The Ford VX54 platform was a mid-size minivan platform developed by a joint venture with American automaker, Ford Motor Company and Japanese automaker, Nissan Motors. The platform was specifically developed in 1993 for production of the Mercury Villager and Nissan Quest. The goal was to market a smaller and more stylish minivan that was comfortable and more family-oriented. The minivans were designed to be in between the sizes of Chrysler's Dodge Caravan and Dodge Grand Caravan. It is a modified version of the J30 Nissan Maxima platform[citation needed].