A
full size van is a
marketingMarketing is an integrated communications-based process through which individuals and communities are informed or persuaded that existing and newly-identified needs and wants may be satisfied by the products and services of others....
term used in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
for a
vanA 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...
larger than a
minivanA minivan, multi-purpose vehicle , people-carrier, people-mover or multi-utility vehicle is a type of automobile similar in shape to a van that is designed for personal use...
, that is characterized by a large boxy appearance, a short hood, and very heavy cargo/passenger hauling capacity. In recent times they consistently feature a
powertrainIn a motor vehicle, the term powertrain or powerplant refers to the group of components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the engine, transmission, driveshafts, differentials, and the final drive...
of a
V8 engineA V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
,
automatic transmissionAn automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
and rear wheel drive.
They largely replaced the
compact vanA compact van is a type of van characterized by a flat front design, mechanicals based on a compact car, an engine placed either at the rear or between and behind the front seats and were roughly the same size as the VW Bus. Popular in the United States during the early 1960s, they were replaced by...
s which were introduced in the early 1960s to compete with the
Volkswagen bus-Light commercial vehicles:One of five generations of Volkswagen vans:*Volkswagen Type 2 , generation T1 *Volkswagen Type 2 , generation T2 *Volkswagen Type 2 , generation T3...
, based on compact car components.
The first full size van was the 1969
Ford EconolineThe Ford E-Series, formerly known as the Econoline or Club Wagon, is a line of full-size vans and truck chassis from the Ford Motor Company. The E-Series is related to the Ford F-Series line of pickup trucks. The line was introduced in 1961 as a compact van and its descendants are still produced...
, which used components from the
F-SeriesThe F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford Motor Company sold for over five decades. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150. It was the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 23 years and has been the best-selling truck for 31 years, though this does not...
pickups.
A
full size van is a
marketingMarketing is an integrated communications-based process through which individuals and communities are informed or persuaded that existing and newly-identified needs and wants may be satisfied by the products and services of others....
term used in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
for a
vanA 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...
larger than a
minivanA minivan, multi-purpose vehicle , people-carrier, people-mover or multi-utility vehicle is a type of automobile similar in shape to a van that is designed for personal use...
, that is characterized by a large boxy appearance, a short hood, and very heavy cargo/passenger hauling capacity. In recent times they consistently feature a
powertrainIn a motor vehicle, the term powertrain or powerplant refers to the group of components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the engine, transmission, driveshafts, differentials, and the final drive...
of a
V8 engineA V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
,
automatic transmissionAn automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
and rear wheel drive.
They largely replaced the
compact vanA compact van is a type of van characterized by a flat front design, mechanicals based on a compact car, an engine placed either at the rear or between and behind the front seats and were roughly the same size as the VW Bus. Popular in the United States during the early 1960s, they were replaced by...
s which were introduced in the early 1960s to compete with the
Volkswagen bus-Light commercial vehicles:One of five generations of Volkswagen vans:*Volkswagen Type 2 , generation T1 *Volkswagen Type 2 , generation T2 *Volkswagen Type 2 , generation T3...
, based on compact car components.
The first full size van was the 1969
Ford EconolineThe Ford E-Series, formerly known as the Econoline or Club Wagon, is a line of full-size vans and truck chassis from the Ford Motor Company. The E-Series is related to the Ford F-Series line of pickup trucks. The line was introduced in 1961 as a compact van and its descendants are still produced...
, which used components from the
F-SeriesThe F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford Motor Company sold for over five decades. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150. It was the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 23 years and has been the best-selling truck for 31 years, though this does not...
pickups. General Motors and
DodgeThe Dodge B-Series was a full-size van marketed under the Dodge brand by the Chrysler Corporation and later DaimlerChrysler...
would follow suit with designs with the engines placed even farther forward, and succeeding generations of the Econoline would also introduce longer hoods.
The market is wholly dominated nowadays by the
Ford E-SeriesThe Ford E-Series, formerly known as the Econoline or Club Wagon, is a line of full-size vans and truck chassis from the Ford Motor Company. The E-Series is related to the Ford F-Series line of pickup trucks. The line was introduced in 1961 as a compact van and its descendants are still produced...
and
Chevrolet ExpressThe Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana are full-size vans from General Motors. They replaced the Chevrolet Van and GMC Vandura in 1996. The Express and Savana currently hold 44.8% of the full-size van market in the United States, just behind rival Ford's E-Series. The Express outsells the Savana by...
/ GMC Savana.