“Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?” “No, but I served in a company of heroes.” Richard Winters spoke these famous words in the interview that concluded the epic miniseries Band of Brothers, and on Veterans Day, they seem to be an appropriate way to introduce a vehicle that is not a classic but serves a company that serves classics. A Chevrolet Express van with the front end used from 2003 onward, it is far too new to be considered a classic, a status that it will not achieve for decades, if ever. It helps to keep Sweden’s American classics on the road, though, as a parts delivery truck for a company in Sweden that specializes in importing and distributing American auto parts. I find it reassuring to think that an American truck is part of the support system for the large American classic car hobby in Sweden.
I am going to miss the big, classic American van when it is gone. Dodge pulled out years ago, the Econoline is in its last days and this Chevy can’t be far behind.
I wonder where the Econoline and Express would be if 10% of the resources devoted to pickups had been shunted the way of these vans. As it is, there has been almost no development of them of any kind since they came out.
I realize that there is a batch of european-derived vans on the way here. They are probably quite good, but I will confess that there is something about the aesthetic of the european van that I just don’t get. So many creases, panel seams and such, and so little styling. I never cared that much for these Chevys, but they are starting to grow on me.
I don’t lament the passing of these things at all, JP. The GM van was always the worst of the lot. The engines and transmissions were okay: everything else was bad. Door hinges, for example, are a nightmare to replace on these vans. Things like door handles break off. Seats degrade easily. Electrical woes are common.
The Ford was the best since was more suitable to heavy use. However, the day of these vans is almost over. The high roof, European sourced vans can just take a whole lot more stuff inside. I’d be rather interested to know what it costs to run one of the new Dodge vans. Certainly the Sprinter has not been that fleet-friendly.
there really is big difference between the two? I always thought they were almost identical.
Big difference between what two? If you are referring to Ford vs GM then yeah the difference is huge and that is why they Ford has had more than 50% market share for ages. The new GM vans are much much better than their predecessor though.
I think many companies will seriously lament the passing of the Econoline. We will have to wait a decade or so to see if the new Transit can handle the abuse that an Econoline can. I have a gut feeling that Ford will loose significant market share with them. Total sales numbers will likely be even worse, at least for the first few years until the Transit proves itself, if it does. I see many companies just hanging on to the Econolines they have and spending the money to keep them going as long as they can.
I think that Dodge will have a particularly tough time selling their new Fiat van given the fact that it is FWD and how badly the Sprinter burned so many owners.
Transit is the world best selling van of all time the proof is there already,
The Ram ProMaster (=Fiat Ducato=Peugeot Boxer=Citroën Jumper) is a light-duty FWD van.
But remember there’s also something called an Iveco Daily. Body-on-frame, RWD and bigger (diesel) engines up to 210 hp. At some point it will get a Ram badge too I guess.
Here’s an Iveco Daily tractor, looks heavy-duty enough to me.
(Photo: Veldhuizen Wagenbouw)
Bryce, The current Econoline and the preceding one are the best and second best selling vans of all time. The Transit is the best selling van name plate of all time. Huge difference. Let me know when you find a Transit with a documented million plus miles on the original engine, transmission and even water pump, and this was not a babied van. If you look at the maintenance records you’ll see that there was one time when the oil was not changed for 55,000 miles, but mainly it was only changed between 10K and 20K or up to 4 times the recommended interval and he did not use synthetic oil. http://www.millionmilevan.com/
From a fleet operator’s point of view, it is pretty hard to beat an Econoline. It is cheap and about as complicated as a fence post. Yes, it consumes more fuel than a Sprinter, but any fleet operator knows fuel us usually one of the lower cost items. The real cost is depreciation and downtime. If your Econoline breaks, there are scads of guys who can get them going again in no time. They have really good body hardware and interior fittings. The front end is about as high-tech as a pitchfork and never needs any attention.
I for one will let others decide if the new Transit is a good van or not. All our Ford stuff is in good shape and we’ll not be needing another one for four or five years or so, which is enough time to see which of the new vans have the lowest operating costs. Since our West Coast stuff never rusts, we can keep it running indefinitely, since the parts are so cheap and easy to install. The prairie stuff has about another five-six years in it.
Bryce, I don’t think it is reasonable to assume the conditions you experience apply to everyone all over the globe.
Len, I suspect that many will do the same as you and let others be the guinea pig for the Transit and Promaster or if they really need a new van buy a GM. Sure the current GM is not quite as good as an Econoline but it isn’t as far behind as they used to be.
I’m hearing that Ford will still produce the E-series, at least in commercial versions, for awhile yet. Perhaps there are still a few Ford executives that remember what happened when they finally quit building C-series trucks and expected a truck designed for conditions in Brazil or someplace to fill the need. I hope the Transit works out, but we won’t be buying any for some time yet.
Sort of surprised to see that the Sprinter has such a bad rep in the US. May be partly due to an insufficient dealer network and parts supply (new car with a fuzzy start after all: Freightliner, Dodge, Mercedes). But the Van is the means of transportation of choice in all but the least developed regions of Europe and Northern Africa: people hauling, taxis, ambulances, fire fighting, construction, campers and a lot more. Rust prone, yes (at least they used to be), but it could not have been so succesfull if reliability and repairability had been a major issue. Ukranian and Turkish minibus drivers, as do German courriers, know what they need to succeed.
Here’s an interesting quirk of the current Express: I rented one from Enterprise last year and was shocked to find that it had a “manumatic” mode selectable on the column shifter (for the 4-speed automatic transmission). You don’t move the shifter up and down or anything, it just has + and – buttons on the end of the stalk. Weird, but I thought it was cool!
+and- buttons are used on Eaton Fuller roadranger transmissions for manual mode these days its the way the world has gone and it never misses a gear.
That’s a cool looking delivery vehicle, and it must stand out over there. I also noticed the piece of crap General Motors u -body minivan right behind it.
You may find it hard to believe that those GM minivans, with both Pontiac and Chevy badges, are VERY popular over there. They bombed in the US but appear to have found a niche in Europe, especially in Sweden. I would have done a CC on them, but no one would consider a Pontiac/Chevrolet Trans Sport to be a “classic,” so I did not.
I’m not American, I’m Canadian, but I don’t like it when private companies
bastardize a national flag to create a logo for themselves.
Whether it’s the American flag, or any other flag. It cheapens the national symbol to sell their product.
Be creative and create a unique logo design that pehaps looks American,
but doesn’t cheapen the flag or take it’s concept so directly.
It’s certainly not respectful or original.
Each star does represent a state… I don’t know how many half-baked stars
are located on this van… and some are cut by door handles.
The Union Jack has unfortunately perhaps been the most abused this way.
I wish they’d try harder to be original!
Kind of the way I feel about fish decals incorporated into the graphics of every other plumber’s or electrician’s vehicle…at least that’s how it seems when I’m in the Bible Belt.
Love it.
Not nit-picking at all, but Major Winters said that as a quote from Mike Rainey, who was also initially in Easy Company. Not trying to take anything away from the message or Major Winters. Just thought I would mention it.
As a side note, today especially, everybody out there should watch Band of Brothers at least once. Thank you Veterans!
I was waiting for someone to correct me on that detail — hoping, actually. I knew that I was over-simplifying for the sake of not seeming pedantic, and was hoping that people remember Band of Brothers well 12 years later. I second your admonition to watch the series again today.
My 1998 Express Choo Choo Conversion (with the shorter nose than the above pictured example) is a classic to me! Great fun to drive and lotsa memories for an old “Fishbowl” operator.
As a courier driver for the past 11 years, I’d have to say, for performance, ride, and comfort, I would prefer the Chev Express/GMC Savanna full size vans. The Sprinters were a maintenance headache, and the three we had were quickly disposed off after hitting 100k and experiencing nagging issues. However, there are still Ford Econoline vans that had over 200k miles on their chassis in 2001that are still working our city streets M-F.