1990 Dodge Grand Caravan Is Today's Bring a Trailer Pick

Travel back to your childhood with this first-gen Chrysler minivan that is a regular time capsule.

• The Dodge Caravan was a family workhorse, but there's plenty of affection for it out there.
• This last-of-breed first-generation model is in great condition, sure to draw a nostalgic crowd at your local car show.
• Never mind the exotics: this minivan proves straight-up normcore can be just as appealing.

There are some cars that you look at brand new and think, “Well there's a future classic.” It's a near surety that absolutely no one ever said such a thing when the first-generation Dodge Caravan started rolling off the line. About as sexy as a lunchbox, the Caravan was pure utility, a family hauler par excellence that was just part of the background for many a childhood. Thing is, people like to collect things that remind them of their youth. G.I. Joes and bottle rockets. Out riding BMX bikes until dark. And a certain square-shouldered van, making the trek to Disneyland.

Pick of the day at Bring a Trailer (part of Hearst Autos, as is Car and Driver) is precisely one minivan-size serving of nostalgia, a 1990 Dodge Caravan LE in shockingly good condition. Woodgrain paneling! Beige interior! Whitewall tires! You can keep your $20M Ferrari 250GTOs at Pebble Beach. We're in love.

As the first minivan (with apologies to the Renault Espace) to break the station wagon's monopoly as the go-to family car, the Dodge Caravan, along with its Mopar badge twins, is historically significant. It would not be out of place as a display in the Petersen, perhaps parked between a DeLorean DMC-12 and a Toyota Pickup as an example of pure, uncut 1980s lifestyle.

But perhaps more important is the Caravan's ubiquity as a carpool device driven by countless moms and dads. Almost certainly you've ridden in one, on the way to soccer practice or home from Chuck E. Cheese. The latter's middle initial, if you didn't know, stands for "Entertainment," and if a Caravan didn't offer corner-carving flair or dragstrip-scorching straight-line performance, it was at least the vehicle that was around during a lot of good times. And come to think of it, the turbocharged ones were surprisingly quiet.

This example is an LE, the all-the-bells-and-whistles model, and is a beaut. You've got front and rear dual-zone air conditioning, power windows, a power driver's seat, and a premium cassette stereo. The powertrain is a 150-hp 3.3-liter V-6 paired with a four-speed automatic transmission, and check out how plush those seats look. It's the automotive equivalent of putting on your jogging pants before Thanksgiving dinner.

This one has just 56,000 miles on the odometer and is in time-capsule condition. Just think of how many friends you could cram in for the trip to your next '80s/'90s-themed car show. All you'd need to complete the experience is a G.I. Joe lunchbox to put on the front seat.

Head over to Bring a Trailer for your chance to bag a collectible classic that no one saw coming. There's no reserve, so this Caravan is headed to someone's driveway soon.

The auction ends August 28.