Chrysler Dodge minivan adhesive bonding problems (early-to-mid 1980s)

Early Dodge minivans (Iacocca era) were "a piece of junk" by 1985 from failed adhesive bonding. Used as the concrete example of the door-panel adhesive failure case.

I remember the Dodge minivan, which was the car that brought Chrysler back from bankruptcy the first time and made Lee Iacocca. By 1985, those early minivans were just a piece of junk, because of the adhesive bonding. That was partly because people were using water-soluble adhesives. It turns out we tend to use some of the lowest-cost materials for adhesives. We also use some of the highest-cost materials for adhesives — they go from less than ten cents a pound to about $400 a pound.