Stout Scarab - The World's First Minivan

Today's Chrysler Town & Country minivan includes second row seats that turn 180 degrees to face the rear. While this feature may seem unusual, even revolutionary, it's hardly a recent innovation. In 1936, the Stout Scarab had this feature and even more forward-looking features. What's the Stout Scarab, you might ask?

William Bushnell Stout

In 1936, Detroit engineering genius William Bushnell Stout created his experimental commercial vehicle, the Scarab. At the time, Stout was primarily known as an aircraft designer, but his dream was to build the ultimate smooth-riding automobile. Unlike other designers of streamlined vehicles who were proponents of aeronautic design, Stout believed that the body design of road-bound vehicles should resemble earth-bound creatures like turtles or beetles rather than birds. And thus was born the Stout Scarab.

The Tin Goose

It wasn't that Stout was against aeronautic design; after all, he had made his reputation as an engineer after building the first all-steel body airplane. He built 15 of these planes before selling his airplane company to Henry Ford. He then went to work for Ford Motors in Dearborn as a chief aeronautic engineer, eventually creating the bestselling Ford tri-motor airplane or "tin goose." Stout, however, had some design conflicts with old man Ford and left the company with the idea of building his own line of automobiles.

The Stout Scarab