23. Chrysler Town & Country Minivan
In the late ’70s and the early ’80s, the Chrysler Corporation was practically done. Enormous losses, poor sales, and a lack of new models pushed it to the point of no return. When famous ex-Ford executive Lee Iacocca, came to Chrysler during the late ’70s, everybody thought there wasn’t anything he could do to save the fallen giant.
But they were wrong. In just a few short years, he returned Chrysler to a top position in the industry. His main weapon was a new line of minivan models under the Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth names. Today, minivans are a common sight, but in the early ’80s, the minivan was nonexistent.
Iacocca strongly insisted that Chrysler invested in the production of front-wheel drive people carriers with space and comfort inside, but with overall compact dimensions. The first such model was the Chrysler Town & Country. It proved to be the right car for the times as well as the world`s first mass-produced minivan. The model established the minivan class and became the first Chrysler sales hit in decades. It was the perfect car for suburban America. It even replaced those big station wagons preceding the SUV craze of today. The Town & Country proved to be so influential and revolutionary that it remains in production today.