Dodge closes Caravan order books at the end of this month

Production will trickle to an end after that

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, American families craved a vehicle that drove like a car, had a ton of space, could achieve decent fuel economy and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Enter the Dodge Caravan. Designed from the ground up to appeal to families, this vehicle was revolutionary. Its boxy shape provided lots of room, but because it was built on a car's platform it drove nicely and sipped gas the way conventional vans and trucks never could.

Chrysler's foray into minivans ignited the decades-long popularity of these bland family haulers. Minivan sales peaked at 1.37 million in 2000, and have been on a steady decline ever since. In 2013, minivan sales barely hit 500,000 vehicles in the U.S. And although journalists have been writing about the death of the minivan for years now, we may actually have a final date for it: May 6, 2014.

That's when Chrysler announced it would kill off its mainstream minivan, the Dodge Grand Caravan. It plans to stick with the more upscale model in its lineup, the Chrysler Town & Country, which starts a full $10,000 more than the Grand Caravan and likely rakes in more profits. But the Caravan is a staple in Chrysler's troubled history. It became a massive success for Chrysler after the first one rolled off assembly lines in 1983. In fact, it sold so well that it arguably saved the company from bankruptcy in the 1990s. Between the Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country and Plymouth Voyager, the company has sold more than 12 million units over the course of three decades. 

On Tuesday Fiat, the Italian automaker that now owns Chrysler, announced its intentions to kill the Dodge Caravan in 2016, closing the book on one of the great automotive stories of the late 20th century. In honor of the vehicle's demise, we've compiled a brief history of the Caravan, highlighting its evolution through each of its five generations.

Head on through to mourn with us.

1985 -1990 Dodge Caravan

1991 -1995 Dodge Caravan

1996-2000 Dodge Caravan

The third-generation Caravan saw a drastic change in exterior design, going from somewhat boxy to bubbly. The minivan also became available in long- and short-wheelbases. Chrysler introduced a new seat management system called as Easy Out Roller Seats, which used a door handle and lock attached  to the rear hatch, eliminating the confusing system that had been required on earlier models. The van also employed a driver's side sliding door for the first time.

The van was offered with either a 2.4-liter four cylinder or a 3.0-liter V6, depending on the state in which is was sold. This generation of the Caravan, along with the Plymouth Voyager and Chrysler Town & Country, won the North American Car of the Year Award in 1996.

Interestingly, Dodge introduced an all-electric version of this minivan in 1999, called the EPIC, which was capable of traveling up to 80 miles on a charge. The project tanked: only a few hundred were sold. Production was discontinued in 2001 and most were crushed. Only about ten of these are in existence today.

2001-2007 Dodge Grand Caravan

The fourth-generation Caravan was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show back in 2000, and the minivan began showing its age. Even with a redesign, there wasn't much that could be done to make the boxy vehicle look exciting or radically different than its predecessor. The van was larger, and featured updated headlights and taillights. Additionally, a new 3.8-liter V6 engine was made available.

But inside, the Caravan featured a wealth of new optional features that we take for granted today. These included remote-operated sliding doors and rear hatch, as well as power sliding doors. It also saw the first appearance of Chrysler's famous Stow 'n Go seating, which made it even easier to remove the rear seats for more storage space. This system is still widely used today.

2008-2015 Dodge Grand Caravan

The fifth, and now final, generation of the Dodge Caravan is the one we see on the roads today. Chrysler scrapped the short-wheelbase version of the minivan and stuck solely with the Grand Caravan when it was released at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. Chrysler tweaked the appearance to include sharper angles and lines, as well as a new front fascia. Engines included a 3.3-liter V6, a 3.8-liter V6 and a 4.0-liter V6.

The van came with all kinds of tech and comfort features, such as the Swivel 'n Go seat management system, a full entertainment system with second and third row video screens and standard side curtain airbags.

The Grand Caravan received a heavy update in 2011, which included changes in its styling and functionality. The suspension was tweaked to improve fuel economy and all three engines were replaced by a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. The R/T, or "man van," trim was also released this year, which came with a much meaner look.

The Grand Caravan will continue in this form until 2016, when it will go to that great superhighway in the sky.

After being introduced as the Dodge Caravan in 1983, after debuting a long wheelbase Grand Caravan in 1987, after entering its fifth generation in 2007 and going almost unchanged since then to become the oldest minivan in the segment, after being publicly sent to the slaughterhouse in 2011, again in 2013, and again in 2015 before being pardoned thrice by the automotive governor, this month it's over for good for the best-selling Dodge and best-selling minivan in the U.S. and Canada. At least, according to Mopar Insiders, which credits dealer sources for the news that "the end of the month" will be a car shopper's last chance to order the Dodge Grand Caravan in the states that don't adhere to California emissions. Since the Grand Caravan's 3.6-liter V6 can't clear CARB mandates, Dodge pulled the model from the 13 so-called ZEV states in March this year. 

Last summer, an analyst at AutoForecast Solutions told Automotive News that Dodge would cease Grand Caravan production at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada in May this year. The brief reprieve is said to be related to the coronavirus standstill, Fiat Chrysler not alone in revising its plans to make up for two months of lost production.

The new 2020 Chrysler Voyager is the official replacement for the Dodge, being a de-contented Pacifica that returns an old Chrysler nameplate to circulation and is built in the same plant as the Pacifica and Grand Caravan. The Grand Caravan's numbers have come down this year, but Dodge still sold a strong 24,931 units through the first quarter of the year; the kid-hauler has sold less than 100,000 units in a year in the U.S. only twice since 1985, topping six figures for the last four years. In 35 years on sale here, the minivan has hurdled the 200,000-unit marker 19 times.

With the order books open until the end of the month and Windsor plant working a single shift and still finding its feet, Grand Caravans will continue to trickle off the lines after May, but not for long.