Does This Plymouth Voyager Sale Mean Minivans Are Collectible?
After a couple weeks spent talking about super-expensive cars, it’s time to look at a vehicle that is cheaper. A lot cheaper—and a little more, well, boring. A 1995 Plymouth Voyager SE sold this week for $3762. The vehicle is humble in origin and the price is dirt-cheap, but the fact that the van popped up on an enthusiast auction site, sharing webpage space with Porsches and BMWs and Corvettes, caught our attention.
Its presence raises some questions. Have the definitions of “classic” and “collectible” become so watered down that anything qualifies, as long as it’s old enough and has four wheels and an engine? Or do minivans, which took the auto industry by storm 40 years ago, deserve more credit? Perhaps it makes sense for a vehicle that’s big on nostalgia to wind up in the garage of an enthusiast, even if that vehicle is low on excitement.
Europeans will tell you the first minivan was the 1984 Renault Espace, but on this side of the pond and unveiled months earlier were the Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager. They were a big deal, and Chrysler president Lee Iacocca really talked them up:
I predict the Voyager and Caravan will be to the ’80s what the Mustang was to the ’60s… As revolutionary as the Mustang? Now that’s a helluva strong statement. You know, the Mustang became both a sales legend and a classic car in its own time. But I feel that our minivan vehicles will do all of that, too—this design, frankly, is more revolutionary than the Mustang was …
Pretty bold stuff, Lee, but that’s not quite how people view these vehicles today. There aren’t Caravan posters hanging on anyone’s walls, and nobody’s paying top dollar for vintage Voyagers. Minivans are the butt of jokes and a symbol of the monotony of suburban life.
But Iacocca was right in one regard. Minivans were revolutionary. Their clever practicality is undeniable. A relatively small, transversely mounted engine with the drive wheels up front leaves oodles of interior space. Sliding doors make getting in and out a cinch, even in a tight parking space. The rear hatch made loading and unloading as easy as it would be in a station wagon, but with more vertical space.
In Chrysler’s case, ample K-car parts kept the price low, and the Caravan/Voyager twins sold 210,000 copies by the end of 1984, providing a financial windfall for a struggling Chrysler Corporation. Caravans, Voyagers, and minivans in general quickly became the people movers of choice and were such a big part of the American landscape that the first 1984 Plymouth Voyager ever built is now part of the National Historic Vehicle Register.
As for the one sold this week, it’s a 1995 SE with the larger 3.3-liter V-6, finished in red over gray cloth. It’s a California van from new and reportedly had one owner until last year. That’s impressive for a ’95 Porsche, let alone a ’95 Plymouth. The ’95 model year was also the last for the second generation Voyager that came out in 1991.
It shows 138,800 miles but looks a lot cleaner than that. The only real unanswered issue is the extent of the service history on the transmission, a known weak point. However, the fact that the van is this clean and preserved is impressive enough. Second-gen Caravans/Voyagers used to be all over the place but, like most family haulers, the countless school runs, road trips, potholes, and fast food wrappers killed the vast majority of them. This red one, then, must be one of the nicest Voyagers in the country.
For a certain type of person, like a millennial whose mom drove a Voyager or who had a hand-me-down Caravan as their first car, a clean 30-year-old minivan brings waves of nostalgia. The price is about as cheap as it gets, and we aren’t adding Plymouth Voyagers to our price guide or plotting their market trajectory any time soon, but plenty of old automobiles have been bought on nostalgia alone. For that reason, this bright red soccer-mom-mobile is as much a part of the old car hobby as anything.
Collectable if you find one with a stick shift.
So you want this 95 Plymouth Voyager….interesting. Didn’t you say your mother have a minivan?
Mini vans are badass! I’ve been daily driving my 93 Mercury Villager GS for over seven years now. Sure it’s nothing pretty and the speedo don’t work, but so practical for any family. One trip to Florida when I first bought it and still had ice cold R12 a/c system at the time. Not only will it haul a family, take the two row bench seats out and it can haul anything from roofing plywood sheets to whatever you put in it and still close the gate!
These days the a/c don’t work anymore due to pulling the engine to put a timing belt in the Nissan VG30E SOHV non interference v6 engine which is a major plus! Had to fix it as well after a drunk driver sideswiped it right in front of my house. It took me a month to bring it back. Put it on clamps, pulled the LT rear frame back into spec. Fixed that quarter and the gate, and paint it the original metallic green. I found all the parts from a 97 quest and brought it back from the dead.
It’s my workhorse and for an over thirty year old van, it’s still on the road. Even with Sponge Bob and Patrick suction cup plushes in the windows, the local cruze-in still won’t let me in! But one day it will happen, maybe! Lol:))
I still have my 95 Voyager with the 3.3L automatic. Same Sport Wagon package, just a darker red color. 150K and no mechanical problems. Can’t beat them for versatility.
Yes, especially the 1989 and 1990 Turbo versions.
There is one listed for sale on Hagerty Marketplace. I’m sure the owner would be willing to offer more infor if you wanted to do a story…
https://www.hagerty.com/marketplace/classified/1989-Plymouth-Voyager-(Van)/6186fcef-c4d3-4433-ae7d-654e6eb94813
I had one with the 2.5 liter four cylinder turbo and a five speed manual transmission. It was a fun vehicle, actually surprisingly quick, and gas mileage, as well as acceleration, was way better than the 3.3 liter automatic that followed.
I had an ’89 Turbo 5speed. It would haul. Put it in 3rd at 50 mph and floor it – it would go sideways. Unfortunately the wife didn’t like the balky shifter
I drove a 1998 Caravan with the 3.0 V-6 for work. It had 50K miles when I received it. I drove it for 9 years before I left their employment with 188k miles. Never touched the engine! The only time it quit was in my driveway needing a fuel pump at 155k miles. At 160k miles the tranny had trouble shifting. 3 hours at the dealership and I was on my way again (they did something to the valve body). Best vehicle I ever drove for maintenance and dependability.
These Dodge/Plymouth mini-vans beat the heck out of all these SUV’S of today imho. Just look at them. I call them pregnant station wagons without suspension! I would love to find a Plymouth mini-van in great condition or a station wagon. Something actually pleasant to drive and ride in!
We’ve had 3 and I still drive our latest which is a 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan. People make fun of me but it is rock solid reliable, tows small trailers, and hauls a lot. I plan to keep it as long as I can.
Nowadays, everything older than 20 years is a collectible.
My son bought a Chrysler version back when they were offering life time warranties. I think they are one the second replacement transmission. Around 200k miles on it now. The dealership is practically begging them to trade it in. It is still in good shape. They have no plans to give it up.
These were the cat’s fanny for doing deliveries in have had a few one an 89 turbo 2.5L had a94 similar to the featured one cracked it up at the end of the road when a Bronco ran the light almost knocked him onto his side I was fine didn’t deploy the airbag but my poor van was totaled. We won’t talk about the Windstar I had.(POS)