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The Plymouth Voyager and '''Plymouth Grand Voyager''' were Minivan s marketed by DaimlerChrysler (they were sold by the Chrysler Corporation until 1998). The Voyager was originally a full-size van from 1974 to 1983, but the name was used again for a minivan in 1984. The Voyager minivan, along with the Chrysler Town And Country and Dodge Caravan and the European Renault Espace were the first modern minivans; the Chrysler minivans are credited with creating the entire market segment for these vehicles in North America. The Plymouth Voyager differs from the Grand Voyager in that the latter is longer and has significantly more trunk space, and elsewise the design is the same. OVERVIEW (MINIVAN) Originally introduced in 1983 for the 1984 model year, the second generation Plymouth Voyager was based on the Chrysler S Platform , an extended derivative of the Chrysler K Platform . Under development, these models were referred to as the T-115, and were initially referred to in advertising as the "Magicwagon". In Canada , the vehicle's name was typically prononunced as the French "Voyageur". For the 1987 model year, a longer wheelbase was introduced, which was called the Grand Voyager. It was still based on the Chrysler S Platform . In Europe, the vehicle has been known as the Chrysler Voyager/Grand Voyager. It was produced at Chrysler's Eurostar plant, which was transferred, along with Voyager production, to Magna Steyr and gained the Dodge Caravan's grille. The European Voyager was released in 1987 and is still in production today. Since their introduction, the Chrysler minivans have been the best-selling minivans in the United States . Much of this is due to the fact that in their early years, they were the only smaller front-wheel drive minivans on the market in the U.S. Both GM and Ford released larger rear-wheel drive vans (the 1985 Chevrolet Astro/GMC Safari and the 1986 Ford Aerostar ), meant to compete with the Voyager & Caravan, but their smaller front-wheel drive minivans, GM's Chevrolet Lumina APV / Oldsmobile Silhouette / Pontiac Trans Sport trio, and Ford's Windstar , did not arrive until 1990 and 1995 , respectively. Still the Chrysler minivans are more popular. Since the beginning of production in the fall of 1983, over 11 million Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth minivans have been sold as of mid-2005. The Plymouth Voyager was on Ten Best List for 1985, 1996, and 1997. 1974-1983
The first Voyager was introduced in 1974, and was essentially a Rebadged Dodge Sportsman . It could hold as many as 12 passengers (15 in the stretched version) and was Plymouth's first truck-bodied vehicle in many decades. The first generation Voyager was produced until 1983. 1984-1990
This Voyager used the Chrysler S platform, which was closely related to the K-cars ( Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries . The Voyager was on '' Car And Driver '' magazine's Ten Best List for 1985. Both a three-speed TorqueFlite Automatic Transmission and a five-speed Manual were available with the four-cylinder engines, including the Turbocharged 2.5 L engine (this was a rare combination). For 1987 the Voyager received minor cosmetic updates as well as the introduction of the Grand Voyager which was built on a longer wheelbase adding more cargo room. It was available only with ''SE'' or ''LE'' trim. The first generation Voyager minivan was offered in three trim levels, ''base'', mainstream ''SE'', and upscale ''LE'', the ''LE'' getting woodgrain-imprinted vinyl on the sides, what would later become a trademark for these minivans. Seating On 1984-1987 Voyagers, five-passenger seating was standard on all three models. The five-passenger arrangement, consisted of two front bucket seats, and a rear three-passenger bench seat. On base and SE models, the front buckets could be replaced by a 40/60 split three-passenger bench seat, bringing the total number of occupants to six. Seven-passenger seating was an option on SEs and LEs. The seven-passenger arrangement, consisted of dual front buckets, a middle two-passenger bench, and a rear three-passenger bench. SE models only, could sit up to eight, with both the additional middle two-passenger bench and three-passenger front bench. So, depending on optional packages, the base could sit up to 5 & 6 passengers, the SE could sit up to 5, 6, 7, & 8 passengers, and the LE could sit up to 5 & 7 passengers. On base models, the front buckets where low-back, with all seats either base cloth or all-vinyl. On SEs, the buyer could choose between low-back buckets with deluxe cloth or high-back buckets in luxury vinyl. LEs came standard with high-back front buckets, and in either luxury cloth or luxury vinyl. On 1987-1990 models the six- and eight-passenger options where done away with, leaving five-passenger seating standard on the base and SE, with seven-passenger seating optional on the base and SE, and standard on the Grand SE, LE and Grand LE. On all three models, the high-back bucket seats where standard. Deluxe cloth interior was now standard on base and all SE models, with the luxury vinyl optional on SEs. On LEs, luxury cloth came standard and for the first time, leather seats were available on the LE models. Engines
Prices(MSRP) The original sticker prices for 1988, 1989, and 1990. The prices below are rounded to the nearest 25 dollars. 1991-1995
For 1991, the Voyager was redesigned, making it more aerodynamic. The trim levels for this generation Voyager were, Voyager: base, ''SE'', ''LE'' ''LX'', Grand Voyager: ''SE'' and ''LE''. SE gave consumers the most choice of option packages, while LE came standard loaded. LX was seen as a more sport-luxury van, therefore coming with the most standard options of them all, including alloy wheels, fog lights, a wide array of power features, and available only in the short wheel base version. The LE could, however, be ordered with these options at extra cost. Although the LX base price was higher than an LE, the LE could be ordered in the extended wheel base model with most of the options featured on the LX, therefore making the Grand Voyager LE the top of the line. The 1991 through 1995 Voyagers used the Chrysler AS Platform . These were the last Voyagers that were derived from the Chrysler K Platform . The main ways that the Voyager can be distinguished from the Dodge Caravan , other than badging, are the headlights, taillights, and grille. The headlights on the Voyager have chrome strips on the top and bottom - on the Caravan, the form factor of the lights is slightly higher, and the chrome strips are not present. On the Caravan, the taillights appear to have black stripes running horizontally, whereas on the Voyager, a number of horizontal grooves run across the taillights instead. All Voyagers had the Plymouth-styled, chrome eggcrate grille, with many vertical and horizontal strips of chrome. The Caravan's grille was a sportier one, with just one vertical and one horizontal piece of chrome (it changed to body color in 1994). The Town and Country, shared the Voyager's head and taillights. but had its own fancy closed grille, composed of all-horizontal chrome or body color strips. Of course, because these parts are interchangeable, and people often use whatever parts are most readily available, these are not a sure indicator as to what the vehicle was originally manufactured as. This generation of vans brought additional innovations, such as:
Engines
Prices(MSRP) Throughout this generation, the original sticker prices for the Voyager covered about a $10,000 range from a "base" to an "''LE'' AWD". The prices below are rounded to the nearest 25 dollars.
Year-to-year changes
Trim levels
(note: In North America, all versions were offered in Grand Voyager, except ''LX''. All Wheel Drive offered on all, except Base.) 1996-2000
The 1996 redesign used the Chrysler NS Platform and included a driver's-side sliding door, a first. The manual transmission was dropped. The vinyl ""wood"" was no longer available on the Voyager and for that fact none of the Chrysler minivans. For this generation the Voyager was available in only base and mid-level ''SE'' models, the luxury ''LX'' and ''LE'' models, as well as the ''Sport'' weren't offered, as they were in the previous generation (the latter two were still offered on the Caravan though). Also available was the ''Rallye'' (later renamed ''Expresso'') trim package. Rallyes were simply an SE model with more upgrades (they were still badged as "SE's", with the "Rallye" badge on the front doors, rather than with the "Plymouth", "Voyager", and "SE" badges on the back). From 1997 onward, regular SE's received a "Plymouth" badge in the place of the "Rallye" or "Expresso" badges. Four-wheel Drive was reintroduced in 1997. The Voyager was on '' Car And Driver '' magazine's Ten Best List for 1996 and 1997. The Chrysler "Pentastar" logo was barely visible on this generation Voyager. It could only be found on the keys, steering wheel and on the side mouldings immediately behind the front wheels. The grille now features Plymouth's new "Sailboat" logo. Base models of the Voyager were offered in most states with either a 2.4 L four-cylinder or a 3.0 L Mitsubishi V6 engine, except in California and several northeastern states, where the Mitsubishi V6 didn't meet emissions standards. In those locales, the 3.3 L engine was offered as the V6 option from 1997 through 2000. The manual transmission, never popular, was dropped. The 2.4 L four-cylinder engine produced more power than the 3.0 L Mitsubishi engine had in the first two generations. Engines
Prices(MSRP) There were not as many trim levels available as the previous generation, which is why the sticker prices didn't go as high. The prices below are rounded to the nearest 25 dollars.
Year-to-year changes
Trim levels
In 1999, Plymouth's demise was announced, resulting in the 2000 models in the US of the Voyager/Grand Voyager doing double duty as both Plymouths and Chrysler s. CHRYSLER VOYAGER For the fourth generation (of the minivan) in 2001, the Plymouth Voyager was rebadged as the Chrysler Voyager in the US. It was offered in the short wheelbase only. The Chrysler Voyager became the short wheelbase Town and Country for 2004. MINIVAN PRODUCTION Chrysler's plant in St. Louis, Missouri was responsible for building the Voyager from 1990 to 2000. REFERENCES
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