A panel van (or panelvan) is a form of van A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people. It is usually a box-shaped vehicle on four wheels, about the same width and length as a large automobile, but taller and usually higher off the ground, also referred to as a light commercial vehicle or LCV. However, in North America, the term may be used to refer to any; in some national usages it is distinct from a purpose-designed van in that it is based on a family car An automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the chassis A chassis (pronounced /ˈʃæsi, ˈtʃæsi/) consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the under part of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame (on which the body is mounted) with the wheels and machinery; elsewhere in the world it applies to any solid (rigid-bodied, non-articulated) van, smaller than a lorry or truck (although the latter is also a vague definition), without rear side windows — in this usage the term is fairly interchangeable with simply "van". Indeed, in this latter case it tends to imply a vehicle larger than one based on a passenger car.
Panel vans are widely used in many parts of the world for transporting cargo. In places where they are distinct from a "van" per se, they have less cargo space but better agility and maneuverability, making them particularly suited for cities with narrow streets and/or heavy traffic. Every major European Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the car manufacturer has a panel van in their line-up; these models used to be modified versions of existing passenger cars, such as the Citroën Visa The Citroën Visa is a supermini that was produced by the French car marque Citroën from 1978 to 1988-based Citroën C15 The Citroën C15 is a panel van produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1984 until 2005. It was the successor the Citroen 2cv and Citroen Dyane vans that pioneered the box van format from the 1950s to the 1980s or the SEAT Ibiza The SEAT Ibiza is a car constructed and marketed in the European supermini class, sold under the Spanish SEAT marque-based SEAT Inca The SEAT Inca is a panel van, manufactured between 1995 and 2003. It was designed and assembled in Spain by SEAT, S.A., and based upon the SEAT Ibiza Mk2 , with which it shared its chassis and front body panels. Its VW stablemate was badge-engineered with the name Volkswagen Caddy, and was identical in every respect apart from some (easily. This format was pioneered from the 1950s by the Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1948 to 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with extremely utilitarian and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer quality of its underlying engineering. It was designed to move the French peasantry on from horses Camionette and the Morris Minor The Morris Minor was a British motor car aimed at the family market. It was the work of a team led by Alec Issigonis, who would go on to design the successful Mini. The Minor was launched at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. The prototype had been known as the Morris Mosquito, and some later models were called Morris Minor 1.
However, since the introduction of the Citroën Berlingo in 1996, it has become common for these vehicles to have a specific styling and structure, even if they may share chassis, powertrain or other components with passenger cars of the same brand. Examples of this new wave of panel vans are the Renault Kangoo The Renault Kangoo and Kangoo Express are panel van and leisure activity vehicle produced by French automaker Renault since 1997. The Kangoo is manufactured in the MCA plant in Maubeuge, France, and in Santa Isabel, Argentina. It is also sold by Nissan in Latin America and Europe as the Kubistar (1997), the Fiat Doblò The Fiat Doblò is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle produced by Italian automaker Fiat since 2001. It was first launched to the public in Holland, and received the "2006 International Van of the Year" award by an international jury from 19 countries. In Singapore, a 1.4-litre LAV variant is marketed as the Fiat Panorama in 5 and 7 (2001), Opel Combo (2001), Ford Transit Connect The Ford Transit Connect is a compact panel van developed by Ford Europe and manufactured by Ford Otosan, designed by Peter Horbury and introduced in 2002 to replace the older Ford Escort and Fiesta-based Courier van ranges, which had ceased production in the same year (2003) or the Volkswagen Caddy Released in 1980, the first Volkswagen Caddy is a light pickup truck, and van based on the Volkswagen Group A1 platform, shared with the small family car Volkswagen Golf Mk1 (2004). They are also purpose designed to be utilitarian base model MPVs / people carriers, for a range of such vehicles.
Panel vans were also especially popular with younger car buyers in Australia For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by the British during the 1970s.
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Australian panel vans
In Australia, panel vans were a development of the Australian "ute The coupé utility automobile body style, also known colloquially as the ute in Australia and New Zealand, combines a two-door "coupé" cabin with an integral cargo bed behind the cabin—using a light-duty passenger vehicle-derived platform" (a variety of pickup A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area (bed) which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads.[citation needed] also based on a car chassis). By the late 1980s, they began to slowly disappear from Australian roads as demand fell and major manufacturers slowly ceased building them.
Most utes usually had an option of metal, then later rigid plastic, shells that would fit over the back of the tray of the ute, thereby extending the vertical space drivers could store in the tray, usually to just above the existing roofline of the passenger cab. Later shells offered plastic windows for ventilation along the sides and even pop-out or swing-out windows at the rear to aid the driver's rear vision. These were eventually integrated into the body of the ute itself to form a hybrid vehicle that, while based on a ute body, offered more rear space than a conventional station wagon with its rear seats folded down. These became known to the Australian public essentially as panel vans.
Initial models were fitted at the rear with swing-down and -up doors (like utes), but later models came equipped with "barn-door" configurations that opened out to the sides of the vehicle, rather than down, aiding the loading of bulky freight into the vehicle without (as badly) damaging the body. Passengers could climb from the interior passenger cab into the cargo bay behind them easily. Later the installation of safety cages which segregated passengers from the cargo area became popular to prevent freight from the back sliding into the passenger cab (and potentially injuring the driver).
The first panel vans were manufactured by Holden GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery business, but later moved into the automotive field, becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931. Holden has taken charge of vehicle operations for GM in Australasia and, on behalf of GM, and Ford Ford Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA. Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights to Ford in British Empire countries (excepting the UK) to Canadian in the late 1950s, but didn't become popular until the mid-1960s. By the early 1970s, usually when based on the Holden Kingswood The Holden Kingswood was a range of full-size cars manufactured by General Motors-Holden's, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors . Replacing the Holden Special in 1968, the Kingswood came in utility, panel van (for 1976-1980 HX and HZ Holden only), sedan and station wagon body styles. Model-wise the range comprised of the entry-level and Ford Falcon The Ford Falcon is a full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960. Each model from the XA series of 1972 onward has been designed, developed and built in Australia, following the phasing out of the American Falcon of 1960-71 which had been re-engineered locally for the harsher Australian conditions. As a result of the model of the time, panel vans had become Australian cultural icons. The Holden Sandman is probably the best-remembered of these: for example, one of the vehicles driven by Mel Gibson Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art in the 1979 movie Mad Max Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy. The film's starring role is played by the then relatively unknown Mel Gibson. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story of breakdown of society, murder and vengeance. It became a top-grossing was thought to be either a Sandman or a customised Kingswood panel van (apparently a 1975 HJ model in both cases). Ford panel vans (known briefly as Sundowners) were also popular, to a lesser degree. Chrysler Chrysler Group LLC is a U.S.-based automobile manufacturer headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler AG (now Daimler AG). Prior to 1998, Chrysler Corporation traded also came to the party in 1976, offering a CL model Valiant panel van dubbed the Chrysler Drifter, but these could not compete with the popularity of Ford and particularly Holden, and were axed in 1978.
Younger drivers were especially attracted to panel vans, for reasons such as the ease with which a mattress could be installed within the cargo bay. Consequently, panel vans also attracted nicknames such as "sin bins," "shaggin' wagons," "mobile virgin conversion units", "screw canoes," "Scooby-Doo Scooby-Doo! is an animated series produced for Saturday morning television in several different versions from 1969 to the present. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, CBS executive Fred Silverman, and character designer Iwao Takamoto. Hanna-Barbera produced mobiles" after the Mystery Machine of the Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. (also known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, H-B Enterprises or Hanna-Barbera Studios) is an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century. The company was originally formed in 1957 by former Metro Goldwyn Mayer animation directors William Hanna and animated cartoons, and "fuck trucks." This kind of activity was frequently carried out at the local Drive-in_theater A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. The screen can be as simple as a wall that is painted white, or it can be a complex steel truss structure with a complex finish. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies During the 1970s it also became fashionable to decorate the exterior sides with murals painted with intricate detail. As well as the Kombi VW, these were very popular with surfers (or wanna-be's), as it was convenient to carry boards etc. in the back.
Australian police forces also purchased fleets of panel vans to use in a black maria, or paddywagon, role.
Painters, electricians, and general labourers also found panel vans ideal for their trades, as the cargo bay offering extended capacity otherwise wasted in passenger space, and a highly customisable interior, without the bulk or extended dimensions of other longer-base vans.
The final production of Holden's Sandman series, the HZ model, featured a choice of V8 engines only, along with a four-headlight grille and under bumper front spoiler. According to a GMH Price List dated 25 January 1979, a basic HZ Holden panel van was priced at AU$6,076, with the Sandman option package an additional AU$1,700. The further optional components also included 5.0 litre V8 engine and a limited slip differential. If a buyer selected every Sandman extra, the price would be more than 150% of the cost of the basic HZ model. By the end of 1979, the Sandman had largely lost its place in the contemporary Australian youth culture - order figures were down and many of the vehicles were now being sold with the stripes and tailgate logos deleted. The Sandman ute was phased out of production prior to the van, the last of which was manufactured in October 1979.
The popularity of panel vans waned in the 1980s. Holden's last release was their WB model. Subsequently, Ford became the sole manufacturer of them until 1997, when the XH model was released. This was to prove the last entry in the history of the Australian panelvan. In 2003, Holden released a new Sandman, based on their Holden VU Ute of the time. This Sandman was a show car and were never released, and while they were identified (and marketed) as panel vans, they still retained the rear window and firewall of the ute they were originally based on, preventing movement between the cargo bay and the passenger cab, as offered by traditional panel vans.
Shazam Bodies have re-released the Panel Van for the Ford Falcon. They have one model in production plus a new model on the way and due for production in mid April 2007.
See also
- Car body style Cars can come in a large variety of different body styles. Some are still in production, while others are of historical interest only. These styles are largely independent of a car's classification in terms of price, size and intended broad market; the same car model might be available in multiple body styles (or model ranges). For some of the
- Light commercial vehicle Light commercial vehicles or category N1 is the formal term in the European Union for commercial carrier vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of up to 3.5 tonnes
- Van A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people. It is usually a box-shaped vehicle on four wheels, about the same width and length as a large automobile, but taller and usually higher off the ground, also referred to as a light commercial vehicle or LCV. However, in North America, the term may be used to refer to any
- Panel truck
- Sedan delivery (aka 'car-derived van')
- Pickup truck A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area (bed) which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads.[citation needed]
References
External links
- Shazam Panel van bodies
- Australian Panel Van site
- Holden Sandman Technical details, including model-by-model identification
Categories: Car body styles
Van Helsing
Mon, 05 Apr 2010 03:32:21 GM
April 4, 2010. Hidden in ObamaCare: 6000-Man Domestic Army. Posted by . Van. Helsing at April 4, 2010 7:32 PM. Judge Napolitano reveals that among the horrors hidden in ObamaCare is a 6000-man domestic army: ... The dipstick sitting on the far right of that . panel. was about to make me reach into the screen and strangle him. The progressives (I'm assuming he his vis a vis his remarks) are either so entranced (still) with His Holiness or so intent on destroying the Republic ...
Q. I have a '94 Chevy g-20 conversion van, and the window motors have burned out on both sides. I have the new motors, but the door panel seems to be impossible to get off! Any help?
Asked by Brandon T - Tue Apr 24 15:56:45 2007 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments
A. That's kind of a tough one to answer with any certainty. Conversion companies all did things differently. Some used their own door panels, some modified the GM panels, etc. Take out every visible fastener, arm rests, etc, and you should just be left with trim clips holding the panel to the door. Use a trim tool to pop all the clips loose from the door.
Answered by McLaren - Tue Apr 24 16:25:38 2007
