The success of the early Dodge Caravan – the world’s first minivan – led to designers looking ahead to the next incarnation of this ground-breaking vehicle. This came about in 1991 and, as the competition was now copying the concept, something different had to be done.

The result was the new Dodge Caravan, a much better looking car than the original incarnation. Indeed, it has been said that the original looked very much like a van with windows – no surprise there – but the new version was a much more sleek and stylish design, while still retaining the all-round versatility of the original.

Versatility is what makes this type of car popular, and the new Caravan certainly had it. Available with a range of four engines – a 2.5 liter four cylinder and a 3 liter six borrowed from Mitsubishi, plus 3.3 and 3.8 liter six cylinder variations – the caravan in its second incarnation was aimed at everyone. Families love the car, for it provides unrivalled interior space coupled with carrying ability.

With safety coming into play as the main area of attention in cars, it is no surprise that the Dodge Caravan was a pioneer in this area. In 1992 there cam integrated child seats, while the year before had seen the Caravan become the first minivan to have side impact airbags fitted. Anti lock brakes were also available on this model, and further safety enhancements would bolster the range in the years to follow.

In terms of popularity, this revised Dodge Caravan wanted for nothing, and was always at the forefront – with sister models from within the GM group – of the market during its lifetime. Upgrades continued aplenty until the model was replaced, for the 1996 model year, with a new, completely redesigned third generation model.

The Dodge Caravan is a really easy car to work on; mine is a second generation model, the base spec with the smaller engine, and I love to get the spanners out and fix things. It’s part of owning and old car, after all, that you carry out your own maintenance.

Now given that she’s fifteen years old it’s no surprise my Dodge Caravan needs little things replacing all the time: I just put new side mirrors on, for example, as the old ones were cracked and discolored. You might think that finding replacement parts for an old Caravan would be hard, but those of us who do it all the time will tell you there are loads of places to go.

For a start, it’s worth trying the dealers, as they sometimes carry a stock of parts for older cars, or the local auto store for the more generic parts; then there are online stores such as Go-Part.com, who carry a great range, and other suppliers of auto parts on the internet.

Getting to grips with my old Dodge at the weekend is something I love to do: the sun shining, the music playing, and me and the old girl at one with each other! What could be more fun?