Chrysler minivan firsts
Chrysler invented the minivan - twice. Richard Moss pointed out that Chrysler Europe was working with Matra on a minivan, but just as it was ready to go into production, Chrysler sold most of its European operations to Peugeot-Citroen (PSA), which dumped the fledgling minivan. Matra took the design to Renault, which modified it to fit the Renault 21 drivetrain...resulting in a calendar-year 1983 introduction and Europe's most popular minivan. The American Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan were also introduced in 1983, as 1984 models and remained America's most popular minivan through at least 2004.
The Caravan, Voyager, and Town & Country were the first minivans with...
- a selection of engines, V-6 or four cylinder (1987)
- turbocharged engines in a minivan (1988)
- a standard driver-side air bag (1991)
- child safety locks on the sliding door (1991)
- four-wheel anti-lock brakes (1991)
- bucket seats in both of the first two rows (1991)
- all-wheel-drive (1991)
- an integrated child seat (1992)
- a standard passenger-side air bag (1994)
- dynamic side-impact protection (1994)
- California 1997 Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) certification (1994)
- inherently Low Emission Vehicle (ILEV) certification (1995)
- an electric minivan option, EPIC (1995)
- a seamless passenger-side air bag door (1996)
- Dual Zone Temperature Control (1996)
- a windshield wiper de-icer (1996)
- roll-out seats (1996)
- adjustable cup holders (1996)
- an adjustable reclining rear child seat with a molded seat cushion (1996)
- a removable windshield wiper module (1996)
- mid-cabin upper level comfort control (1996)
- the ability to transport 4' x 8' material on top of folded seatbacks (or with the seat removed) and the liftgate closed (long wheelbase, 1996)
- rear seatback-mounted grocery bag hooks (1998)
- Flexible Fuel Vehicle availability (ethanol/gasoline) (1998)
- 16-inch and, later, 17-inch wheels and tires for enhanced performance (1999)
- a manumatic (AutoStick®) transmission (1999)
- wireless headphones for its in-vehicle entertainment system (2000)
- a power up and power down liftgate (2001)
- a removable, powered center console (2001)
- power dual sliding doors, allowing for minivan-first manual override, powered by an industry-first inside-the-door motor (2001)
- a power sliding door obstacle detection system when opening and closing (2001)
- a pop-up rear cargo organizer (2001)
- three-zone temperature control system (2001)
- rear split 50/50 rollout seats (2001)
- a flexible overhead storage/console rack
- single-hand, single-action fold-in seats