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2026 Chevrolet Tahoe ReviewOur Favorite Panel Vans Through the Years
Though purpose-built today, many of our favorite cars throughout history have had a panel van version at one time or another.
A Panoply of Panel Vans
Today, panel vans are built for that dedicated purpose. So much so that Ford Transits, Ram ProMasters, and Mercedes-Benz Sprinters all look a bit odd in their fleet passenger form, that is, with windows rather than panels in the back. And while each of these purpose-built vans are great at what they do (including serving as excellent overlanding platforms), there’s just not a ton of variety. You’ve got a choice between a white bread box on wheels or…you get the idea.
The homogeneous panel vans of today stand in stark contrast to those of yesteryear when many of your favorite automotive models had a panel van or sedan delivery version so the plumbers, electricians, and milkmen of the world could roll in relative style.
Early Panel Vans
Panel vans go back to the early days of the automobile. The Ford Model A has possibly the most extensive list of body styles of any car ever produced. Among the dozens of choices, convertible, sedan, roadster, pickup, Phaeton, and Victoria, you could of course get your Model A ordered as a wood-paneled delivery van.
The Chevrolet Suburban is one of the longest-running nameplates of all time. The design of the Suburban began as a depot hack, a vehicle ferrying passengers and luggage around train stations. So, it makes sense that for six generations, one of the Suburban’s two principal body styles was a panel van. Indeed, the entire run from 1935 through 1972, when the Suburban was exclusively a two-door affair, you could get it as a panel van. Though as the Suburban grew in height over the decades, so did the load floor, not always ideal for your work-a-day van.
‘50s & ‘60s Panel Vans
Panel van iterations became increasingly common in the post-war automotive boom of the 1950s. Often, panel van versions were added to the body style choices of entry-level cars, basically converting the station wagon version with paneling rather than windows or rear doors (many station wagons of the time were already built with two doors, like the Suburban).
Some of our favorite panel vans come from this era. The Ford Courier was Ford’s dedicated sedan delivery for most of the 1950s and was based on their full-size two-door station wagon, the Ford Ranch Wagon (itself part Ford’s basic full-size line that included the Fairlane).
Of course, Chevrolet had their versions of panel vans and sedan delivery vans as well. You can go with pre-war designs from the late 1940s and early ‘50s Chevy Deluxe or post-war designs with the next-generation Chevy cars like the Delray. As noted above, the sedan delivery/panel van version was built from the lower model line like the Delray versus higher-end versions like the Bel-Air, upon which the station wagon version was based. (Wagons, especially wood-paneled wagons, were often the top-of-the-line offerings in the 1950s.)
Possibly the most adorable of sedan delivery iterations from the 1950s is the Nash Rambler which offered a two-door sedan delivery from 1950 through 1955. The Rambler’s 100-inch wheelbase presaged compact cars getting into the sedan delivery business two decades later (as we’ll see). The body style did carry over to the Rambler American post-merger, after Nash and Hudson combined to create AMC in 1956. The new Rambler American debuted for the 1958 model year with a two-door sedan delivery to compliment the two-door wagon and two- and four-door sedans.
Like the Suburban, the Volkswagen Type 2 began in the late 1940s as a work vehicle and grew into its role as a people mover during development. Indeed, the Volkswagen Type 2 offered three body styles, the microbus, a flat-bed pickup, and a panel van. Despite its size, the Type 2 Transporter shared the same basic architecture as the VW Beetle, an air-cooled flat-four mounted far in the back. The engine position and forward seating position gave the Type 2 Transporter panel van an impressively expansive cargo area of 162 cu.-ft.
Sedan Deliveries of the ‘70s
As you may have guessed, with the diminishing popularity of the station wagon, wagon-based panel vans grew scarcer through the 1960s and ‘70s. But the concomitant rise of the compact car saw a return of smaller sedan delivery body styles, this time modifying and paneling newly ubiquitous hatchbacks.
Two examples, the Chevy Vega and Ford Pinto, share both a spotty record of recalls and charming sedan delivery versions. From 1971 through ’77, the Vega’s sedan delivery was a paneled variation of the Kammback which, despite its Vega-ness, was a very cool-looking Euro-style shooting brake wagon.
The Ford Pinto got very similar treatment. Not only did the Pinto get a panel van/sedan delivery version, but its “Cruising Wagon” version of 1977 and ’78 sported portholes in its rear panels just like full-size vans of the same era.
Retro Panel Vans?!
Panel van versions of regular cars had long been out of vogue by the advent of the 21st century, which made it the perfect time to reintroduce their retro style. The Chevrolet HHR directly channeled the styling and practicality of the third-generation Suburban, from the rounded fenders and Art Deco grille to the mix of wagon and panel van body styles. Produced from 2006 to 2011, the Chevy HHR defied convention and critics to post impressive sales numbers including a robust fleet business for the panel van version. The similarly retro Plymouth PT Cruiser got the panel van treatment with the “Panel Cruiser” concept featured at the 2000 Detroit Auto Show.
While today’s panel vans have indisputable utility, it’s hard not to miss the additional style and panache of the panel vans and sedan deliveries of yesteryear.
