Hurricane Ian Exposes 1996 Dodge Caravan Hand-Painted Billboard Ad!

It’s been almost a month since Hurricane Ian devastated much of the southwest coast of Florida. The Category 4 hurricane was the deadliest hurricane to hit the Sunshine State since 1935, causing 126 deaths and over $67 billion dollars in damage. But the storm is still making the news cycle and it may not be for what you think.

For those living in Cape Coral, Florida, area residents noticed that one of the local billboards had been stripped of its layers of vinyl graphics leaving the last hand-painted ad exposed. That advertisement was for the then-all-new 1996 Dodge Caravan.

The third-generation Dodge Caravan (NS) was a huge leap forward for the then-Chrysler Corporation. The 1996 Dodge Caravan featured drastically different “cab forward” styling straying away from the traditional boxy design that people were accustomed to for the first 13 years of the vehicle’s existence.

The third-generation feature a number of innovations and highlights, which included…

• Driver-side sliding door (optional on all models)
• Assist handles on the backs of both front seats
• “Quad Command” seating (2nd-row captain’s chairs) or bench seating, both offering room for up to 7 passengers
• 8-way power driver’s seat
• Best-in-class size –
  • Height – to improve middle seat headroom
  • Length – Caravan was 8-inches longer (the Grand was 7-inches longer) than the second-generation model
  • Wider – 5.4-inches for more shoulder room
• Up to 12 cup holders – depending on the choice of seating
• Front-row dual-zone climate control
• Mid-cabin temperature controls
• Rear seat head restraints
• Dual front airbags – standard
• Easy Out Roller Seat design

The Caravan also came in a number of configurations, making sure there was a specific van to suit every family’s needs. There were both the short and long (Grand) wheelbase models, three and four-door variants, front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and 8 different powertrains which included Electric and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), on one single flexible platform.

It was such a revolution, that the 1996 model took home the coveted “Motor Trend Car of the Year” award and was named to Car and Driver’s 10-Best List.

Nevertheless, despite the carnage left by the storm, it was cool to see a vintage Dodge ad once again. Especially since it was hand-painted when it took special skill and craft for a billboard artist, to create the design.