Minivan is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe is the M-segment, more commonly known as an MPV or a people carrier / mover. Minivans often have a 'one-box' or 'two-box' body configuration, a higher roof, a flat floor, a sliding door for rear passengers, and high H-point seating.
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Plymouth.
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or people in tiny quantities. Mini MPVs, compact MPVs, and MPVs are all small vans usually used for transporting people in small quantities. Larger vans with passenger seats are used for institutional purposes, such as transporting students. Larger vans with only front seats are often used for business purposes, to carry goods and equipment. Specially-equipped vans are used by television stations as mobile studios. Postal services and courier companies use large step vans to deliver packages.
Plymouth was a brand of automobiles produced by Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler. The brand was launched in 1928 to compete in what was then described as the "low-priced" market segment that was dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. It became the high-volume seller for the automaker until the late 1990s. Plymouth cars were marketed primarily in the United States. The brand was withdrawn from the marketplace in 2001. The Plymouth models that were produced up to then were either discontinued or rebranded as Chrysler or Dodge.
Mercury is a defunct division of the American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company. Created in 1938 by Edsel Ford, Mercury was marketed as an middle priced brand for nearly its entire existence, bridging the price gap between the Ford and Lincoln model lines. Competing against Oldsmobile within General Motors, Mercury also competed most directly against Chrysler's DeSoto, Hudson and Studebaker.
The Ford Windstar is a minivan that was produced and sold by Ford. The replacement for the Ford Aerostar, the Windstar adopted the front-wheel drive configuration of the Chrysler minivans. From the 1995 to 2007 model years, three generations of the model line were sold, with the final generation renamed as the Ford Freestar.
The Dodge Caravan is a series of minivans that was produced by Chrysler. It was produced from the 1984 to 2020 model years and was offered as both a passenger van and a cargo van. The short-wheelbase Caravan was introduced alongside the Plymouth Voyager in 1983 and was marketed as the Dodge version of the Chrysler minivans. The long-wheelbase Dodge Grand Caravan was offered alongside the Plymouth Grand Voyager as well as the Chrysler Town & Country and in production from 1987 to 2020.
Pony car is an American car classification for affordable, compact, highly styled coupés or convertibles with a "sporty" or performance-oriented image. Common characteristics include rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a short decklid, a wide range of options to individualize each car and use of mass-produced parts shared with other models.
Rebadging in the automotive industry is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand, a manufacturer creates a distinct automobile by applying a new badge or trademark to an existing product line.
Captive import is a marketing term and a strategy for a vehicle that is foreign-built and sold under the name of an importer or by a domestic automaker through its own dealer distribution system.
A car platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of cars, often from different, but somewhat related marques. It is practiced in the automotive industry to reduce the costs associated with the development of products by basing those products on a smaller number of platforms. This further allows companies to create distinct models from a design perspective on similar underpinnings.
The Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans that have been produced and marketed by the American automaker Chrysler. In production since the 1984 model year, Chrysler has produced six distinct generations of minivans; at various stages of their production, Chrysler minivans have been marketed worldwide, primarily in North America and Europe.
The Mercury Villager is a minivan that was marketed by the Mercury division of Ford. The first of two minivans sold by Mercury, two generations were sold from the 1993 to 2002 model years. Competing against the Chrysler minivans and the General Motors APV minivans, the front-wheel drive Villager was introduced between the Ford Aerostar and the Ford Windstar.
The Nissan Vanette is a cabover van and pickup truck produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2011. The first two generations were engineered by Nissan's Aichi Manufacturing Division for private, personal ownership, with the last two generations built by Mazda, rebadged as Nissans and refocused as commercial vehicles, based on the Mazda Bongo. The van has also been sold as the Nissan Sunny-Vanette or Nissan Van. The private purchase passenger platform was replaced by the Nissan Serena in 1991, renamed Vanette in various international markets, and came equipped with multiple engine and drivetrain configurations.
The Nissan Quest is a minivan that was marketed by Nissan from the 1993 to 2017 model years. The first Nissan minivan developed specifically for North American sale, the Quest replaced the Nissan Vanette and Nissan Axxess in the United States and Canada. Competing against the Chrysler minivans, the Quest was the first Japanese-brand minivan manufactured in the United States, leading to the later Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.
In the context of the automobile industry, downsizing is a practice used to transition vehicles from one size segment to another. Often done in response for consumer and government demands to increase fuel economy, vehicle downsizing has been achieved through several methods. As product lines complete model cycles, during a redesign, automobile manufacturers reduce the exterior footprint of a vehicle to allow for weight reduction, shortening wheelbase and body length.
The automotive industry in the United States began in the 1890s and, as a result of the size of the domestic market and the use of mass production, rapidly evolved into the largest in the world. The United States was the first country in the world to have a mass market for vehicle production and sales and is a pioneer of the automotive industry and mass market production process. During the course of the 20th century global competitors emerged especially in the second half of the century primarily across European and Asian markets, such as Germany, France, Italy, Japan and South Korea. The U.S. is currently second among the largest manufacturer(s) in the world by volume.
The Ford Carousel is a prototype vehicle that was developed by Ford in 1973. A derivative of the third-generation Ford Econoline/Club Wagon, the Carousel explored a number of the concepts that 1980s American-market minivans later put into production, serving as an alternative to both full-size station wagons and passenger vans.
The first-generation Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans produced and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation from the 1984 to the 1990 model years. In a product introduction that would popularize the minivan as a vehicle in North America, Chrysler introduced the Dodge Caravan and the Plymouth Voyager, launched ahead of chief competitors Chevrolet Astro/GMC Safari and Ford Aerostar.
The third-generation Chrysler minivans are a series of passenger minivans that were marketed by the Chrysler Corporation from the 1996 to 2000 model years. Designated the NS platform by Chrysler, these minivans were sold by Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth divisions in passenger configurations; minivans were exported under the Chrysler brand. While the second-generation AS platform was a revision of the original vans, the NS platform marked the first ground-up redesign of the Chrysler vans since their 1984 introduction, ending the use of components from K-Car derivatives.
The last Mercury Villager produced was one similar to this 2002 model
The first and second generation Nissan Quest was built on the Ford VX54 platform
