(first posted 7/16/2017) Automotive pundits and experts around the world routinely claim that the minivan (a.k.a the MPV, the people-carrier or whatever you wish to call Puff the Magic Wagon over here) was foisted upon an unsuspecting planet in late 1983 by Chrysler in the US and mid-1984 by Renault in Europe. Willfully ignorance of the past, or just plain propaganda? Chrysler and Renault would like us to think they came up with the minivan as if by magic (and simultaneously) through sheer marketing genius and engineering excellence. But surely the one-box shape came before the ‘80s. Let’s take out the picks and spades to have a little dig through the decades.
Almost, but not quite? Above: Nissan Prairie Multi; below: Mitsubishi Space Wagon
Some may interject that the 1982 Nissan Prairie Multi and the 1983 Mitsubishi Space Wagon were there before the Espace and the Voyager, but one could reply that those were really station wagons with a high roof. Japanese MPVs did exist though: there was a multitude of “very narrow van” designs from all of the main automakers, a tradition that lives on to this day.
Top: Suzuki 360 Carry and Honda Life Step Van; bottom: Mazda 800 Bongo and Toyota HiAce.
Japan’s kei cars and trucks were virtually all turned into kei vans (or microvans) by the late ‘60s, some rear-engined (Subaru) or FWD (Honda), but most carrying on with the trusted leaf-springs/live axle/RWD layout for the next few decades. Larger one-box designs, such as the Toyota HiAce, also prospered and are still very popular throughout Asia. But the Japanese were pretty late to the party on this one. The one-box design is really a study in parallel evolution, taking place on either side of the Atlantic, much like the honour of having created the first “modern MPV” can be shared between Chrysler and Renault. Let’s start our excavation on the western shores of the pond, digging down through the decades.
Meanwhile, across the Pacific, the US invents the sumo van — here a 1973 Chevrolet Sportvan.
In the ‘70s, American minivans didn’t really exist – they were vans, and there wasn’t anything remotely mini about them. They were tall-ish truck-based RWD affairs with big V8s wedged between the front seats, brick-like aerodynamics and limited export appeal. This developed into a large enough domestic market gap for Chrysler to develop its FWD minivan, which took them about ten years.
But it hadn’t started out that way: in the early ‘60s, the Falcon-based Ford Econoline (top left) and the Corvair-based Chevrolet Greenbrier (top right), both debuting in 1961, were joined by the Dodge A100 (bottom right) in 1964 to form America’s early minivan trio. The Chevy was technically the most interesting, being based on the Corvair, but it failed in the marketplace perhaps due to this very fact. Minivan customers don’t really want “interesting”, they want “reliable and roomy”. GM reacted pretty quickly, launching the more traditionally-engineered Chevy Van (bottom left) in 1964. Earlier one-box American designs were usually truck-based, with a few interesting exceptions.
Pre-war US vans — top: 1939 White “Horse” and 1941 Willys; bottom: 1941 IH Metro and Studebaker.
Studebaker, International Harvester, Dodge, GMC and many others were making forward-control versions of their small truck chassis even before the war. One issue is that these were, at heart, conventional trucks: they were heavy and their RWD chassis commanded a higher floor than FWD or rear-engined vans. They did succeed in making the best use of the available wheelbase though, at a time when such matters were not on the forefront of automotive design.
There were a few exceptions of course, such as the Pack-Age-Car, built by, of all companies, Stutz from 1933 to 1937 (and then under the Diamond T badge until about 1941), which had a rear-mounted 4-cyl. But FWD or rear engines were not the usual remit of truck-makers in those days. Automobile engineers and designers were more adventurous though.
The ‘30s streamlining fad brought us a few interesting one-box (or rather one-bubble) cars, on either side of the Atlantic. I’ve touched on some of these before in a previous post. One of the most iconic was the Stout Scarab, a handful of which were built in the mid-‘30s with tail-mounted Ford V8 power. The Scarab’s modular interior layout was incredibly advanced for the time and may have inspired Matra when they designed the Renault Espace around 45 years later.
Famed designer Brooks Stevens seems to have followed Stout’s lead: he penned several truck-based RVs in the late ‘30s that seem to give more than a slight nod to the Scarabs. Some of the Stevens motorhomes were made on a relatively small wheelbase, giving them a look more akin to what we might call an MPV than a proper RV. At least two of these have survived, but according to this article, details remain rather sketchy.
Speaking of the good Mr. Stevens, he reiterated this experiment 20 years later on a very modern-looking 1958 Jeep FC Commuter wagon (top picture, three units built by Reutter), as well as an enclosed version of the 1960 Jeep FC “Wide-Trac” prototype. Had either of these two been produced, perhaps the VW Transporter’s star would have shone less brightly.
The Dymaxion was another stunning rear-engined oddity of the ‘30s, though that one made do with just three wheels. The peculiar rear-engine / front-wheel drive, the single-wheel rear steering and the massive front overhang made for some pretty entertaining handling characteristics.
Streamlined boxes – top: 1934 McQuay-Norris, Riley-Head; bottom: 1942 Norton-Oldfield, 1945 Checker.
Clearly, some experiments are best left on the drawing board. There were a number of other one-off one-box attempts up to 1945, but aside from the Stout, the Stevens designs and the Checker shown above, practicality was not exactly the order of the day.
It seems that we are hitting the bedrock of the minivan’s American ancestry in the ‘20s. The 1928 Martin Aerodynamic has something of a foretaste of the modern MPV in its overall shape. Being a product of an aircraft company, there were no hang-ups about creating a completely novel shape over a (then most uncommon) rear-engine chassis. Only three of these were made, but the Martin (along with the likes of Paul Jaray in Europe) clearly foreshadowed the ‘30s “Plague of Teardroppers” era.
Even before this, though, the Detroit Industrial Vehicle Company (Divco) Model A was launched in the mid-‘20s. It was the brainchild of engineer George Bacon, who came up with the design while working for an electric truck company. The Divco delivery truck was designed to be driven standing up, and crucially, they had a gasoline engine (a Continental 4-cyl., just like the Martin): electric trucks were notoriously limited in their range, especially in Michigan winters. Is this the oldest minivan ancestor that can be found?
Let’s look at what we can dig up in Europe.
Long before the Renault Espace, the undisputed European King of Minivans was perhaps VW – and there is something to be said for the Typ 2 Kombi / Transporter as the first MPV. It was launched in 1949 after all and conquered European, Asian and American markets throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s. Indeed, had it not been for the Transporter’s success in the US, the Big Three might not have designed the car-based vans of the early ‘60s. As we acknowledge VW’s iconic Typ 2, let’s take a look at other interesting European proto-MPVs.
One designer, Pio Manzù, did envision the minivan in the ‘60s: he conceived the Autonova Fam, using the relatively traditional (RWD) frame of the Glas 1304. This modern-looking Italo-German effort was presented to the public at the 1965 Frankfurt Motor Show, garnering a number of positive mentions in the press. Alas, the project went nowhere. Folks would have to make do with the VW Transporter for another couple of decades. Or did they have other options?
Top: 1953 Goliath Express, 1954 Alfa Romeo Romeo; bottom: 1958 Standard Atlas, 1959 Renault Estafette
There were several small (less than 2 litre) European forward-control vans launched in the ‘50s. Ford UK, Commer (Rootes), Standard, Borgward, Fiat, Peugeot and others had developed these types by then. The great majority were used for cargo rather than people, but there usually was a “minibus” version available. Vans were sometimes the occasion for technological leaps: the first FWD vehicles produced by Alfa Romeo, Peugeot and Renault were small vans.
Siata did build some Fiat 1100-based forward-control vans as early as 1940, but the first series-produced Italian one-box van was the ground-braking 1955 Fiat 600 Multipla. It was perhaps the first microvan ever conceived, with its clever / oddball looks, tiny rear engine and superb utilization of a very limited space. The Multipla had a relatively successful life as a cheap urban taxi in Italy, but ultimately, it had no successor in Europe.
The 600 Multipla was replaced by the Fiat 850T, which looked like a VW Typ 2 that shrank in the wash. The microvan concept was more or less completely been taken over by the Japanese by the late ‘60s, although Bertone did produce an interesting Fiat 850T-based design study in 1975 that looked very much like the MPVs we would come to know. This could have been the Multipla for the ‘70s, but Fiat decided to pass.
The Germans seem to have had a spate of MPV madness after the Second World War. Alongside the VW Transporter, DKW launched its FWD Schnellaster van in late 1949 (top left). A few months later, the Gutbrod Atlas (bottom left) went on sale, as did the Tempo Matador (top right), which had a mid-front-engine design and FWD – using a VW flat-4. In 1951, Goliath came out with its GV800 van, which had to make do with a two-stroke 500cc twin (and RWD). So if the VW Typ 2 is the granddaddy of all MPVs, there were at least four great-uncles born in Germany around the same time.
This is pretty much the end of MPV top-soil. From then on, the digging gets a little more complex. The VW Transporter and its German competitors combined the van’s cargo-carrying capabilities with the station wagon’s seating within a one-box design with a small (usually car-sourced) engine. Before these, it seems most one-box cars were designed as either light trucks or passenger vehicles. Let’s look at the trucks first.
Above: 1939 Morris PV; below: 1948 Morris J-Type (1954 model pictured)
British industry made a good number of series-produced one-box vans from the ‘50s onwards, but Morris-Commercial were pretty much alone in that niche before that. Their first foray into forward-control vans was the 1939 Morris Parcel Van (PV), a relatively large vehicle powered by a 2-litre engine. The war caused a production hiatus, but the PV came back afterwards and became an instant hit. By 1948, the J-Type replaced it at the smallest van in the range, with the new Morris Oxford’s 1.5 litre engine.
Above: Austin K8; below: Renault 1000kg
In a somewhat higher class, the Austin K8 “three way” van and the Renault 1000kg van were launched the same year (1947), with similar engines (2.2 litre 4-cyl. for the Austin and a range of 2 to 2.3 litre fours for the Renault) and chassis that were decidedly truck-like, with leaf-sprung solid axles front and rear.
Citroën H van mock-up, circa 1946.
By contrast, the iconic Citroën H van, also launched in 1947 with a 2-litre 4-cyl., had FWD and was far more lightly built than the Renault, Austin or Morris vans. The H van was produced for over 30 years, with few changes along the way. Some were converted to minibus duties, but the majority were used as food trucks, moving vans or other cargo-carrying tasks. The corrugated panels gave its body extra strength, but it also gave it its unique look. As did its pronounced angular schnoz, which almost disqualifies it from this post.
But this was Citroën’s second attempt at a one-box van, essentially a rehash of their first effort, the 1939 Citroën TUB. The TUB was also based on the Traction Avant, but used the smaller 1.6 litre “7” engine, which was discontinued after the war. One feature already present on the TUB that would prove very influential was the sliding rear door. The TUB was built until early 1941, when it was succeeded by a slightly revamped TUC model, but by this time, Citroën had to curtail virtually all production. Not many TUBs survived, but the moniker stuck: it was not uncommon to hear folks refer to the H van as a “TUB Citroën”.
Not that the TUB was the only pre-war FWD “monospace” (French for one-box). Chenard-Walcker, which had fallen on hard times but were still active under the aegis of industrial body-maker Chausson, introduced their own design, the CHE, in 1941. This little van was powered by a 700cc two-stroke twin. Chenard-Walcker teamed up with SOVEL, who specialized in electric trucks, to make an electric CHE van – quite an essential feature in those dark days of restrictions.
Not unlike Citroën, Chenard-Walcker redesigned their minivan after the war, launching the CHT with a 1-litre two-stroke engine powering a new, wider monocoque shell. In 1948, the little FWD van came to Peugeot’s attention. Chenard-Walcker started using Peugeot’s 1.5 litre four-stroke engines on a new line, the CHV, which eventually became known as the Peugeot J3. The larger water-cooled engine imposed a noticeable change in the van’s front fascia: a radiator was now sticking out, earning this successful family of vans the nickname “nez de cochon” (pig nose).
Let’s hop back across the Channel just to mention Holland Coachcraft, a Scottish firm that specialized in ultra-streamlined delivery vans from 1933 to their closure in 1940. The design was so successful in Britain that they licensed it to other coachbuilders. Albion (top picture), Foden, Guy, Commer (bottom picture) and other chassis were used, with modifications for some (Albions were already cab-over-engine).
Sometimes, truck and bus body-makers were ahead of the curve and created some interesting ones of their own. The influence of bus designs, which started to become ever more streamlined and often used cab-over-engine chassis for obvious packaging reasons, was essential to the development of the minivan. After all, some early minivans were called “microbuses”. The main differences are obviously scale, wheelbase length and the fact that buses were all coachbuilt.
There may have been several earlier one-box European trucks, but I have only identified the 1932-35 Goliath Atlas, built in Germany by Carl Borgward. Goliath’s main output had been three-wheelers up to that point, but the Atlas was a decidedly novel design, with its Isetta-like front door. Alas, I have not managed to dig up much info on this particular vehicle. It probably had a two-stroke engine (less than 1 litre), but I have no idea what body variants were made. There were others before Goliath – just not in the truck world. So let’s focus on cars, shall we?
Car-based European one-box people-carriers remained pretty experimental before the advent of the VW Typ 2. Here are a few examples, again going from 1949 down to the dawn of automotive history. First up, the 1948 Renault Juvaquatre taxi, which was made by Renault in an attempt to provide Paris with a new cab design. Taxi companies were not enthralled by the Juvaquatre’s anemic 1 litre sidevalve engine and preferred to keep their old Vivaquatres, with their equally anemic but more torquey 2.3 litre sidevalve engine. The Juvaquatre taxi remained a lone prototype, a distant forefather to the Espace.
Karl Schlör’s “Pillbug” car, with its incredibly advanced aerodynamics, looked like a promising contender for Germany’s new Autobahns when it hit the pavement in 1939. Good wind penetration did not make up for the car’s allegedly unbalanced suspension, which apparently led to its sensitivity to side winds and poor overall handling characteristics. Photos also exist of the Schlörwagen with a big rear-mounted engine and propeller combo, which seems to have been made by the Soviets when they captured the car.
Unlike the Pilbug, the 1935 Citroën 22 CV “bubble wagon” never even got beyond the drawing board, it seems. A paper dream with the mythical Citroën 2.8 litre V8 in its tail (yet perhaps FWD, had it gone into prototype testing?), this strange vehicle was destined to be the luxury liner of proto-MPVs. Michelin took control of the company before anything approaching a finished prototype could be built; the entire Citroën V8 programme was cancelled very soon after the takeover.
We’ll leave the Burney Streamline and the Rumpler Tropfenwagen aside due to their prominent rear engine compartment and skip to the first car of Emile Claveau, who created several over the years – without actually selling any. Before his conversion to FWD, Claveau created this arresting mid-engined saloon (a roadster also existed) and displayed it at the 1926 Paris Motor Show. Claveau called his creations “rational automobiles” – he was, unfortunately for him, perhaps not living in a rational world.
The influence of aircraft design began to be felt in the automotive world almost as soon as planes started to fly. Never was this clearer than in the Hélica, which was actually produced (as an all-enclosed saloon or a roadster) by Marcel Leyat. He started developing this “plane without wings” in 1913, although production only started in 1919. This plywood contraption featured cable-operated rear-wheel steering and could reach speeds in excess of 60 mph. Between 20 and 30 of these were actually built, bought and driven in France in the ‘20s.
But there were at least two very early examples of fully-enclosed one-box cars, both of which should get a mention here as the grandmothers of the MPV species – at least as far as gasoline-powered cars are concerned. The 1914 A.L.F.A (pre-Romeo) 40/60 HP aerodynamic limousine is relatively well-known, for the simple reason that it still exists. This unique automobile, which looks like it came out of a Jules Verne novel, is the work of renowned Italian coachbuilder Castagna.
But the stunning Italian was preceded by this equally bizarre (and far more obscure) huge CGV 75 HP limousine, with coachwork by Czerny of Vienna dating back to 1913. CGV, later known as Charron, were a relatively important French firm before the First World War (more info on them and their 12-litre 75HP car here). Not unlike contemporary Renaults, CGVs had the radiator behind the engine, which might explain why this chassis was selected, as opposed to an Austrian marque.
Still from the movie Help! (1965)
Is this the bottom strata of the proto-minivan? As I was writing this post, I recalled the quirky Harrod’s van driven by the baddies in the Beatles movie Help!. It turns out these electric delivery vans were built by Harrod’s themselves in the ‘30s, based on an American design.
Above: Walker van charging in Norway (undated); below: restored 1909 Walker bread van.
The American company in question was Walker Electric of Chicago, which started operating in 1907. As early as 1909, they were making bakery vans that pretty much fit the one-box definition to a T. The Walker company continued making electric vans and trucks up to 1942. As far as I know, this is the Lucy of minivans. There may be a few other brass-era one-box vans, but there were very few fully enclosed vehicles in the 1900s, so perhaps this is the Ur-van. It’s an EV, but then that’s also coming back strong these days.
Above: 1927 British RV on an unidentified chassis; below: 1984 Renault Espace – Source: Wikipedia
So if anyone asks you what the ancestor of the minivan is, you’ll know what to say now. For my money though, the Stout Scarab is probably the most relevant, due to its modular interior. And the 1939 Citroën TUB should get an honourable mention for introducing another key feature: the large sliding cargo door. I’m sure I will have skipped quite a number of interesting and/or obscure one-box designs in this post, but I leave it to you, CComrades, CConnoisseurs and CCritics, to fill in any glaring gaps in the comments section, as per usual.
Waiting, waiting, waiting for the Espace. Final image! My favourite, but those 30s extravagances are so beautiful, particularly the Collars van with its luscious curves and relief art deco type.
My nomination for very early one-box sort-of-self-propelled vehicle; Roberto Valturio’s wind-driven machine. His ‘perspective’ from the mid 1400s, and a model of said vehicle.
So nice you understand high quality design gifted by the inhabitants of the land of genius, Il Bel Paese, Italy. Giorgetto Giugiaro founder of ItalDesign is responsible for 90% of all Renault designs!
He worked on the bertone fiat Car Share Concept minivan shown a few pictures above that was the daddy of Uber / Lyft.
Here is a cute Minivan RocketShip with a Lamborghini engine & a fantastic name that the Koreans would steal later since it was never trademarked by Bertone or Lamborghini: The 1988 Lamborghini Genesis by Bertone.
fantastic work – thanks
Another one of those reasons why I’m always checking CC before my Sunday morning bicycle ride. Wonderfully done. Saw lots of vehicles I never dreamed existed.
A really great article. Here’s another “minivan” prototype – the Russian GAZ-NAMI-013 from around 1950.
Has a touch of the Ghia Selene about it. Just a touch, mind.
I figure the NAMI and the Selene aren’t really one-box, but two-box. Weren’t they thinking more of doing a new type of taxi with the NAMI-03 than a minivan?
Fascinating read!! Thank you for this!
There were certainly some wild ideas floating about years ago the aero propellor driven vans being the strangest, I’d love to see a compliance inspectors face confronted with one of those, I would have put the VW type2 down as the obvious ancestor,
Great read with my Sunday morning coffee!
Love your scholarship. This could be the start of a PhD thesis.
Marvelous read and like Don I too was waiting for the Espace. I love the little FAM and the Fiat Bertone 850T concept, something about that 60’s/70’s square-ish with some curves modern aesthetic works for me.
What a wonderful and comprehensive read!
Like others, I was also waiting for the Espace; getting to it was the fun part as you have many examples that are completely new to me.
Thank you; this was no doubt a huge undertaking.
Since I’d define a “minivan” as;
1. A one- or “one-and-a-half”-box vehicle, with
2. Tall height plus low floor enabled by;
3. Unit construction and the powertrain concentrated at one end (the front as it turns out),
4. A large cargo-loading door on the back and at least one extralarge (preferably but not necessarily sliding) door for cargo and passengers on the curb side (modern ones have them on both but that was a later innovation)
5. Designed *primarily* as a family passenger vehicle, not a cargo van with a “minibus” line extension or a purpose-built taxi.
As your history shows, all those elements were floating around separately for quite a while before they finally all came together on the T115 and Espace. Particularly, it seems the teardrop shape and the rear-engine were major evolutionary steps that in turn blocked the next one – the incorporation of a large rear cargo door on a passenger vehicle – for decades even after station wagons were a thing.
Good summary!
@ 5. Highly popular for many decades now is a crossover between a passenger vehicle and a cargo van, the double cab panel van. It’s registered and used as a commercial vehicle, yet with some nice rims, metallic paint and a fully optioned interior (leather seats included) it can also serve the family well.
A typical example is the Ford Transit Custom below.
The Ford Transit crossed my mind reading the article. The ones I see in the US seem more aimed at the commercial market as the interior tends to be a bit crude, so Ford continues to be without a family minivan since the end of the unlamented Winstar/Freestar.
From what I am seeing, it looks like the US mania for SUVs is starting to infect Europe as sales of MPVs go soft while SUV sales soar.
Booming business right now: B- and C-segment crossovers and SUV look-a-likes. Examples: Renault Captur, Peugeot 3008, Seat Ateca.
Ford offers more “traditional” MPV/minivan models here now than any other automaker. Apart from the minivans based on the full Transit-line they also offer the B-Max, C-Max, Grand C-Max, S-Max and Galaxy.
The current Galaxy below, standard 7 seats. Also available as AWD.
Ford offers more “traditional” MPV/minivan models here now than any other automaker. Apart from the minivans based on the full Transit-line they also offer the B-Max, C-Max, Grand C-Max, S-Max and Galaxy.
Ford also has the Ecosport and Kuga, tho they are somewhat off the pace of the leading SUVs. The Edge was recently introduced in Europe and has shot to the top of the large SUV segment.
The new, bigger, VW Tiguan is selling in Europe at twice the pace of the old model. VW will soon be offering the long wheelbase Tig in Europe as the “Allspace” and Skoda will get the short wheelbase version as the Karoq, to sell with the long wheelbase Tig, which they badge as the Kodiaq. And the T-Roc is due for 2019.
Meanwhile, the Fiat 500L has been the leader of the small MPV segment for some time, but sales are off from last year and the plant has been laying off.
The segment breakdown for Q1-17 is
small MPVs, down 10% at 78.636
medium MPVs down 7% at 200.220
large MPVs down 7% at 35.958
meanwhile
small SUV/crossovers: up 16% at 435.187
medium SUVs up 28% at 371.583
large SUVs up 41% at 16.394
And here’s the interior of the Transit Custom double cab above.
Rear seats:
Cargo compartment:
Alleged pix of the T-Roc have been making the rounds. VW is continuing the old, small Tiguan in the US for a year or so to fill the gap below the much larger new Tig.
Rumor mill has the T-Roc coming here, but a different rumor mill says the T-Roc’s Portuguese production would make it too expensive for the US market, so we will get something smaller than the new Tig, but exactly what is a mystery. My suspicion is that since Europe is getting both the long and short versions of the new Tig, with both VW and Skoda badges, as well as Seat selling the short version, the US will also get the short version in addition to the LWB version we get here in a couple months.
Yes, the Ford Transit van was one of the first things that came to my mind, but I was thinking more of the models that came along in the mid 1960s.
Also, those Bedford Vans from the 1970s that looked like miniature Chevy Sportvans from the same time period.
An absolute jewel of an article, thank you very much!
A deep Sunday morning dive into van-dom. If we distill the modern minivan formula to a people box made from an existing production car chassis with all of the refinement of the passenger car version, I would have to consider the VW microbus as the starting point. The others were either experimental or commercial vehicles that were lacking in passenger car comfort and refinement. Not that the VW bus was all that refined, but it was no less so than the beetle.
I largely agree with you about the VW bus, but the DKW Schnelllaster makes a compelling case for competition to it. It came out the same year (1949), used a passenger car drive train and suspension, and even had FWD, for a flat rear floor. It was in almost every way analogue to the VW bus, except for being FWD.
How did the Schnellaster compare sales-wise with the VW in the early days? VW as a company was just establishing itself, while DKW had quite a heritage, and had been quite successful pre-war. I wonder how many buyers viewed the VW as an unknown quantity and went for the brand they knew, or were Germans just happy to get whatever they could?
I suggested this subject to T87, as I have explored it to various degrees in the past, which only made me wonder what all I had missed. A lot, as it turns out.
This is such a treat, to read by far the best treatise on the subject I have ever seen, right here at CC. Thanks T87, for taking up my challenge and running with it. It seems to me that the one-box vehicle is ultimately what the evolution of the car leads to, and we’re seeing that more as, the aerodynamic influences and the box morph into something in between for an ever increasing number of cars.
Thank you Paul! I was glad to take up your suggestion. Got me exploring in places I hadn’t really looked into before. I was especially ignorant of the British vans, including those amazing Holland Coachcraft beasts. I also thought I’d find more precursors in Germany, given the proliferation of minivans circa 1950. But no, not really. Turns out the US and France made quite a few key advanced designs back in the day. No wonder they ended up launching the modern MPV.
Great article! So many variations of the van concept and most of them from Europe – looks like NA was way behind with this type of vehicle. Having said that, AMC was showing this concept van at their “Concept ’80” shows in 1978. Looks like it was based on the Pacer. Too bad it never reached production.
I’m not sure if it was based on a Pacer, but regardless, that was a fascinating concept. It was supposedly planned to be 4wd, had three-abreast seating, and was about the same length as a VW Beetle. Neat vehicle!
What an outstanding article to read, particularly since I’m sitting on my front porch now looking out over our Honda Odyssey. I’ll never look at it the same again.
Prior to buying the Odyssey, one-box vehicles irritated me — boxy, unstylish, and unnecessary, I thought. But after owning one for 7 years now, I can be counted as a convert. Now, I can’t imaging life (or traveling) without it. When we eventually replace our Odyssey, the question will probably not be “With what kind of car?” but rather “With what kind of minivan?”
Amazing, in depth article.
As a couple others have suggested, the lineage depends on the definition of “minivan”. If we consider a minivan to be built primarily for family use, with a door arrangement other than mimicking the door arrangement of a sedan or station wagon, with passenger car roots, and small enough to fit in a garage, the range is narrowed down considerably. iirc Iacocca’s team’s impetus for what became the Caravan was the realization that the Falcon and Corvair vans of the early 60s had grown to unwieldy behemoths.
The final criteria would be commercial success. It matters little who was first if their attempt failed.
Those criteria pretty well hand the trophy to the type 2, which has also grown over the years.
Great article.
Although only a concept, and possibly not considered a mini, the 1955 GM L’Universalle with it’s front drive V-8 might have merited a mention.
Don’t forget Ford’s seventies’ concepts, the 1972 Carousel and MiniMax. While the Carousel was more of an Econoline-sized people mover, the MiniMax was just the opposite, much smaller and more like a Fiesta with sliding doors.
Hal Sperlich was involved with both. He was tight with Iacocca at Ford but Henry Ford II hated Sperlich, which pretty much meant anything attached to Sperlich was never going to see the light of day. In fact, when HFII finally got around to firing Sperlich, Iacocca knew his days were numbered at Ford.
Iacocca got the last laugh, though, when he brought Sperlich and his minivan ideas with him to Chrysler. The 1984 Chrysler minivan was actually kind of an inbetween compromise between the Ford Carousel and MiniMax vans. It was serendipity that the size of the K-car platform turned out to be ‘just right’ and the rest, as they say, is history.
The GM L’Universelle was worthy of mention, you’re quite right. Not the shape, but the FWD / V8 concept itself was pretty advanced.
It was, but in some respects it was also kind of half-baked and probably would have had a fairly painful journey to production. There’s a good article on it in Special Interest Autos #70 (1982), which might be on the Hemmings website.
Another well written, thoroughly researched, and chock full of pictures article by Tatra87. Really amazing work here. I do hope your line of work takes advantage of your thorough research skills.
So many attractive designs, showing that a ‘box’ can be very stylish and practical as well. I would give the Espace and the Chrysler minivans credit as two of the most livable minivan designs to that point, with the added piece of mind of occupant safety approaching that of what we expect of modern cars.
As a kid, I used to be charmed by the packaging and design of the Brubaker Box, a kit van based upon the Volkswagen Type 1, introduced in 1972. I always liked it’s iconic 70s look, in a small package.
Though introduced 3 years before the AMC Pacer, I though of it as what the Pacer might have looked like in van form.
Profile…
Sliding door…
Very comprehensive piece, but noticeable missed some significant entries from 1960s and 1970s like Benz L series, Austin A152, ZSD Nysa from Poland and Soviet USZ 452. Austin van was popular then, my dad’s Hospital in China had one used as ambulance, I rode on Nysa several times. Nysa had great influence in China then, that led to several versions of Chinese made copy in 1970s, they all went dead after importing Toyota HiAce showed up in late 1970s. HiAce was so popular then even Paramount leader Dang Xiaping traveled with the air conditioning version of this van, even rumor said he had a bullet proofed verion HongQi limo, or Cadillac limo, the later one was imported from US in 1980s. And I always wonder how UAZ van will behave, it is a military vehicle, it should be very capable off roader, like Gaz 69.
Pretty much all Euro-vans were -and still are- available as a single- and double cab panel van, minibus (with windows all around and seats all over the place) and also as a truck chassis, in which case it clearly isn’t a van anymore… The list would be endless.
Just one then, next to the cult-VW-legend is an almost forgotten German Ford.
I was aiming at a history, not an encyclopedia. I did look at the Eastern bloc for something innovative — had I found a one-box minivan from the ’50s, I might have included it. But it seems they only got on board in the ’60s, by which time everybody was doing it.
Not everyone is a “car guy” so history of the MPV gets lost to the one that was an instant success.
Lido and Chrysler struck gold at the right time.
I would’ve loved to see the Ford Carousel take off.
It looks like when Ford made the Aerostar, they basically went back to the Carousel. The back half looks basically the same. The Carousel front door looks just like the Chrysler minivan, so perhaps that’s where Ford decided to use something else for the front half. Something more like the Espace design.
Speaking of the Espace, I see a lot of it in a GM APVs, 6 years later. Aside from the rear door arrangement, the overall design looks very similar. Both have the dashboard extending to the front of the front tire, and a continuous slope of the windshield and hood. Also the space frame and composite panels. GM’s dressed theirs up to look more futuristic, but the overall design that so many people complained about wasn’t that radical at all. Maybe that’s why the APV, especially before the nose job, was so loved in Europe.
Pity the Renault Juvaquatre taxi was not capable of being fitted with a larger engine.
Also what impact would the Reutter built 1958 Jeep FC Commuter wagon and enclosed version of the 1960 Jeep FC “Wide-Trac” prototype have had on Jeep had they been produced?
Thinking about it further the FWD Issigonis layout from BMC would have made for an interesting Minivan or family of Minivans.
Hard to remember on this site that contributors do this sort of thing for us humble readers, to this sort of standard, for nothing. Thankyou, Tatra 87, a thoughtful gambol through a multi-linked history. It must have taken many, many hours.
For my (devalued) 2c worth, it’s the ungainly, structurally dubious, hilariously misnamed Nissan Prairie (for wide and flat it ain’t) that ushers in the modern MPV, particularly because of the flat floor, the hatched back, those pillarless sides and flexibility. Surely the first with the complete combination from the many nearly-complete forebears? It beat the Chrysler and Renault to market by a couple of years; did these old name makers know something of this Aisian upstart before they finalised theirs? Or was it too far off their radars, by which I really mean, beneath their dignity in those days?
An off-topic question for you, T87, if you don’t mind, what is that eye-popping railcar of a bus parked amongst the DaimlerBenz chassis?
All I know about the Daimler-Benz streamlined bus is that it was photographed at the Berlin Auto Show in 1935. That and it looked so awesome I couldn’t help but putting it in.
Glad you did, and it fitted the narrative at that point too. Awesome indeed.
Thank you, Tatra87! This is the most exhaustively, thoroughly researched and presented exploration of this important type. I’m always delighted to see your by-line, I learn a great deal each time.
Great article! Here’s the former DDR’s (GDR) contribution, the Barkas 1000
The aerowork on the CGV 75 HP limousine is a blast. Am I really seeing non-incandescent headlites on that, perhaps kerosene or carbide?
My father in law had a 1992 Toyota Previa that he drove for 11 years accumulating 425,000 miles! I have to admit the Previa was an extremely nice van. And it was the most advanced and reliable mini van back in the day.
Exceptional feature with so much great and new (to me) info, and a great photo selection. Thank you!
And as usual, Westerners forget the Soviet version https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UAZ-452 still in production.
Excellent history. Just like JPC said, How hard can it be to make a minivan? Apparently it is more difficult than one would have thought.
About aerodynamics and looking at the streamlined creations of the 30s I think Elon Musk might go back to bed with his new and ugly cybertruck.But wait : not pretty but aerodynamic it seems according to : https://electrek.co/2019/11/25/tesla-cybertruck-aerodynamics-cfd-rendering/
As has been said many times before, excellent history article!!
Thank you.
In your list you forgot the most important model of all! The LLOYD LT. Based on the Alexander, with foldable seats etc. Who when not this model can match an MPV? Perhaps the Multipla from Fiat, but it came onto the market later.
This got past a lot of the false starts I listed in 2017. It was FWD and had a low floor and rear cargo door (and *predated* the Fiat Multipla which was following the Stout Scarab rear engine/no door on the back layout).
Technically it was a work van with windows and seats but most survivors and period pics seem to be the passenger model at least based on GIS results, so other than the question of intent the only thing missing is the large side passenger door.
This corresponds to a very slow MPV .According to Wiki : ”A road test of the time recorded that fully loaded the six seater minivan had a weight to power ratio of 95 kg per unit of horse power, which accounted for a top speed of 60 km/h (37 mph)” Courtesy of a 2 stroke engine of 386 cc & 13hp.
Nothing to add save as others have said GREAT ARTICLE and many thanks.
Chevrolet 1961-1965: 130,362
Ford Econoline Vans 1961-1967: 492,214
Dodge A100 1964-1970: 107,779
VW T2 1961-1966:260,000
T-155 Chrysler minivans: 500,000-600,000 1984-2000
You can add up all the Econoline, Greenbrier and A-100 vans and then add the VW T2 vans from 1961-1970, and still barely meet one single calendar year for the T-155 Chrysler minivan sales fugures each year from 1984-2000. Chrysler sold over 15,000,000 minivans on their own since 1984. That means something.
So we see why nearly every generation since the Boomers consider the T-115 minivans as the first. We can debate who was first, but for most drivers – Chrysler’s were the first minivans they remember seeing, riding in and living with.
The earlier minivans are worthy of mention of course. Yet – Chrysler was the one that put a minivan in America’s garage during the later half of the 20th century. Chrysler figured out that the largest generation at that time, the Boomers, were ready for building their families, and ready for a vehicle to meet their family’s needs. The drop off in sales after 2000 is also due to the Boomers aging out of parenting duties.
Additionally, any family with more than two children had to have the room for a third seat to accommodate child safety seats. I know from experience that my choices of a family vehicle went from hundreds to a dozen when my twins were born. I had three in car seats for a decade and finding a vehicle to accommodate three car seats forced me into minivans and SUVs with a third row. My newest vehicle choices still required a third seat configuration to accommodate all my kids today. Plus their stuff. Plus our stuff. On a road trip. It is frankly a bit nuts.
While I grew up riding around in VW T2 window vans that went 50 mph downhill in Colorado and 25 mph uphill – it was the Dodge and Plymouth T-115 minivans that made a minivan a viable, affordable, daily option. They WON.
That’s a good point about the child seats. Which explains why 3 kids seemed to be the cutoff point. Just about every family in my town with 3 or more kids had one of these vans. And for older kids, it was for hauling them and their sports gear.
That Citroen ‘Bubble Wagon’-absolutely jaw dropping. And since it is a Citroen design, I mean that in a very good way!