The daddy of the modern minivan was built on a modified version of Chrysler's K-Car platform with which it shared engines and much running gear, but the backbone was something that Lee Iacocca and Hal Sperlich called the T-115 platform...which was just a beefy version of the K-car. The Chrysler minivan was billed as an alternative to the station wagon and many years later we know that it completely replaced the wagon (and is now being superceded by the 3-row SUV...but that is a story for another time) and today's example is shockingly well preserved. Find this 1989 Dodge Grand Caravan SE offered for $5500 via facebrockyates massageplace. Originally found on Jalopnik.
It's Loony Labor Day! Sometimes a car has a strange suffix tacked onto the end its name that I haven't heard about before...some kinda special edition or unique designation. But today we've got something really special. We've got a car that has is named in a bizarre cornucopia of gobbledygook...words seemingly smashed together when some automakers played a game of mad libs in the product planning department. Whatever...it is rad. Find this 1994 Nissan Caravan Homy Autech 4X4 Diesel offered for $12,500 in Hudson, MA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
One of the key ingredients to a good "sleeper" is the element of surprise. Discreet looks go a long way to successfully pulling off the concept. Very few people would suspect a minivan to have any sort of sporting intentions (much less an engine swap). The original General Motors DustBuster minivans created a stir with their polarizing looks when introduced in the early 90's. Today's example is a second gen version of the Olds minivan that has been blessed with a warmed over 3800 supercharged engine cribbed from a 1998 Pontiac GTP. Find this 1998 Oldsmobile Silhouette for sale in Palm Coast, FL for $3,500 via craigslist.
The Left-Handed Spanner, by Kaibeezy: Remember the "Swagger Wagon"? Way back in 2012, Toyota dropped this slammin' vid featuring painfully hip folk swaggerin' about their wagon.
I cringed a bit more than the rest of you, as we had bought one of these Sienna SE minivans just a few months before. Now, when *I* bought it, it was mainly for the upgraded suspension and 260 hp engine shoveled into this particular model. The story as I prefer to recall it was that a Toyota exec had become irritated at Honda repeatedly winning the "best performing minivan" award, so they took an engineer off their F1 team and sent him over to paint some pinstripes on the pig. And it did, in fact, scoot and handle really nicely.
Television creatives in the 21st century have lost their mojo, and the current trend is to create remakes or reboots of classic, successful shows -- perhaps with a twist. Change ethnicity or gender of the lead characters (compared to the original whitewashed 50s/60s versions...) and you've got instant gold. Imagine if you rebooted the original A-Team, but used vertically challenged actors instead -- John "Hannibal" Smith is played by Danny DeVito, Templeton "Face" Peck played by Tom Cruise, "Mad" Murdock played by Wee Man, and B.A. Baracus is played by Steve Urkel. Now...for the pièce de résistance, the GMC Vandura is replaced by this 1990ish Cushman Van here on eBay offered for $6,950 buy-it-now or make-offer located in Mundelein, IL.
By Al -- When Chrysler dropped the Minivan bomb on the American car buying public , other car makers were caught with their pants down. Other car makers had to resort to all sorts of stop gap, not ready for prime time vehicles to fill the void in their lineup. Some of the more interesting entries were from the Japanese car makers that hastily adapted their Japanese market cars for the USA. A perfect example is this 1986 Nissan Stanza Wagon 5 speed available for $2,800 in Oceanside, CA.
What we knew here in the States as the Volkswagen EuroVan was technically the 4th generation of the Transporter / Type 2 / Bus / Kombi / etc, but was the first of the classic bread loaf VWs to have its engine and drive wheels up front, finally ditching the rear/rear setup of old. In its day it confused consumers and auto journalists alike, who couldn't quite peg it as the classic quirky Wolfsburg formula any longer, but it was also too tall & boxy to fit in with the rest of the FWD minivan crowd. From the perspective of 2016 we can see it was an early foray into the compact space efficient modern European van formula, which has crept its way into the US commercial & passenger vehicle landscape and is here to stay. Find this 2002 Volkswagen EuroVan for sale in the greater Los Angeles area, CA for $5,800 via craigslist.
The daddy of the modern minivan was built on a modified version of Chrysler's K-Car platform with which it shared engines and much running gear, but the backbone was something that Lee Iacocca and Hal Sperlich called the T-115 platform...which was just a beefy version of the K-car. The Chrysler minivan was billed as an alternative to the station wagon and many years later we know that it completely replaced the wagon (and is now being superceded by the 3-row SUV...but that is a story for another time) and today's example is shockingly well preserved. Find this 1989 Dodge Grand Caravan SE offered for $5500 via facebrockyates massageplace. Originally found on Jalopnik.
