Chrysler Town & Country

Chrysler Town & Country is a model name under which the Chrysler Group offered various automobiles in North America and several other countries.

It was a station wagon with a partial wooden body that Chrysler produced from 1941 to 1990. From 1946 to 1950, other body designs with wooden side panels were also offered under this name.

In 1990, a large van was introduced in North America under the name Town and Country . The vehicle was offered there in parallel to its previously available sister models Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan . Initially, only models with the long wheelbase version received this name. From 1997 to 2007 the Town & Country was also available in the short wheelbase version. The fifth generation of the vehicle was introduced in 2008 and was available until 2016. Then the model was replaced by the Chrysler Pacifica .

In Europe, the name Town and Country was not used by Chrysler, instead these vehicles were offered on the market there as Chrysler Voyager / Chrysler Grand Voyager .

1941-1950

The original Town & Country was introduced by Chrysler in 1941. This was the first "Woody" (station wagon with a wooden structure) with a tin roof. In the model years 1941 and 1942 just under 1,000 pieces were produced. Even after the war there was the Town & Country, which now achieved somewhat larger numbers. From 1946 to 1949 sedans and convertibles were also offered under this name, in 1950 only the coupé - only 698 of these were produced. The production of the original Town & Country with a wooden structure ended in 1950.

Chrysler Town & Country Station Wagon (1942)
Chrysler Town & Country Cabriolet (1948)
Chrysler Town & Country Newport 2-door Coupe (1950)

1951-1977

After production of the station wagon with a wooden body was discontinued, the name was adopted for a large, rear-wheel drive station wagon with an all-steel body. This coincided with the introduction of the company's first V8, initially called Firepower and later Hemi . Many innovations have been introduced in this station wagon, e.g. B. the crank window in the tailgate 1951, the backward-facing third bench in 1957, rear window wiper 1968, wind deflector over the tailgate 1969 and automatic locking of the tailgate when the ignition is switched on (to prevent children from opening the tailgate while driving) 1971.

The Town & Country station wagon was offered as Windsor , Saratoga and New Yorker in 1951 . The station wagon disappeared from the New Yorker in the 1952 model year, but reappeared in 1953 when the Saratoga was discontinued. The Town & Country existed as Windsor until 1960, in 1961 the concept was transferred to the new Newport ; the New Yorker variant was produced until 1965. In 1969 the Town & Country became its own series in the Chrysler model range.

From 1960 to 1964, all Town & Country were delivered as hardtop versions (without B-pillar). From 1965 the Town & Country was based on the Chrysler C platform, like the Chrysler New Yorker or the Plymouth Fury . From 1968 imitation wood was offered on the doors and sides of the vehicle, reminiscent of the original Town & Country between 1941 and 1950.

Chrysler Windsor Town & Country (1952)
Chrysler New York Town & Country (1956)
Chrysler Windsor Town & Country (1957)
Chrysler Newport Town & Country (1961)
Chrysler Newport Town & Country (1968)
Chrysler Town & Country (1972)
Chrysler Town & Country (1977), the final year of the large model

1978-1981

Chrysler Town & Country (1980)

For the 1978 model year, Chrysler reduced the size and weight of its station wagon models considerably. The Town & Country was now a station wagon version of the Chrysler LeBaron mid-range model introduced in 1977 . This model, based on the M platform , was technically related to the Dodge Aspen and the Plymouth Volare . The new Town & Country was 700 mm shorter and almost 800 kg lighter than its predecessor based on the C platform. There were no major differences in the chassis and drive to the sedan version of the LeBaron, but only the Town & Country had imitation wood (made of plastic) on the doors and sides of the vehicle. The new Town & Country used smaller engines than its predecessor based on the C platform. There was a choice of two 5.2 liter or 5.9 liter eight-cylinder engines; As an alternative, the Town & Country was also available with the Slant Six in-line six- cylinder (3.7 liter displacement) from 1978 . It was the first time since 1949 that a Town & Country was powered by a six-cylinder engine.

With the size of the car, the selling prices also decreased. The Town & Country V8 was offered in model year 1978 at a base price of US $ 5,910; this made it $ 700 cheaper than its larger predecessor.

Town & Country, based on the M platform, remained in the program until 1981. For model year 1980 it (like the LeBaron) received a facelift, which was particularly evident in a modified radiator grille. A parallel model to the Town & Country was the station wagon version of the Dodge Diplomat .

1982-1988

1982 to 1988

From 1982 to 1988 the name Town & Country referred to a station wagon of the front-wheel drive LeBaron on the Chrysler K platform, which also had imitation wood on the doors and sides of the vehicle. A special Town & Country convertible was released in model year 1983, which was also finished with imitation wood to remind of the original of the 1940s.

1990-2016

In 1990 the Town and Country was introduced as a sister model of the Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan . In Europe, the vehicle was sold as Chrysler Voyager , as the name Town & Country was not listed there. The last generation from 2008 to 2016 received a facelift in 2010 and was sold in Europe as the Lancia Voyager from the 2011 facelift .

In 2016 the vehicle model was replaced by the Chrysler Pacifica .