The Weirdest, Wildest and Worst Vans and Minivans of All Time

The evolution of the minivan has progressed along in anything but a straight line. There have been rear-engine/rear-drive, front-engine/rear-drive, and front-engine/front-drive chassis topped with many different styles of bodies.

Take a look at this gallery of innovators, oddballs, and commercial failures.

William Stout stands out as a dynamic automotive designer and inventor of the early 20th Century. He helped conceived the design for the Ford Tri-Motor airplane and applied his knowledge to a minivan precursor, the Stout Scarab.

The spacious interior of the Scarab features a completely flat floor with balsa wood paneled sidewalls. A flathead Ford V8 powers the rear wheels. The body is lightweight aluminum.

If you're interested in the Stout Scarab, you may want to make a trip to Detroit to check one out for yourself. Just nine were ever made, and one of them has been on permanent display at the Detroit Historical Museum since 2015.

General Motors entered the minivan segment in 1990 with what would become a trio of models including the Pontiac Transport. The models never attained the popularity of the Chryslers, in part because of the "Dust Buster vacuum" styling. While they looked odd, they were innovative and featured rust- and dent-proof polymer body panels. GM ceased U.S. production of minivans in 2008.

Designed for the Japanese domestic market, the spaceship-like Toyota Previa (produced from 1991-97) featured a mid-engine design and, on some models, a supercharger. American drivers didn't like the odd proportions or the large engine compartment in the center of the cabin.

No, the VW Bus is not one of the worst cars ever designed. In fact, these days the old Vee Dub is a certified classic, with values steadily rising. As cool as the VW Microbus may be, it was also extremely underpowered, and it offered zero creature comforts or safety features.

Volkswagen produced the Microbus T1 through 1967 in many different configurations including campers, pickups, panel vans, and the high-line Deluxe. The second generation of VW's air-cooled van debuted in 1968 and continued on with various improvements in Brazil until the last one was built in 2013.

No, Volkswagen is not building Cadillacs, but they do build the Caddy, a compact delivery van that's widely used across Europe. The one-off racing edition you see here used a 2.0-liter diesel that was turbocharged to produce 260 horsepower and 377 pound-feet. of torque. As you can see, it also produced a bunch of black smoke from its tailpipe.