Minivan different from Van
Etymology
The term minivan originated in both North America and in the United Kingdom in 1959. In the UK, the Minivan was a small van manufactured by Austin and based on the newly introduced Mini car. In the US, the term was used in order to differentiate the smaller passenger vehicles from full-size vans (such as the Ford E-Series, Dodge Ram Van, and Chevrolet Van), which were then simply called 'vans'.The first known use of the term was in 1959, but not until the 1980s was it commonly used.