General Information

Serial #

2P4FH41G3FR2005

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

metal body with metal & synthetic parts/ synthetic dashboard, steering wheel & column, door interiors, light, parts/ glass windows & mirrors/ fabric door interiors, seat coverings/ synthetic carpet/ rubber tires

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

4.468 m

Width

1.768 m

Height

1.641 m

Thickness

N/A

Weight

1320.0

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Motorized Ground Transportation

Category

Automotive vehicles

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Chrysler

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Windsor

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

This van was in use from 1985 to 1992

Canada

A minivan made by the Canadian component of Chrysler Corp. This vehicle is an early example of the now ubiquitous minivan, which today accounts for close to 50% of vehicles on Canadian roads (and a slightly lower percentage over North America as a whole). The Chrysler Caravan minivan was the top selling vehicle in Canada in 2001. This minivan was an operational vehicle at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, used by staff for museum business.

Function

An owner driven passenger vehicle for general transportation, seating up to six persons.

Technical

The importance of the minivan in recent automotive history cannot be questioned and the Chrysler/ Plymouth minivan is the most representative of the marques associated with this style of vehicle. The minivan was first conceived under the direction of Lee Iacocca and Hal Sperlich at Ford Motor Co. in the late 1970s. It contained many of the key characteristics of the 1980's minivan, specifically a small front wheel drive van, but was not developed by Ford. The project was revived in the 1980s after Iacocca became chairman of Chrysler. The first production model of the vehicle, initially marketed as a "midi-van", was made in 1983 as a 1984 model. The vehicle was immediately successful and considered a major design and marketing innovation. Apart from the Volkswagon van, which had many of the same design characteristics, it was the only vehicle of its kind on the road at the time. What set the Voyager and Caravan models apart from the competition, including existing vans and trucks, was that the vehicle handled and felt like an automobile. Indeed, from the outset the vehicles were directed toward a suburban, family oriented and often female market. Over the intervening two decades the minivan has become a fixture on North American roads. Virtually every major automobile manufacturer has imitated the minivan design in some form but Chrysler has consistently controlled over 50% of the minivan market into 2002.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

plate on floor inside driver's door reads "QUALITY ENGINEERED CHRYSLER CORPORATION"/ white lettering on front doors reads"National Museums/ of Canada" & "Musées nationaux/ du Canada"/ white "205107" on front

Missing

Rear door trim. front hood mascott.

Finish

blue painted exterior/ blue dashboard with black instrument panel/ blue steering wheel & column/ black synthetic & chrome plated parts/ blue seat covering, door interiors, carpet/ grey floor mats/ yellow, red & white lamps/ chrome plated & black synthetic bumpers

Decoration

metal lettering on front grille reads "PLYMOUTH" & on back "PLYMOUTH VOYAGER SE"/ star ornament on back door/ red maple leaf on front doors/ synthetic wood grain trim on instrument panel