Dodge Caravan
Lee Iacocca and Hal Sperlich had conceived the ideas for the Caravan and Voyager, known in initial marketing as the "Magic-wagons", while they were still employed at Ford Motor Company. Ford Motor Company rejected the prototype in 1974, leading Iaccoca and Sperlich to move to Chrysler to utilize their idea. In November 1983, Chrysler introduced the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager for the 1984 model year, using the Chrysler S platform which was an extended derivative of the Chrysler K platform. The same year, Renault also released the Espace in Europe, and four years later, Chrysler released the Chrysler Voyager in Europe.
The Grand Caravan was introduced in 1987 with a long wheelbase (LWB) variant, which allowed for more cargo space behind the rear seat. With interior trim, controls, and instrumentation borrowed from the Chrysler K platform|, it featured car-like ease of entry and came in three trim levels: base, SE, and LE. The base van had seating for five passengers with two bucket seats and an open floor space between them in the front, a 3-person bench seat in the second row. The LE version had seating for seven passengers with two bucket seats and an open floor space between them in the front, a 2-person bench seat in the second row, plus a 3-person bench seat in the back row. The two bench seats in the back were removable, and the large 3 person bench could be installed in the 2nd row location. In 1985, the SE trim level also included an option for a front low-back 60/40 split bench, allowing for a maximum of 8 passengers. However, this option was dropped shortly afterwards.
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