Posted on 07/13/2019 9:13:31 AM PDT by Drew68
In the days since his death at 94, former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca has been rightly lauded as the father of the Mustang, from his days at Ford, and the brand-saving K-car, from his time at Chrysler. But when I think of Iacocca, one word comes to mind: minivan.
Iacocca did not invent the minivan, any more than Ray Kroc invented McDonald’s. Rather, both men had the vision to see the massive potential of their respective products and the will and smarts to bring them to market.
Sperlich came to Chrysler with Iacocca after Ford fired him, and his minivan idea had a second chance.
I love the minivan. Not only for its immense, unapologetic, in-your-face, so-uncool-it’s-cool utility. I love the minivan because it’s my favorite example of a product people didn’t know they absolutely, positively could not live without until they saw it.
These kinds of products come along once in a generation. They are such slam-dunk hits that you’d think they’d be no-brainers to dream up, like clean drinking water. But they’re not. It takes a special genius to look at what everyone else is looking at and be the only one to see the vast hole in the market, the gaping need so elemental that consumers might not even be able to put it into words. If you asked car buyers of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s what they needed and described the minivan, maybe they wouldn’t get it. It takes that connection – actually seeing the thing that fits the uniquely shaped hole in your need – that makes consumers shout, “Yes! That’s it! That is exactly it!” Product geniuses take the inchoate and make it real. Steve Jobs did this. So did Iacocca.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
"Oh, this is what I need!"
A few weeks later I was trading in that Chrysler for a Sienna.
Wife and I are now on our second Sienna. With four kids in tow, we couldn't imagine owning anything else for our family vehicle (I commute to work in a Tacoma but that's "my" car).
Sadly, as this long, interesting and informative article mentions, the days when minivans ruled the suburbs are coming to an end with smaller American families favoring SUVs and Crossovers (station wagons had long ago fell victim to CAFE standards). Fewer companies are making them; most notably Honda's Odyssey, Toyota's Sienna, Kia's Sedona and various Chrysler badged vehicles.
Not the “K-car????”
The minivan was far more popular.
Years ago, I was at an auto industry trade show. Started talking with a Chrysler employee who told me he worked on the minivan.
I told him I hated him and he asked why.
I told him about my Plymouth minivan with 190,000 miles. Even though it was bizarrely convenient to carry almost anything, I hated the thing and as much as I tried, I couldn’t kill it.
In one of the little quirks and coincidences of life, there’s a well known Catholic Priest on the radio whom I once met and who is from the Detroit area - Fr. John Riccardo - whose father was CEO of Chrysler in 1979, prepared the bail-out request to the US Government, and hired Lee Iacocca.
He tells some interesting stories about his memories of his father and the chaos at Chrysler at the time.
Oh, but how I loved my mustangs. A super fun car.
I ordered my 1st Dodge Caravan from the Chrysler dealership in the PX in Germany for pickup when my family and I got back to our hometown after a 3 year tour. It was followed up by a Grand Voyager for several years.
Werent the first M-1 tanks produced on Dodge assembly lines from gubmnt contracts procured by Iacocca?
Cars and vans for the public? PULEEEEZE!
I had a 2002 Caravan and put 320,000 miles on it, with minimal problems, before I retired it. It was a comfortable and useful vehicle.
Had a 1991 Caravan that I eventually gave to our son with 140K.
Loved that vehicle.
I LOVE my minivan too. While I realize that it doesn’t ‘send a message’ nearly as well as a pickup truck, or even an SUV, I don’t travel in the outback, so having a vehicle that can take that for thousands of miles of moonscape is not my need.
But having a vehicle that I can load a (new) BBQ or even a (relatively small) Refer in definitely something I like - along with close to twice the gas mileage, allows me to compensate a bit for the fact that I don’t ‘make a statement’ when I drive.
Eventually, when my mid-life crisis does set in, I’ll buy a Tesla, as that will make me better than everyone else around me.
I had a K-car and didn’t like it much. But the mini-van, that is another story! It suited my needs perfectly and had the best motor and transmission, even when the odomoter showed nearly 160,000 miles on it. That is when a squirrel got into the cabin and chewed away at the air bag system, totally destroying it! If I were still driving, I’d want to get another one. Thank you for the beautiful cars you designed. R.I.P.
The first K-Cars were a miserable experiment. Originally presented as “full-size” inside, but with compact exterior dimensions, they had many quirks on the first models.The rear doors were too thin for the commonly used crank mechanism to be used, so the main window was fixed, and only the rear panel of glass pivoted outward. Later models used an innovative crank mechanism to raise and lower the glass, using a plastic strip with notches that replaced the articulated mechanism. I had what must have been among the very first of 1981 Dodge Aries that came off the line. I needed transportation in 1985, and I spotted this vehicle at the back of the lot. I asked how much cash, and the dealer said “1,500”. I offered $900, cash right now, and no quibbling, the dealer said “Sold!” In the next few months it ate a camshaft, a battery, an alternator, and the front rack-and-pinion steering mechanism. It developed a strange whirring sound sometimes at highway speeds when decelerating, and I took that as a sign. I traded it off, the dealer allowed me $2,000 (it actually looked pretty good). While they were demonstrating it to a customer, the cause of the whirring sound became apparent - the bolts holding the flywheel to the crankshaft had become goosenecked, and they sheared off, bring the car to an immediate and complete stop on the road.
Iococca was 1 of several “father’s of the Mustang”. But as President and chief marketing guru at Ford he claims the lion’lion’s share of the credit putting Ford on the map with the first “pony car”.
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1962-budd-XR400-sports-convertible1.htm
I would think the face lift of the mid 90s, especially trucks was what turned Chrysler around, though the Cravan was/is very popular.
Impressive part is that it accelerated up to ‘highway’ speed...
IIRC LI’ first book, he said he sold that division for cash, even though it was contributing $50M/year to the bottom line.
“...a nice Reliant automobile...” /BNL
When I suggested to my wife we get a minivan, she started crying.
I have her and 2 girls. You can imagine how my life is.
And sometimes the best thing about owning one was the fact that we sat 8 feet from our kids in the same vehicle. LOL
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