Ford Windstar

The Ford Windstar was a minivan produced and sold by the Ford Motor Company from 1995 to 2003. When it was introduced to the market, the Windstar was a replacement for the Ford's first minivan, the Aerostar, and for the 2004 model year it was replaced by the Freestar. All Windstars were built in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

It was available with 3.0L and a 3.8L V6 engines. The smaller 3.0L engine was discontinued with the 2000 model year.

When the Windstar premiered in 1995, the only available engine was a 3.8L V6 which produced just 155hp (116kW). Only a barebones model was available for the first year, but a more luxurious model followed for 1996. This year, the 3.0L 150hp (112kW) Vulcan V6 was made the base engine, with the 3.8 upgraded to 200hp (149kW).

During its years on the market, the Windstar received two major changes of its design. In 1999, the vehicle was redesigned, making it look more modern and sporty. The grille was also changed into a grid array and the window posts between the front and side doors were hidden. In 2001 Ford refreshed the Windstar once again by changing the grille, using a tighter array of smaller rectangles.

The original project code name for the Windstar was WIN88, which stood for "wagon, intermediate, North America". Some say that the code name inspired the Windstar name. Subsequent freshenings of the vehicle for 1999 and 2001 model years used VN (for "van, North America") nomenclature.

The Windstar was replaced by the Ford Freestar. Although Ford claims the Freestar is "all new", it is essentially an updated Windstar. Although the name has changed, this is the Gen 3 version of this platform.