Thirty-one years after first coming off the Chrysler Assembly line the Dodge Caravan went from being Chrysler’s all-in effort to revolutionize the affordable American car to being an Automotive classic.
Designing a Classic
The Chrysler product planning division spent the early 1970’s designing the Challenger, the K car and most importantly the mini-van.
The goal of the Chrysler mini-van project in the 1970’s was to “design a station wagon type vehicle that was not derived from a passenger car sedan or a commercial van (Allpar.com).” Essentially a commercial van condensed to fit in the average garage. In fact, the mini-van project at Chrysler was first referred to as the “garage-able” van.
Unfortunately, the first designs of the Chrysler garage-able van never made it past the clay model stage. The accountants at Chrysler figured that if there really was a market for a garage-able van then GM or Ford would already be making one.
That thinking all changed when Hal Sperlich took over direction of the garage-able van project in the late 1970’s. Sperlich had an acclaimed history at Ford where he served as the lead architect of the original Ford Mustang. Sperlich, however, knew that the future of the auto industry lay in the production of affordable front wheel drive people carriers. After Ford rejected his concept for the Ford Mini-Max (a prototype for a Ford minivan) Sperlich took his talents to Chrylser.
At Chrysler Sperlich got his way. Chrysler supported his goal of making an affordable front wheel drive vehicle. The arduous process to engineer this technology led Chrylser to the K-car and, more importantly, the first Chrysler minivan.
Sperlich’s front wheel drive, transverse engine platform was essential to making the minivan because it allowed them to move the driveshaft from the rear of the vehicle to the front. This allowed them to make the cabin floor flat and low to the ground.
After the basic design for the garage-able van was finished, Chrysler spent the late 70’s conducting consumer research to determine the finishing touches.
There were arguments on whether the van should be three doors or four — they ultimately decided on three to save on production costs. They argued on whether to have sliding doors or swinging doors — they decided on the sliding doors because they were considered safer for children.
After about a decade of design work the Dodge Caravan was finally ready for production.
Producing a Classic
When the first design of the Caravan went into production most of the parts actually came from the Plymouth Reliant — including the engine, the interior trim, and the instrument panels.
The Chrysler minivan first went into production in 1983 with sales that far exceeded expectations. In 1984 the Chrysler/Plymouth van sold over 200,000 units.
However, it was in 1987 that the Chrysler minivan was finally perfected. From 1983–1987 the minivan borrowed the 2.2L engine from the Plymouth Reliant. In 1987 engineers decided to give the Caravan a much-improved Mitsubishi V-6 engine.
1987 was also the year that the first turbo-charged engine was put in a Caravan and it was also the first year of the Town and Country luxury model.
Why This is the Best Minivan Ever
As proper van enthusiasts we have driven — and destroyed — just about every van on the market. From the sleek van’s from Japan to the efficient European to the humble vans from America’s heartland. The 1988 Dodge Caravan, however, is by far the best minivan we have ever had the pleasure of destroying…I mean driving.
The 1987 Mitsubishi engine first made its appearance in the 1988 Carvan model (seen above). The engine was actually replaced almost immediately because it had developed a reputation for being unreliable. However, this is another reason why the 1988 Caravan was so unique and rare.
Any true van enthusiast wants a van that could break down at any moment. That is why the Mitsubishi engine was so special. It captured the feeling of the unknown. The unreliability of this engine provides the rush that all true van owners want when they are driving down an unlit back road in the middle of the night. You could be broken down and helpless at any moment!
1987 was also the same year that they built a “luxury” version of the Caravan — the Town and Country.
The Town and Country accounted for the majority of Caravan sales after 1987. However, consumers missed the fact that the smaller 1988 Caravan was slightly faster — hence it being better.
Also, because more people were buying the Town and Country that made the regular ’88 Caravan more rare.
Ultimately though, the Caravan is the best because it was the first. Chrysler took a risk on developing the front wheel drive engine system that made the van possible. They were the pioneers who made the first van that you could comfortably jam seven people into at the same time and still fit in your garage.
Also, did I mention that there is wood panelling on the side? That is a whole other article though…
Sources: http://www.allpar.com/model/m/history.html ; http://www.automotivehalloffame.org/inductee/hal-sperlich/789/ ; http://www.allpar.com/eek/k/k.html ;http://www.allpar.com/history/memories/product-planning.html
