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)
