Chicken or the Egg 3: The melting pot.

Speed Hero

2010 January 25
by discoquinn
So, which of these came first? The answer may surprise you.


This isn’t exactly the same challenge as the previous two Chicken or Egg posts. The answer is surprising because there is none! And it has nothing to do with the Routan and Caravan being the same platform upon shared technology and co-ownership of the two companies…..
I’m not very good at determining if something is ironic or not, but it seems odd to me, the definition of the minivan is still not quite defined in my eyes, thus who started said minivans is questionable? Was it Chrysler as they claim with their 1983 Caravan/Voyager?

Or was it VW with their Type 2?

Now before you get your self all in a huff, “the type 2 was loooong before the caravan!!!!” let’s consider, or at least try to refine and define the definition of a minivan? From a literal stand point, it means small van.

Is it just the fact that is it a van in a manufacturers line up that is smaller than another one that they offer? It is the mini-me of the van world? So Chrysler had both their full size van, and mini van, thus they were the first in the world to offer a mini van for family use since VW didn’t make a full size van to claim theirs as a mini van?

You’d be pretty wrong though, as VW, since 1975, has offered a full size van along side the sales of their T2. The VW LT is a commercial vehicle sold and used for basically everything, from dump trucks to camper vans. So maybe it’s related to how the vehicle is constructed?

Perhaps it’s because the Caravan was based on a car platform, making it more friendly to drive and less rugged for daily use? Well, that can’t be it either….

Because the type 2, was based on a beetle platform.
Silly Chrysler
And I’m sure you’ve seen the others, click pictures for links!

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