We seem to have a few minivans around here lately, so I may as well jump right on the bandwagon. My wife actually spotted this around town before I did. Knowing I like odd and unusual vehicles she tried to explain what she had seen as a short minivan, SUV hybrid. I honestly had no idea what she was talking about until I saw it myself. Seeing is believing, but her description didn’t exactly prepare me for this.
For those who thought the typical minivan was just not mini enough a local man had the solution. He took a Plymouth Voyager and cut the middle out to create a shorty van. I talked to the owner who said her husband basically removed the section where the siding door would go. I doubt it was that simple with door latches to be relocated and of course he had to sort brakes lines and such out as well. It seemed to be done extremely well with probably better than stock panel gaps and shut lines. She didn’t seem to have a real answer for the obvious “Why?” question, but said it was her daily driver and seemed to enjoy the attention it garnered. La Grande Petite is its name. She seemed quite sad when she mentioned the miles were racking up on it and it might not be around much longer. Unfortunately I haven’t seen it since.
This reminds me of an AMC Gremlin.
It kinda looks like a S-10 Blazer from the rear. It kinda looks like a Carnival ride from any other angle.
I wonder how tippy that thing is…
Probably very quick but easy to roll.
Lower it and use stiffer springs and swaybars and it could be a blast to drive, especially if it had the manual trans.
I can see the appeal…
I have been staring at this for 5 minutes and can’t think of a thing to say.
It’s almost weird enough to be French.
(Note: Contrary to popular belief, it is also possible for something to be TOO weird to be French.)
With that short of a wheelbase it has to ride like a buckboard.
Makes me think, too, of my old Post Office Jeeps.
Chrysler should have tried to sell the Post Office on those things…instead of removing the sliding rear door section, put a TAPER on the sliding door and make it the FRONT door!
That would have bee tres kewel
Some people have way too much time to fill in
I believe the builder might have been a farmer so this likely filled some long, winter nights.
I’m getting a tall Ford Festiva vibe off of it.
That was my first thought as well, especially from the rear.
For added fun, there was a turbo available for 1989 and 1990.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, I know, I know! My Uncle Red made one out of spare parts when he created a stretch minivan! Maybe that’s his! He sold it to some guy up in Port Asbestos ’cause he needed to buy retreads for the Possum Van. I’d show a photo but we haven’t gotten DSL up at the lodge yet
Harold Green
This van is too clean to be Green.
If the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.
Can’t be, it doesn’t look like the builder used any duct tape.
I like it!
That thing is wider than it is long… I wonder how it handles?
Forget handling, and think of the following two words:
Turning circle!
Nice one. I have seen similar things done to VW Kombi’s and (original) Minis.
The answer to “why?” is easy – because they can!
I was on the West Coast in 1990; and all over Washington, Oregon and Montana…those Gen-2 VW buses had been cut exactly that way. I must have counted eight of them…it seemed almost a fad.
A couple were for sale. I’d have bought; but I was broke.
Good to see someone’s brought that concept up-to-date. You know, those minivans had a third seat…imagine keeping it in there; a family shortie!
Of course, CPS might frown on it…
There’s a whole segment Lido missed. He could have introduced the “Smart” car 20 years before MB did!
I like it. It fits most of my commuting car demands, FWD, good seating position, hatchback, park anywhere and probably good gas mileage. Plus, this one is so old you wouldn’t care if it got dinged in the parking lot downtown.
This guy might be on to something…
For those who love the look and utility of a Yugo, but want the reliability and mechanical durability of a Chrysler product.
No wonder there is just one of these on the planet.
It reminds me, oddly enough, of that two-legged running horse video from YouTube…
‘Chaccaron, Chaccaron, alilu-liron, Chaccaron, Chaccaron, alilu-liron,….’
Wish there was a side shot. I’d like to see how he dealt with the rear wheel-well intrusion on the sliding door opening.
Looks like an Eagle SWB Summit micro-van squeezed in a really big vise!
An old friend did the same to an old VW bus in the early 70’s.
Someone did something too similar to this to a full-size Chevy van of late-70s/early-80s vintage that I’ve seen nearby, but only when it was too dark to get a picture of it. I can’t recall if they sectioned out the entire middle portion, or if the back of the full-sizer was enough larger that it didn’t look so extraordinarily squashed even when the entire midsection was removed, but it seemed generally better-proportioned, yet just off enough to attract my eye. I’ll have to try to snag a pic if I see it again.