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The Dodge Caravan is a passenger minivan manufactured by Dodge. Introduced for model year 1984 and now in its fifth generation, the Caravan has been offered in short-wheelbase (1984–2007) and long-wheelbase (1987–present) variants, the latter as the Grand Caravan. The Grand Caravan is the sibling vehicle of the Chrysler Town & Country Noted as a pioneering example of the minivan configuration, the Caravan has been manufactured and marketed worldwide alongside rebadged variants: the Plymouth Voyager (1984–2001), Chrysler Voyager (1988–2014), Chrysler Town & Country (1989–present), Chrysler Grand Voyager, Lancia Voyager (2011-2015), and Volkswagen Routan (2008–2012) – selling more than 11 million combined, worldwide.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Autonew24h.com )〕 Having played an instrumental role in Chrysler's 1980's survival and having survived Chrysler's 1990's merger with Daimler, Chrysler's current parent company, FCA, announced that the Dodge Caravan would end production in 2016 as a 2017 model, when it will be replaced by a refreshed Chrysler Town & Country. ==Overview== Chrysler introduced the Dodge Caravan minivan alongside its badge engineered variant, the Plymouth Voyager in November 1983 for the 1984 model year, using an extended derivative of the Chrysler K platform, the Chrysler S platform. Chrysler followed with a long wheelbase (LWB) model, the Grand Caravan in 1987, also based on the Chrysler S platform. Lee Iacocca and Hal Sperlich had conceived their idea for this type of vehicle during their earlier tenure at Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford II rejected the idea (and a prototype) of a minivan in 1974. Iaccoca followed Sperlich to Chrysler Corporation, and together they created what was internally designated the T-115 minivan – a prototype that was to become the Caravan and Voyager, known in initial marketing as the "Magic-wagons".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=A Brief History of the Chrysler Minivan )〕 The Chrysler minivans launched a few months ahead of the Renault Espace (the first MPV/minivan in Europe, initially presented to executives as a Talbot in 1979,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Matra/Renault Espace )〕 but not launched until 1984), making them the first of their kind – effectively creating the modern minivan segment in the U.S. The original Matra design for the Renault Espace was created when Matra was owned by Chrysler Corporation, so Chrysler may also be credited with originating the minivan concept in Europe as well.〔 Since their introduction in the fall of 1983, the Chrysler minivans have outsold other minivans in the United States, with over 13 million Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth minivans〔 in over 80 countries〔 sold as of October 2008. Only recently has Chrysler ceded the top-selling minivan spot to the Honda Odyssey,〔 if Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country sales are considered separately. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dodge Caravan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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