The Chrysler Town & Country is an automobile manufactured by Chrysler from 1940 to 1942 and from 1945 to 1988, with production interrupted during World War II. Primarily produced as a luxury station wagon, the Town & Country was also available in "woodie" four-door sedan, two-door hardtop and convertible body styles from 1947 to 1950, 1968 to 1969, and 1983 to 1986. The 1988 model year was the last for the station wagon until the 1990 model year, when Chrysler reintroduced the Town & Country nameplate as the rebadged Town & Country minivan.

The Town & Country wagon was reintroduced with all-steel construction in 1951, in both Windsor and New Yorker variants until the end of Windsor model production for the 1960 model year, and then in Newport and New Yorker models through 1965. In 1966, it became a standalone model, with trim and features that bridged the gap between the two sedan lines. It was distinguished by luxury features including a carpeted rear cargo area with split-folding second row bench seats trimmed with chrome covered strips of steel, and from 1968 forward, simulated woodgrain paneling on the body sides and tailgate, a feature also associated with somewhat competitive top-shelf station wagons such as the AMC Ambassador, Buick Estate, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, Ford Country Squire and the Mercury Colony Park. In 1976, AMC introduced the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, with similar passenger accommodation and a simulated woodgrain appearance built on a dedicated chassis. The Town & Country, however, stood in a luxury class by itself until the last of the full-sized versions of 1977. In 1978, it was sized down and absorbed into the LeBaron series, with a lesser version lacking the more luxurious features and the woodgrain bodyside decals available for a few years in the early 1980s.

Chrysler reintroduced the Town & Country nameplate in 1989 as a luxury rebadged variant of the Dodge Grand Caravan/Plymouth Grand Voyager minivan for the 1990 model year. This incarnation of the Town & Country would continue to be sold until the end of the 2016 model year, when Chrysler reintroduced the Pacifica nameplate for their minivan for the 2017 model year.

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1941–1942

The four-door, eight-passenger Town & Country station wagon made its debut during the 1941 model year as Chrysler's first vehicle to offer wooden doors and body panels, or "woodie", with an all-steel roof. Using wood in vehicle production was not a new approach, as most cars built from the 1900s until the 1930s regularly used wood for body support, flooring, or structural uses. The car used the roof of the concurrent Chrysler Imperial limousine, which led to a rear-loading configuration with wooden double doors (also called "Barrel Back" doors) that opened out from the center beneath the fixed backlight (rear window). The wooden body framing was made from white ash, and the panels were Honduran mahogany veneer. The use of wood was not confined to exterior appearance, and carried over to the interior trunk lid and interior door panels as well. The wood panels were provided by Perkins Wood Products, and the owner's manual suggested that the wood panels be varnished every six months.

The name "Town & Country" was coined after another nameplate Chrysler offered for another six-passenger sedan, called the "Town Sedan", on the Windsor, Saratoga, and New Yorker product lines from 1941 to 1942.

It was introduced with the straight-six engine as an alternative to the Buick Estate, Oldsmobile Series 60, and Packard One-Ten woodie station wagons. This engine was installed in the Series C-28 Windsor, offering six or nine passenger accommodation with a six-cylinder engine, or the Series C-30 Saratoga, with the straight-eight engine and nine passenger accommodation (of which only one was specially requested for 1941). It was offered as a response to the eight-cylinder Buick Super and the Packard One-Twenty woodie station wagons. Prices listed for the six-cylinder Series C-28 Windsor wagon were US$1,492 ($ in dollars ). According to production totals of vehicles installed with the six-cylinder engine, 200 six-passenger wagons were made, and 797 nine-passenger wagons found buyers.

The 1942 Town & Country had a shortened production run due to the U.S.' entry into World War II. Less than 1,000 units had been produced since the vehicle's introduction a year earlier. The wagon that was installed with the straight-eight was moved to the New Yorker line from the previous Saratoga, with only one New Yorker Town & Country wagon specially manufactured, while the straight-six remained with the Windsor line. A total of 999 total wagons were made in six- and nine-passenger configurations.

1946–1950

After World War II, the Town & Country nameplate returned, though the 4-door 8-passenger station wagon did not. Only the 1946 4-door sedan and 2-door convertible were offered. However, the 1946 Town & Country sales brochure described and illustrated a roadster, a 2-door sedan called the Brougham, and a 2-door hardtop called the Custom Club Coupe. None of these three additional body styles progressed beyond the prototype stage, with only one Brougham and seven Custom Club Coupes being built. It would be another three years before General Motors would offer the first mass-produced 2-door hardtops, while the Town & Country range would not see a production 2-door hardtop until a year after that. The wooden body framing was made from white ash, and the panels were mahogany veneer, but were now bonded to steel body panels. The average retail price was listed at US$2,609 ($ in dollars ), and production totals were documented at 2,169.

For the 1947 model year, the Town & Country 4-door sedan and the 2-door convertible were each carried over with just a few improvements from the previous year.

The 1948 model year would be the last for the Town & Country 4-door sedan, after a three-year production run. The 2-door convertible carried over with very few improvements from the previous year. This was also the year the genuine Honduran mahogany wood panels were replaced by DI-NOC vinyl panels. A similar appearance sedan was also introduced in 1948, called the Packard Station Sedan, which resembled a sedan but had a two-piece tailgate constructed entirely of wood.

After a four-year production run, 1949 would be the last model year for the Town & Country 2-door convertible, which again received very few improvements from the previous year. Chrysler's 1949 models were the company's first to be designed after World War II, with a longer wheelbase (131.5 in), based upon the New Yorker.

The 1950 2-door Town & Country Newport hardtop was Chrysler's last true woodie offering, while the panels were now simulated. This year also marked the introduction of optional windshield washers, which are now a standard feature on all cars worldwide.

The 1950 Crosley Hot Shot is often given credit for the first production disc brakes, but the 1949 Chrysler Imperial Crown was actually the first to offer them as standard equipment. The Chrysler 4-wheel disc brake system was built by Auto Specialties Manufacturing Company (Ausco) of St. Joseph, Michigan, under patents of inventor H.L. Lambert, and was first tested on a 1939 Plymouth. Unlike the caliper disc, the Ausco-Lambert brake utilized twin expanding discs that rubbed against the inner surface of a cast-iron brake drum, which doubled as the brake housing. The Ausco-Lambert disc brake was complex, and because of the expense, the brakes were only standard on the Chrysler Imperial Crown through 1954 and the Town & Country Newport in 1950. They were optional, however, on other Chryslers, priced around $400 ($ in dollars ), at a time when a Crosley Hot Shot retailed for $935 ($ in dollars ).

1951–1959

After the woodie coupes, sedans, and convertibles were discontinued, the Town & Country nameplate was used on an all steel-bodied full-size rear wheel drive station wagon, coinciding with the debut of Chrysler's first V8 engine, which was originally called FireDome but later unofficially called HEMI. This wagon introduced several firsts, including roll-down rear windows for tailgates for 1951 and rear-facing third-row seats for 1957. It shared the chassis, engine, transmission and interior luxury features with the Chrysler Imperial, including a simulated leather and broadcloth upholstery. The previous generations' use of wood paneling bonded to the exterior steel body panels was discontinued due to durability and appearance upkeep issues, although it was still used on the DeSoto Firedome and Dodge Coronet. Production totals for the 1951 Windsor Town & Country were 1,967, while 1,299 Saratoga Town & Country and 251 New Yorker Town & Country were produced, with the New Yorker station wagon listed at US$4,026 ($ in dollars ). The Town & Country was luxurious and expensive and sold in limited numbers, averaging 1,900 each year for both the Windsor and New Yorker versions. The Windsor Deluxe sedan typically sold 64,000 and the New Yorker Deluxe sedan 34,000 each year, averaging US$2,660 ($ in dollars ) for the Windsor sedan and US$3,494 ($ in dollars ) for the New Yorker sedan.

The 1951 Town & Country wagons were offered in the Windsor, Saratoga, and New Yorker series, and featured split folding second row seats as standard equipment, with a hardwood-covered cargo area and chrome-covered steel load strips to aid in loading cargo, an appearance that remained for several decades. For 1955, Chrysler introduced the 2-speed PowerFlite automatic, a dashboard-installed "Finger-Tip" lever that replaced the steering column installed gear selector. In 1956, the 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic was introduced, with mechanically operated buttons to the left of the steering wheel as standard equipment until 1965. The New Yorker version was discontinued for 1952, but reappeared for 1953, when the Saratoga series was dropped.

For 1953, power windows, a heater and windshield defroster, windshield washer jets, power steering and power assist brakes were first installed on all Chryslers as optional equipment, with 41 different exterior color combinations. Two-speed windshield wipers also were installed as standard equipment, as well as directional turn signals and full floor carpeting. For 1954, "Air-Temp" air conditioning was offered as an option, along with "Solex" tinted windshield. 1955 saw a new appearance for Chrysler products, spearheaded by Virgil Exner and advertised as the "100-Million Dollar Look". This resulted in a longer, lower, wider stance that saw successful sales for Chrysler vehicles, including the Town & Country, while production totals were still modest for the luxury segment. The "Super-Scenic" wraparound windshield greatly improved outward visibility, and a power adjustable front bench seat was now optional along with wire spoke wheels.

Production totals for 1956 continued to be modest for both the Windsor and New Yorker variants of the Town & Country, averaging 2,700 for the Windsor and 1,070 for the New Yorker, with retail prices of US$3,598 ($ in dollars ) and US$4,523 ($ in dollars ) respectively. The Windsor version remained through 1960, and was moved to the Newport series for 1961. The new "Forward Look" was a sales success for Chrysler, but not for the Town & Country. By 1959, only 751 Windsor Town & Country vehicles were manufactured, while 444 New Yorker Town & Country vehicles had been built, with still expensive price tags of US$3,878 ($ in dollars ) and US$4,997 ($ in dollars ) respectively.

1960–1964