Up until 1984, station wagons were the primary choice of transport for families with multiple children; however, Chrysler decided that if one company could change the face of transportation, they would be it. In the fall of 1983, their new breed of "category buster" appeared to great success.
Based on the legendary K platform, this new van combined the appointments of traditional station wagons with plenty of space for cargo, with room for seven passengers. Unlike full-size station wagons that were still the norm, Chrysler's new vehicle had the fuel efficiency of a compact car. Engine choices were a 2.2 Turbo four, a 2.5 liter four, and a 3.3 liter six. Transmissions were a variety of automatics, and-- in a first for the industry-- a stickshift.
This concept was successful enough that Ford followed suit in 1986 with its truck-based Aerostar. GM, too, played catch up with the introduction of its Astro and Safari twins. Alas, neither of those two would be successful. It took until the mid 1990s for GM and Ford to finally get the idea right. By then, it was too late-- SUVs were quickly replacing the minivan as the primary mode of suburban transport.
The example pictured above is a first generation, post facelift, meaning a 1987 to 1990 model. From what I can tell, the steelies are not the factory items, meaning this Grand Caravan may not be so grand anymore. However, unlike most of its kind, this particular van doesn't appear to have met the rust bug yet. I don't really have much to say about its appearance, other than the fact that it seems to have held up better than most Chrysler products its age. That said, I think its a decent example of a could-be-classic vehicle. This one would be cool with a stickshift and a Turbo, instead of the rather dull V6 and 3 speed automatic.
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