Vans

Podcast Episode: 0203
How long have Vans been around?

   You may never want to own one, but if you need to move lots of stuff, they are the best vehicle for the job.  Vans may not be your first choice for personal transportation, but they have been around longer than the any other segment.  Follow AutoLooks as we take a look at the history of the Van marketplace. 

    Vans. Love them. Hate them. It doesn’t matter, we all have our preference.  But what if we told you that Vans are one of the oldest and most useful forms of transportation on the road.  You might think we are crazy, but really they are.  Vans have been around since the days of the stagecoach and due to their intake volume are one of the most useful forms of transportation on the market.
​
   Now I know what you are going to say and we hear you.  We’re just not that into vans as they are big, bulky and bland looking.  But just remember they deliver products, maintain your home and help you truck your entire family to the beach.  Yes, vans are a great asset to modern living and in the world of tomorrow, they will still be here.

​   From their humble beginnings as stagecoaches, the van has lived one illustrious life.  Being that it is the only product within the automotive world that has not had evolve much.  Sure, we do have different variations of them now, but really they are still the same cargo hauling products that once brought you your daily milk.  But why haven’t they had to evolve like everyone else.  Well that is a good question in deed.
​
   Back during the early days of the automobile, the van was cargo hauling mule used to move around products which required protection from the elements.  This was true of its earliest forms as well as it was in 1829 when the term began use as a single stagecoach travelling on its own.  It wasn’t part of a Caravan, so then it must be a van on its own.  From there we moved into the world of the automobile and the desire to move products.  As transport trucks were only common place within the city, a need for rural cargo handling was required.  This was mostly done by horse and buggy, but that all changed when the internal combustion engine came along. 

​   After the advent of the internal combustion engine, the van was able to move around more quickly and easily.  And unlike its transport cousin, the van was nimble enough to squeeze into any space an automobile could.  This made the van more versatile as a city runabout and short haul rural delivery vehicle.  But after WWI the rural delivery was being encroached by the transport truck field as they could now traverse the better built roadways of the times.  That wasn’t enough to deter the van from moving on as the standard city runabout as transports were still too large to navigate old city roads.

   As the times changed and the roads got better the van found itself with less cargo work to handle and after WWII it found a new market to enter as suburbanism took the world by storm.  This suburban marketplace was a place where a van could work as it could be retrofitted with seats, tables, beds and even kitchette’s.  Low and behold the camper van is born and once again the van had found its place within modern society.  This was not be short lived as Volkswagen was about to change the marketplace and the face of the van market forever.
​
   The war had just ended and the Beetle was unleashed upon the world, but it needed a partner in crime.  As the Beetle was too small to meet the demands of the middle to upper class consumers of the time, Volkswagen needed something a bit bigger.  And in 1949 they unleashed the Beetle’s counterpart the Microbus.  This new product will help fill a need within the market place as Volkswagen didn’t have a wagon yet.  And we all know that consumers of the 50’s loved their wagons.  But the Microbus wasn’t just any van, it was smaller than its rivals, but in no way was it less versatile and as time went on the Microbus found its way into every corner of the automotive world.

​   As the 50’s gave way to the 60’s the van market seemed rather stale as it there were very few product offerings.  This could be due to the fact that most people did prefer to have a wagon to truck their family around in.  But as the music culture and free love and peace movement changed the world during the 60’s, so did the van market as they were right there behind them.  Vans could be seen busing 60’s rockers around or brining surfers to the beach.  The van was there and it was not only in the background it was front and center during some the decade’s most memorable moments.  With a rise in exposure to the van culture and now a rise in the aftermarket world, the van culture was about to receive its most shocking revelation ever.

​   The 70’s were a time when you had to be there to experience it.  If not, then you don’t know what you are talking about.  So, for us we don’t know what really happened, but we can tell you about how the aftermarket world forever changed the van market.  With shag carpeting, mini bars and mag wheels everywhere it was just a matter of time before the van market got into the action as well.  And did it ever as the 70’s and early 80’s were the biggest times for commercial success of the cargo van.   This was due to the rise of the aftermarket world and the ability to turn your van into a home on wheels.  And not only did this turn around the van market, it even helped spawn the first ever custom factory vans from the big three.  Yes, they all had their own versions of those sweet shag carpeted rides and everyone wanted one.  If you don’t believe us then go ask someone who was around during the 70’s if they knew someone with a van and if it had a bed in it.  You’ll be surprised by your answers.
​
    Of course the good times couldn’t last forever and by the mid-80’s the van train had fizzled out.  People moving on with their families and the introduction of the minivan had changed the face of the van market.  It would soon prove to be the most beneficial change to the segment, but that was not before one last hurray from the cargo vans.  

   Cargo vans were moving into the mainstream again as cargo haulers and were soon to become a mainstay for commercial businesses.  They had always been there, but over the years they did compete with trucks and wagons.  But wagons were too large and low for most contractors and trucks weren’t covered.  So, what were companies to do?  Move back into vans, and they did and in large numbers.  And thanks to the introduction of the minivan they had a two prong advantage over other segments.
​
   As the minivan entered the market, the large cargo vans had to move on and so did the wagons of the time as the minivan was winning the suburban battle.  Once again the van was the main choice for family hauling and by the mid-90’s it seemed like it was the only choice for your family.  But this was soon about to change as the world started to see the downside to owing a minivan and with a low price of fuel, the SUV was about to take the family crown from the van market.

   By the early 00’s the minivan market was already starting to feel the pinch of the SUV craze and even with a few extra introductions to the segment like the microvan (Mazda 5) it was still not enough to save it. SUV’s were the new family hauler and vans were back on their way out.  But what about the cargo van market.  This too was feeling the pinch due to low fuel prices and the introduction of the family truck.  Guess things are about to end for one of the oldest segments in the automotive world.  But this would soon change as by the late 00’s the price of fuel would skyrocket, making trucks more expensive to operate within a fleet.  Great news for vans, but it was a short lived win.
​
   Don’t feel sad as the van has once again come back to life as fuel prices bounce around and companies are once again seeing the upside to fleet ownership of vans.  They still have more enclosed interior room than trucks and nowadays you find that most manufactures have a 4X4 or AWD option.  This helps with those back wood’s calls.

   Nowadays we find ourselves once again calling on the van market to save us as we are now purchasing more products online.  This market has caused a boom to the cargo van market and before long hailing companies like Uber and Lyft will be looking at potential van counterparts for their fleets.  Just remember that vans are easier to enter and exit compared to their CUV counterparts.  This will help them live on into the future as the main mode of commuter transportation.  Of course this will only happen when the sustainable fuel market moves into the van world as it is doing now with the EQV from Mercedes.

    So if you have ever thought that Vans don’t have a place in your heart, just remember that they do more for you than you think.  And as we move towards the future of tomorrow, I’m glad to say that vans will be joining us on this automotive journey as they whisk around the neighborhood with our new products.  Of course that may be with the help of drones.

Everett J.
​#autolooks