Perhaps not the primary minivan, however a nod to family-first transportation.
That is an installment in a sequence of posts wanting again on present automobiles that we really feel deserved a bit of extra consideration than they acquired. If 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 by esteemed Ford designer Dick Nestbitt—creator of the hyper-popular Mustang II—in 1973, the Carousel was conceived to serve households in search of one thing bigger and extra snug 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 challenge was internally named.
To comprise prices, the Carousel featured the dashboard of a Thunderbird, and lots of the inside parts of the LTD Brougham. Although nowhere close to as small as coming minivans can be, the Carousel stood simply 6 ft excessive, totally 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 have been relocated additional ahead on the van chassis. And, regardless of its measurement, the Carousel was conceived as a 5-passenger van, which doubtless left loads of area for cargo.
As destiny would have it, Iacocca was booted from Ford in 1978, and assist for the Carousel projected pale. Iacocca famously landed at Chrysler, the place he delivered to life the “Ok-Automobile” compact automobiles, and the new-for-1984 Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans, little doubt the non secular 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’s completely not certainty that it could have offered properly.
The Carousel was a lot bigger than the approaching Chrysler minivans, plus, it’s huge engine would have made it a fuel guzzler, and its rear-drive design meant that it sat greater off the bottom than many households would doubtless have favored.
Timing, too, was working in opposition to the Carousel. Gasoline costs have been on the rise, and big 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 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)
