Chrysler to release 30th anniversary minivans

By Jay Ramey, Crain News Service

DETROIT (Sept. 11, 2013) — This year has seen quite a few important automotive milestones.

Aston Martin celebrated its centennial, and the Porsche 911 turned 50, as did the Lotus Elan. Even Cunningham had a milestone to celebrate, with the marque founded by Briggs Cunningham turning 60. An anniversary you might not have heard about with all the hubbub surrounding the celebrations at Pebble Beach, Lime Rock and other venues is the Chrysler minivan turning 30.

That's right, it's been 30 years since the former Chrysler Corp. hit a home run—at the 11th hour as per usual—and launched the Town & Country minivan. That milestone liberated millions of kids from the drudgery of riding in the back of the family station wagons to and from sporting events.

And now that we've reached a point in time when people are actually nostalgic about riding in the cargo areas of faux-wood bedecked station wagons, Chrysler Group L.L.C. is debuting a special edition Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of its Chrysler and Dodge minivans.

The Chrysler Town & Country 30th Anniversary Edition will be based on the Touring-L model and will feature 17-inch wheels with polished faces, "30th Anniversary" badging and Granite Crystal paint as an option. This special edition will use the 3.6-liter V6 engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, making 283 hp.

Interior touches will include black Alcantara seat inserts with napa seat bolsters, piano-black steering wheel bezel, and a "30th Anniversary" logo in the gauge cluster. The Convenience Group options will be standard in this model, which means it'll have heated first- and second-row seating, power adjustable pedals and a leather-wrapped heated steering wheel, in addition to other luxury touches.

The Dodge Grand Caravan 30th Anniversary Edition will be available on the SE and SXT models, and will feature the same 3.6-liter engine as in the Town & Country. The Dodge Grand Caravan SE 30th Anniversary Edition will have 17-inch polished satin carbon-aluminum wheels, body-color heated exterior mirrors and "30th Anniversary" badging on the front fenders.

On the interior—arguably where it matters most—the 30th Anniversary Dodge Grand Caravan will feature silver accent stitching and piano-black accents, black cloth seats and a black leather-wrapped steering wheel, in addition to other luxury details.

The SXT trim version of the anniversary model will have all the features of the SE, but with added luxury touches like chrome window trim moldings and roof rack, fog lamps and black Torino Leatherette seats with suede inserts and silver accent stitching.

This report appeared on the website of Autoweek magazine, a Detroit-based sister publication of Tire Business.