

Driving families around town wasn't the only thing that minivans could haul.

In the late 1990s, GM's "dustbuster" minivans were replaced by more traditional minivan offerings such as the Trans Sport Montana.

HONDA

The second-generation Odyssey, shown, had a sliding door, unlike the hinged doors of the first generation.

NISSAN

When Nissan teamed with Ford to enter the minivan market in 1992, the Japanese automaker aimed the Quest at a special audience. "Minivans are designed as social vehicles. They occupy a special place in their owners' lives by providing a new meeting point of family exchange," said Jerry Hirshberg, president of Nissan Design International. "We've designed the new Quest to provide an enjoyable ride not only for the driver, but for all passengers." The Quest, along with the Mercury Villager minivan, was built at a Ford assembly plant in Avon, Ohio, for 10 years. Both featured minivan hallmarks -- sliding side doors, a low step-in height, an abundance of storage and cupholders and a quiet interior.

TOYOTA

Toyota followed the Previa with the Sienna -- a more traditional looking minivan -- starting in 1997.

FCA

U.S. sales of minivans peaked at 1.37 million in 2000.

FCA

In 2001, Chrysler introduced the first minivan with a power-up and power-down rear liftgate.

In late 2003, in a testament to its cultural role in American family life, a 1986 Dodge Caravan joined the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and was featured in the museum's new transportation exhibit, "America on the Move."

FCA

Chrysler introduced its popular Stow 'n Go collapsible rear seats in 2004. The seats folded into cavities in the floor, adding another dimension to the minivan's functionality.

Hyundai, after years of study, joined the minivan parade in 2006 but killed the Entourage several years later because of low demand. U.S. sales of the Entourage, essentially a rebadged Kia Sedona, peaked at just 17,155 vehicles in 2007.

Chrysler, aiming to attract aging baby boomers who enjoyed the versatility and comfort of a minivan but wanted to avoid the stigma of a minivan, launched the Pacifica for the 2004 model year. Riding on a Mercedes-Benz chassis, it featured everything a minivan had -- an elevated seating position, space for five or six passengers, carlike handling and a choice of front- or all-wheel drive -- except it had four front-hinged doors.

FORD

The Windstar, introduced in 1994 as a front-wheel-drive replacement for the Aerostar, featured an extensive list of standard equipment, including dual airbags, antilock brakes, four-speed automatic transmission and V-6 power. Inside, the seating configuration included an integrated child seat. After two generations, it became the Freestar for the 2004 model year. Ford hasn't marketed a true minivan in the U.S. since sales of the Freestar ended in 2007.

FORD

Like the Pacifica, the Freestyle was supposed to be a minivan alternative of sorts but its sales never hit Ford's forecasts. Edmunds said the Freestyle had "the maneuverability of a wagon, the versatility of a minivan and the all-weather capability of an SUV." It later became the Taurus X.

GM will kill the Buick Terraza.

Production of the Mercury Monterey will end next month.

A rebadged Chrysler minivan complete with a Chrysler engine, Volkswagen's Routan was a slow seller despite ambitious efforts to re-engineer it and distinguish it in other ways. VW sold about 60,000 of the minivans from its debut in 2008 through 2014. It didn't help that it was launched in a recession and that the minivan market continued to shrink.

TOYOTA

At the 2010 Detroit auto show, Toyota unveiled the Auto Access Seat on the third-generation Sienna. Toyota said it was the first company to offer a factory-installed, rotating and power ascending/descending lift-up seat. The Auto Access Seat was aimed at caregivers for an elderly parent or spouse with a walking disability, a disabled veteran or the parents of a child with a disability.

HONDA

Honda began offering a built-in vacuum, dubbed the HondaVAC, on the redesigned 2014 Odyssey, becoming the first automaker to do so on a minivan.

FCA

Rear entertainment systems, shown here on a 2015 Chrysler Town & Country, became available in 2000 when Chrysler introduced the feature. In 2013, Chrysler was the first to offer a Blu-ray rear entertainment system.

FORD

Ford has maintained that the boxy Flex, introduced in 2007, was never meant to be a minivan replacement. However, one Ford executive famously said at the time that "we're aiming for families that want most of the benefits of a minivan, but in a stigma-free vehicle."

FCA

In 2015, minivans accounted for just 2.9 percent of all U.S. light-vehicle sales.

TOYOTA

U.S. sales of minivans slipped 8.8 percent to 507,217 in 2015. Minivan deliveries in the U.S. first topped 1 million in 1993 and stayed above that threshold through 2005.

KIA

Unlike its Hyundai cousin, Kia's Sedona has been a consistent, respectable seller since it went on sale in the U.S. in 2001. Deliveries peaked at 61,149 in 2004.

Chrysler, wiping the slate clean, is dropping the Town & Country badge and calling its sixth-generation minivan the Pacifica. Built on an all-new platform, it will offer a dual-pane sunroof with third-row fixed glass, wireless device connectivity, LED interior lighting, a rotary knob for shifting and hands-free power sliding doors and a hands-free, foot-activated power liftgate. It will also be the first minivan with a nine-speed transmission and active grille shutters to enhance fuel economy. The Pacifica Hybrid, the first electrified minivan, will deliver an estimated range of 30 miles on electric power from a 16-kWh lithium ion battery. In city driving, it is expected to achieve an efficiency rating of 80 MPGe based on EPA standards.

The first T-115 "Magic Wagon" -- or minivan -- comes off the retooled final production line at Chrysler's Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant on Oct. 7, 1983. The 1984 Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan, the auto industry's first minivans, went on sale in November 1983.

Chrysler Chairman and CEO Lee Iacocca formally dedicated the plant and drove the first ceremonial minivan -- a Plymouth Voyager -- off the line less than a month later on Nov. 2, 1983.

They were based on Chrysler's successful front-wheel-drive K car platform and offered a low step-in height, attractive fuel economy and what Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca called "garageable."

The novel little van combined a station wagon and a conventional van: The height was about 16 inches lower than Chrysler's standard van, 10 inches narrower and 21 inches shorter, so it fit easily into the majority of U.S. garages, which most vans did not.

CHRYSLER

It could also accommodate up to seven adults, more than any station wagon on the market at the time, and passengers could move around in it. The seats could be removed to haul cargo, making it useful for small businesses.

At launch, the vans carried a sticker price of $8,000 to $10,000.

They went onto become one of the most successful new products of the 1980s and spurred copycats from Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Japanese automakers.