Crapwagon Outtake: 1990 Plymouth Voyager Turbo
Earlier this week, several friends separately sent me this eBay Motors article, highlighting this relatively obscure performance machine sold at Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth dealers back in the late Eighties.
No, it never carried the vaunted Shelby badges, nor was it an R/T — though one could (and I almost did) buy such a vehicle these days. However, with proper application of a well-stocked junkyard or two (or eBay, naturally), one could easily build a family hauler that could haul down the quarter mile in around twelve seconds.
Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.
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A good friend of mine had an '89 version of these (w/automatic trans) back in the day. Once that turbo spooled up, it took off like a scalded cat!
A secretary at the college I went to still had one of these in a chocolatey brown with burnt orange "turbo" graphics. it was heavily worn and she always drove used. Ironically the van had replaced a even more beat down bustle back Seville.
I had a 1990 turbo Caravan as a rental in early 91. It actually was pretty darn fun to drive. Blue with faux woodie panels.
When the 2005 redesigned Chrysler minivans came out, the brochure said that the 3.5 liter 250 horsepower V-6 (from the LH cars) would be available as an option with a late introduction. As far as I can tell, that engine never shipped on the minivans. It did ship on the Pacifica. Does anyone know why Chrysler didn't make that engine available on the minivans. I remember somebody on a message board postulating that it didn't provide a big enough boost in performance over the 2-valve 3.8 liter, which was rated 220 horsepower at the time - later de-rated to 205.