Maybe not the first minivan, but a nod to family-first transportation.
This is an installment in a series of posts looking back on show cars that we feel deserved a little more attention than they got. If you have a suggestion for a Forgotten Concept topic, please shoot us a line or leave a comment below.
Ford Carousel Prototype
First Seen
1973
Description
Passenger-van prototype
Sales Pitch
Something to position between the Country Squire station wagon, and Club Wagon van.
Details
Rendered by esteemed Ford designer Dick Nestbitt—creator of the hyper-popular Mustang II—in 1973, the Carousel was conceived to serve families looking for something larger and more comfortable than a station wagon, but smaller and easier to garage than a full-size Club Wagon van. Then Ford President Lee Iacocca supported the “Nantucket Program” as the Carousel project was internally named.
To contain costs, the Carousel featured the dashboard of a Thunderbird, and many of the interior elements of the LTD Brougham. Though nowhere near as small as coming minivans would be, the Carousel stood just 6 feet high, fully a foot shorter than the Club Wagon from ground to roof.
The Carousel was powered by Ford’s enormous 460-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8, backed up by a 3-speed automatic transmission. To maximize cabin space relative to the Club Wagon, the engine and transmission in the Carousel were relocated further forward on the van chassis. And, despite its size, the Carousel was conceived as a 5-passenger van, which likely left plenty of space for cargo.
As fate would have it, Iacocca was booted from Ford in 1978, and support for the Carousel projected faded. Iacocca famously landed at Chrysler, where he brought to life the “K-Car” compact cars, and the new-for-1984 Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans, no doubt the spiritual successors to the stillborn Carousel. And, as the Carousel was a prototype, and not a concept car, the vehicle was never seen at an auto show or other public event.
CG Says
While the Carousel was indeed novel in concept, it was not the first minivan, and there is absolutely not certainty that it would have sold well.
The Carousel was much larger than the coming Chrysler minivans, plus, it’s massive engine would have made it a gas guzzler, and its rear-drive design meant that it sat higher off the ground than many families would likely have liked.
Timing, too, was working against the Carousel. Gas prices were on the rise, and massive inflation—and related high interest rates—seen toward the end of the Seventies would have made for a very rocky product launch.
We love the look of the Carousel, and the modern open-cabin glass design would have, indeed, made the van an excellent long-trip conveyance. Click here to see more Forgotten Concepts.
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Ford Carousel Pictures
(Click below for enlarged images)
Forgotten Minivans: More than 30 Minivans You Don’t Remember (Pictures and History)