Spotted: a Dodge Mini Ram Van

The spotted specimen

The courtyard of the Louwman Museum in The Hague is reserved for vehicles 40 years old or older, although other special cars are also “tolerated. Even when we were there a while ago, there were plenty of beautiful things in the courtyard. Yours truly’s personal favorite? This Dodge Mini Ram Van. Because when do you see them anymore and who keeps something like this? The steel rims and slight signs of use only make it more fun.

To be precise, the spotted example is an original Dutch Dodge Mini Ram Van 2.5 from 1992, a gasoline version in other words. The car has been with its current owner since 2001. It looks like the owner is taking good care of it, because for a company car of this age it still looks very nice.

Van version: Dodge Mini Ram Van

We start at the beginning: the first Chrysler Voyager. Along with its brand variants Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager, it was among the MPV pioneers in the American car market in 1984 and well beyond. The car offered an additional practical alternative to the station wagon.

Chrysler, however, saw another opportunity for the model. By then Dodge already had the Ram commercial vehicle family, which consisted of the still-familiar pickup models and a large van, the Ram Van. The new, spacious MPV provided an excellent basis for a van version. It would then be a more compact alternative to the large van. The van version of the Voyager was aptly named the Dodge Mini Ram Van.

Like the passenger version, the van was available in ”short” and LWB versions. In the van version, the seats in the rear naturally gave way to a large flat cargo floor. Interestingly, the side windows were not simply closed, but the bodywork was modified to give the van version flat side walls. Incidentally, the van version could also be ordered with side windows, or just a small side window, if desired. The headlights were also slightly simpler in design, compared to the passenger version. For the 1989 model year, the Mini Ram Van was renamed Caravan C/V, the latter being an abbreviation of Cargo Van. Optional rear doors were now common for a van, instead of a tailgate.

Dodge Mini Ram Van in Europe

The American MPV also came to the European market as the Chrysler Voyager. Dodge was still officially active in Europe in those years and also saw a market for the Mini Ram Van here. Although the model was seen as a small van in America, the size was actually quite average by European standards. Moreover, the Mini Ram Van offered the same comfort as the Voyager passenger version. Because the regular Dodge Caravan was not delivered here, the van version continued to be called Mini Ram Van in Europe.

Second generation Dodge Mini Ram Van

A new model generation of the Chrysler minivans appeared for the 1991 model year, and that model again received a van version. The exact same approach was taken for this model, except that the van version now had the same light units as the passenger version.

Another van variant: the Chrysler Voyager Commercial

Although the Dodge Mini Ram Van was also supplied in Europe from the beginning, the Dutch Chrysler importer saw a market for its own variant. That was the Chrysler Voyager Commercial. The big difference between the Mini Ram Van and the Commercial, was that the latter was simply a converted passenger version. The two are easily distinguishable from each other. First, the Dodge – also in Europe – had American light units and the Chrysler had European ones. Also, the Mini Ram Van had the aforementioned flat side walls and the Voyager Commercial simply had sealed side windows.

Later van versions

The Dodge Mini Ram Van (and American Dodge Caravan C/V) continued to exist through 1995, when the third generation of Chrysler minivans entered the market. As of 2003, Dodge did supply a Caravan C/V again, but it remained reserved for the North American market. In parallel, Chrysler Netherlands did continue with the Voyager Commercial after 1995. Its last model, produced until 2007, is still sometimes encountered.