For many people driving the roads and highways of Canada in the mid-1980s, the common perception that this hugely popular mode of family transportation, the minivan was brought to market by Chrysler Corporation, now known as FCA—Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Incorrect.
In fact, the first manufacturer to introduce the consumer-buying public to a minivan in a mass-produced iteration was General Motors in 1960 with the introduction of the Corvair Greenbrier—an automobile that became a foot note in history, a winning answer in any trivia game played in bars across the land. There had been other “ventures” in 1935 when nine models of something called a “Scarab” was built and then in 1950 when Volkswagen introduced a vehicle known as a micro-bus in Europe.
It was not until November of 1983 when Chrysler introduced the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager for the 1984 model year did the idea catch on and become a phenomenal success—especially in North America.
Based upon the equally successful K-car platform, the vehicle which infamous auto executive Lee Iacocca introduced to “save” the Chrysler Corporation from certain financial oblivion, the Dodge and Plymouth models brought costs down and made minivans an affordable and practical option for parents and families, eventually becoming the transportation of choice of many.
