Lee Iacocca is smiling.

$1800.

914Driver said:

$1800.

Sweet.  And if Ol' Duce wasn't so short sighted Ford could have beaten the world to mini vans......... Actually, maybe Duce was trying to do the world a favor.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :

Wow... I think the Carousel looks kind of amazing in a terrible sort of way.

 But it also feels more early SUV than minivan in some important ways. Instead of a bigger box that drives mostly like a car, it's a passenger vehicle with the dynamics of a truck...

What if it had happened and flopped so hard it killed both ideas? *swoon*

Jesse Ransom said:

In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :

What if it had happened and flopped so hard it killed both ideas? *swoon*

Double swoon!

We forget just how small the OG minivan was compared to modern versions. 7 passenger, but they'd better be kids with no luggage. 

In reply to pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) :

I'll bet the 'growth' of minivans is in percentage terms much less than the fattification of things like the Civic, 3 series, or pretty much any other segment.

That orginal Dodge/Chrysler is one hell of a throwback.

Put oem woodgrain vinyl on it, run it through Mecum or Bring A Trailer, and it's a $180,000 minivan!

Jesse Ransom said:

In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :

Wow... I think the Carousel looks kind of amazing in a terrible sort of way.

Have you seen its grandfather?

In reply to Jesse Ransom :

Yeah, that’s pretty hideous. 

In reply to 914Driver :

How did these vans survive the ravages of kids? I mean I remember my siblings and I torturing one.

I remember when they first came out. I worked at a rent a car office and the rental vans would die if you put the air conditioning on

Related, Hal Sperlich died the day before this ad was posted. Iacocca gets most of the credit for the Mustang and the Minivan but Sperlich was the real brains behind them, especially the minivan. We are close friends with the Sperlich family here, sad he's gone but I'm glad to see the press recognizing his contribution. 

These original minivans were revolutionary. 

My parents had an 85 Voyager. Like most 80's American cars it wasn't super reliable but it was much more user friendly than the AMC Eagle wagon it replaced.