So Long 1993 Dodge Grand Caravan

This week my family and I finally said our last farewell to our 1993 Dodge Grand Caravan. This van lasted us years and was pretty reliable almost right up to the end. Once the brakes stopped working and the van couldn't go over 4o mph without shaking violently, we knew it was time to say goodbye. I was so close to getting it to the 200,000 mile mark too! Anyway, while I was getting the info off the car, I noticed the manufacturing date of this once mighty vehicle was October of 1992. A lot of things have changed since then, but a lot of awesome things were happening when this vehicle was put together. Let's take a look at what was popping in pop culture almost 30 years ago in 1992!

George H.W. Bush was President of the United States

George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st President of the United States and he served from 1989-1993. Under his administration we entered the Gulf War that lasted until about 1991. He was defeated by Bill Clinton and only served one term in office.

Daisy Ridley & John Boyega were born

In addition to these Star Wars stars being born in 1992 we also saw these folks come into the world: Shawn Johnson (Gymnast), Demi Lovato (actress/singer), Selena Gomez (actress, singer), Odell Beckham Jr. (football player), Kyrie Irving (basketball player) & Joe Keery (actor).

Crystal Pepsi hit supermarket shelves

Not too much to say about this clear cola that didn't taste like cola. It lasted a few years in the states and was revived a few years ago due to popular demand. 

The most notable thing besides the clear color was the ad campaign featuring Van Halen's song "Right Now".

Aladdin, Batman Returns & Wayne's World topped the box office

The top 10 grossing films from 1992 in order were Aladdin, The Bodyguard, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, Basic Instinct, Lethal Weapon 3, Batman Returns, A Few Good Men, Sister Act, Bram Stoker's Dracula & Wayne's World.

Boyz II Men were blowing up the music charts

The top 5 songs on the 1992 year end music charts in order were "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot, "Jump" by Kris Kross, "Save The Best For Last" by Vanessa Williams and "Baby-Baby-Baby" by TLC!

Super Mario Kart ruled living rooms & Street Fighter II took over arcades

Some of the top selling video games for home consoles included Tecmo Super Bowl (NES), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time (SNES), Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis), Super Mario Land 2 (Gameboy) and Batman Returns (Atari Lynx). While these games were heating up homes across America, these games were ruling the arcades: Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Knights of the Round and WWF WrestleFest!

The Dream Team won Gold in Barcelona

The greatest basketball team ever assembled hit the global stage during the 1992 Olympics from Barcelona. The team featured such NBA greats as Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Charles Barkley and for some reason Christian Laettner. The Dream Team won each of it's games by an average score of 43.8 points and beat Croatia to win the gold medal. 11 of the 12 players on the team were elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the team as a whole was inducted in 2010.

Superman fought Doomsday & Azrael was introduced by DC Comics

1992 saw saw Superman die in one of the best selling comic books of all-time Superman #75. 1992 also saw WildC.A.T.S. #1, Venom: Lethal Protector #1, Spawn #1 and Spider-Man 2099 #1 hit the comic racks.

Home Improvement was a top TV show

Home Improvement was barely beaten out by Roseanne as the top rated scripted show on television while news program 60 Minutes took the #1 overall position. Not far behind were such classics as Murphy Brown, Murder, She Wrote, Coach, Cheers and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Cartoon Network signed on for the first time

Cartoon Network launched on October 1st, 1992. The same month my Dodge Grand Caravan left the assembly line. The classic Bugs Bunny cartoon "Rhapsody Rabbit" was the first to air on the channel. Over the years Cartoon Network has brought us such quality programming as Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Dexter's Laboratory, Sealab 2021 and Ed, Edd & Eddy to name just a few. Enjoy some videos below from the early days of Cartoon Network in 1992.

Well, that's all folks. We've said our goodbyes to an amazing vehicle, looked back on the good times, now the only thing left to do is move on and look forward to the future. Hope you enjoyed this trip back to 1992 and the great things it brought us...like this AWESOME and somewhat reliable van. You will be missed!