Remember When?
Motor Trend|August 2021
Nostalgia Led One of Us to Buy a 1994 Caravan, Complete With Manual Transmission
Alex Leanse
Remember When?

The online car shopping vortex sucked me in once again. For months I’d been on the hunt, motivated by whimsy as much as need. Instinctually I punched in my search parameters. Image? Has. Color? Green. Transmission? Manual. Price? Less than the options on the Pacifica reviewed here.

By that point I was used to miscategorized ads, but this one said “five-speed manual” right up top. The photos confirmed it—a shifter wrapped in a rubber accordion boot stood proud on the floor. Calls were made, dollars were extracted, papers were signed. Next thing I knew, I was cruising home in my 1994 Dodge Caravan.

This is no hoity-toity Grand Caravan, mind you—rather, it is shockingly basic. Five seats and a single sliding door is about all there is to it. It lacks a tape deck, power windows, or central locking. A tachometer is another peculiar omission since the 2.5-liter I-4 sends its 100-odd horsepower to the front wheels via that five-speed manual gearbox.

This story is from the August 2021 edition of Motor Trend.

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This story is from the August 2021 edition of Motor Trend.

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