This photo was taken in February, 1984, 30 years ago next month, and it shows the assembly line making Chrysler’s “all new mini-van”. Hard to believe three decades later, the old mini-van is still rolling off the line.
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those minivans from that era were made tough other than the Mitsubishi motors they used on the cheaper models .the main reason they got scrapped so early in their life .
I remember going on a tour of the minivan plant in grade 8 (1986) and it was pretty cool.
The minivan was an idea that was shot down by Hank the deuce and Lee brought with him from Ford.
Lee didn’t bring with him from Ford, exactly. It was Hal Sperlich, that tried to get Ford to build the “mini-max,” that was shot down. He was fired a few months before Iaccoca. I acocca gave it the green light at Chrysler, and when the money man said they didn’t have money for it, Lee fired him and got another one.
The saviour of this city that is for sure.
That line looks pretty much the same as it did when I left there in 2010 after 16 years. Other than the vans, the flat top conveyor is the same and some of overhead lines are too.