Perhaps not the primary minivan, however a nod to family-first transportation.
That is an installment in a collection of posts trying again on present vehicles that we really feel deserved somewhat extra consideration than they received. In case you have a suggestion for a Forgotten Idea matter, please shoot us a line or depart a remark beneath.
Ford Carousel Prototype
First Seen
1973
Description
Passenger-van prototype
Gross sales Pitch
One thing to place between the Nation Squire station wagon, and Membership Wagon van.
Particulars
Rendered in 1973 by esteemed Ford designer Dick Nestbitt—creator of the hyper-popular Mustang II—the Carousel was conceived to serve households on the lookout for one thing bigger and extra comfy than a station wagon, however smaller and simpler to storage than a full-size Membership Wagon van. Then Ford President Lee Iacocca supported the “Nantucket Program” because the Carousel venture was internally named.
To comprise prices, the Carousel featured the dashboard of a Thunderbird, and lots of the inside components of the LTD Brougham. Although nowhere close to as small as coming minivans could be, the Carousel stood simply 6 ft excessive, absolutely a foot shorter than the Membership Wagon from floor to roof.
The Carousel was powered by Ford’s huge 460-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8, backed up by a 3-speed automated transmission. To maximise cabin area relative to the Membership Wagon, the engine and transmission within the Carousel had been relocated additional ahead on the van’s chassis. And, regardless of its dimension, the Carousel was conceived as a 5-passenger van, which probably left loads of area for cargo.
As destiny would have it, Iacocca was booted from Ford in 1978, and help for the Carousel projected light. Iacocca famously landed at Chrysler, the place he delivered to life the “Okay-Automotive” compact vehicles, and the new-for-1984 Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans, little question the religious successors to the stillborn Carousel. And, because the Carousel was a prototype and never an idea automobile, the car was by no means seen at an auto present or different public occasion.
CG Says
Whereas the Carousel was certainly novel in idea, it was not the primary minivan, and there may be completely no certainty that it might have bought effectively.
The Carousel was a lot bigger than the approaching Chrysler minivans, plus, it’s large engine would have made it a fuel guzzler, and its rear-drive design meant that it sat larger off the bottom than many households would probably have preferred.
Timing, too, was working towards the Carousel. Fuel costs had been on the rise, and big inflation—and associated excessive rates of interest—seen towards the tip of the Seventies would have made for a really rocky product launch.
We love the look of the Carousel, and the fashionable open-cabin glass design would have, certainly, made the van a wonderful long-trip conveyance. Click on right here to see extra Forgotten Ideas.
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Ford Carousel Footage
(Click on beneath for enlarged photos)
Forgotten Minivans: Greater than 30 Minivans You Don’t Keep in mind (Footage and Historical past)
