Perhaps not the primary minivan, however a nod to family-first transportation.
That is an installment in a collection of posts wanting again on present automobiles that we really feel deserved just a little extra consideration than they acquired. When you’ve got a suggestion for a Forgotten Idea matter, please shoot us a line or go away 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 searching 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 undertaking 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 can 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 computerized transmission. To maximise cabin area relative to the Membership Wagon, the engine and transmission within the Carousel have 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 pale. Iacocca famously landed at Chrysler, the place he delivered to life the “Okay-Automobile” compact automobiles, 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 automotive, the automobile 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 will have offered effectively.
The Carousel was a lot bigger than the approaching Chrysler minivans, plus, it’s large engine would have made it a gasoline guzzler, and its rear-drive design meant that it sat increased off the bottom than many households would probably have appreciated.
Timing, too, was working in opposition to the Carousel. Gasoline costs have been on the rise, and large inflation—and associated excessive rates of interest—seen towards the top 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 superb long-trip conveyance. Click on right here to see extra Forgotten Ideas.
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Ford Carousel Photos
(Click on beneath for enlarged pictures)
Forgotten Minivans: Greater than 30 Minivans You Don’t Bear in mind (Photos and Historical past)