Dodge Caravan
The Dodge Caravan and Dodge Grand Caravan are minivans manufactured by DaimlerChrysler (they were sold by the Chrysler Corporation until 1998). They were introduced in 1983 for the 1984 model year along with sister model the Plymouth Voyager (now Chrysler Voyager). The first modern minivans, the Chrysler company minivans are credited with creating the entire market segment for these vehicles. The Chrysler twins were launched a few months ahead of the Renault Espace (the first MPV/minivan in Europe, first pitched to executives as a Talbot in 1979[1], but not launched until 1984), making them the first of their kind, however they did not offer the interior versatility (individual, folding seats that could be used as tables or removed completely) of the first generation Espace until subsequent generations.
Since their introduction, the Chrysler minivans have been the best-selling minivans in the United States.
The 1991 through 1995 the Caravan used the Chrysler AS platform. These were the last minivans that were derived from the Chrysler K platform.
This generation of vans brought additional innovations, such as:
+ "Quad Command" bucket seating (1991)
+ Integrated child safety seats (1992), improved design with recliners (1994)
+ Available anti-lock brakes (1991)
+ First driver's side airbag in a minivan (1991), made standard (1992), and first dual front airbags (1994)
+ First minivan to meet 1998 U.S. federal safety standards (1994)
The main ways that the Caravan can be distinguished from the Plymouth Voyager, other than badging, are the headlights and taillights. The headlights on the Voyager have chrome strips on the top and bottom - on the Caravan, the form factor of the lights is slightly higher, and the chrome strips are not present. On the Caravan, the taillights appear to have black stripes running horizontally, whereas on the Voyager, these are not present, but the tailights have textured grooves. Of course, because these parts are interchangable, and people often use whatever parts are most readily available, these are not a sure indicator as to what the vehicle was originally manufactured as.
The Dodge Caravan and Dodge Grand Caravan are minivans manufactured by DaimlerChrysler (they were sold by the Chrysler Corporation until 1998). They were introduced in 1983 for the 1984 model year along with sister model the Plymouth Voyager (now Chrysler Voyager). The first modern minivans, the Chrysler company minivans are credited with creating the entire market segment for these vehicles. The Chrysler twins were launched a few months ahead of the Renault Espace (the first MPV/minivan in Europe, first pitched to executives as a Talbot in 1979[1], but not launched until 1984), making them the first of their kind, however they did not offer the interior versatility (individual, folding seats that could be used as tables or removed completely) of the first generation Espace until subsequent generations.
Since their introduction, the Chrysler minivans have been the best-selling minivans in the United States.
The 1991 through 1995 the Caravan used the Chrysler AS platform. These were the last minivans that were derived from the Chrysler K platform.
This generation of vans brought additional innovations, such as:
+ "Quad Command" bucket seating (1991)
+ Integrated child safety seats (1992), improved design with recliners (1994)
+ Available anti-lock brakes (1991)
+ First driver's side airbag in a minivan (1991), made standard (1992), and first dual front airbags (1994)
+ First minivan to meet 1998 U.S. federal safety standards (1994)
The main ways that the Caravan can be distinguished from the Plymouth Voyager, other than badging, are the headlights and taillights. The headlights on the Voyager have chrome strips on the top and bottom - on the Caravan, the form factor of the lights is slightly higher, and the chrome strips are not present. On the Caravan, the taillights appear to have black stripes running horizontally, whereas on the Voyager, these are not present, but the tailights have textured grooves. Of course, because these parts are interchangable, and people often use whatever parts are most readily available, these are not a sure indicator as to what the vehicle was originally manufactured as.