There was a Ghostbusters movie in 1984, and there’s one this year. Game of Thrones is really just Falcon Crest with more dragons and beheadings. The Libertarians didn’t stand a chance then and don’t now. Just look at these two seven-seat minivans, both driving out of Chrysler’s Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant and into the North American zeitgeist. They’re completely different vans, and yet exactly the same. It’s a mind-blowing paradox.
The old one is Magic Wagon No. 1, the actual preproduction 1984 Plymouth Voyager that Chrysler’s then CEO, Lee Iacocca, used at press unveilings, dealer meetings, and general cheerleading sessions to drum up enthusiasm for the new “T115” minivans. Stray badges shoved into a rear cubby indicate that it sometimes also appeared as a Dodge Caravan. There are about 12,000 miles on the clock, and fake wood forests the sides. A lot of corduroy cows died to upholster those seats.
The new one is a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, the state of the art in a vehicle category that’s notoriously artless. It has command thrones up front, second-row seats that disappear into the floor, third-row seating that drops into a deep well, and hides from real cows to cover them all. If the glass sunroof were any more panoramic it would have to be continued on the next van.
The front-drive minivan was a Hail Mary pass thrown up by a team ready to be shoved out of the league. The K-car’s success had given Chrysler just enough freedom to take a big chance on reinventing family transportation. If it worked, the company would pay off its government-guaranteed loans and proceed onward to prosperity under Iacocca’s enlightened whip. If the minivan turned out to be a sales turd, well, Chrysler was going bankrupt anyhow. The company couldn’t afford the extra paper to write down a Plan B.
Read more: http://www.caranddriver.com/compari...fica-vs-1984-plymouth-voyager-comparison-test
The old one is Magic Wagon No. 1, the actual preproduction 1984 Plymouth Voyager that Chrysler’s then CEO, Lee Iacocca, used at press unveilings, dealer meetings, and general cheerleading sessions to drum up enthusiasm for the new “T115” minivans. Stray badges shoved into a rear cubby indicate that it sometimes also appeared as a Dodge Caravan. There are about 12,000 miles on the clock, and fake wood forests the sides. A lot of corduroy cows died to upholster those seats.
The new one is a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, the state of the art in a vehicle category that’s notoriously artless. It has command thrones up front, second-row seats that disappear into the floor, third-row seating that drops into a deep well, and hides from real cows to cover them all. If the glass sunroof were any more panoramic it would have to be continued on the next van.
The front-drive minivan was a Hail Mary pass thrown up by a team ready to be shoved out of the league. The K-car’s success had given Chrysler just enough freedom to take a big chance on reinventing family transportation. If it worked, the company would pay off its government-guaranteed loans and proceed onward to prosperity under Iacocca’s enlightened whip. If the minivan turned out to be a sales turd, well, Chrysler was going bankrupt anyhow. The company couldn’t afford the extra paper to write down a Plan B.
Read more: http://www.caranddriver.com/compari...fica-vs-1984-plymouth-voyager-comparison-test
