A panel van (or panelvan) is a form of van, usually one based on a family car chassis. The Renault Kangoo and Kangoo Express are Panel van and Leisure activity vehicle produced by French automaker Renault since 1997 A van is a kind of vehicle used for Transporting goods or groups of people A chassis (plural "chassis" (ˈʃæːsiː ˈtʃæːsiː consists of a framework that supports an inanimate object analogous to an Animal 's
Panel vans are widely used in many parts of the world for transporting goods. Compared with a traditional van, they have less cargo space but a much better agility and manoeuvrability, making them particularly suited for cities with narrow streets and/or heavy traffic. Every major European 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-based Citroën C15 or the SEAT Ibiza-based SEAT Inca. The Citroën Visa is a supermini that was produced by the French car marque Citroën from 1978 to 1988 The Citroën C15 is a Panel van produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1984 until 2005 The SEAT Ibiza is a supermini manufactured by the Volkswagen Group and sold under the SEAT Marque. The SEAT Inca was a Panel van designed and assembled in Spain and based upon the SEAT Ibiza Mk2 with which it shared platform and front body However, since the introduction of the Renault Kangoo in 1997, 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. The Renault Kangoo and Kangoo Express are Panel van and Leisure activity vehicle produced by French automaker Renault since 1997 Examples of this new wave of panel vans are the Citroën Berlingo, the Fiat Doblò or the Ford Transit Connect. The Citroën Berlingo is a Panel van and Leisure activity vehicle produced by the French manufacturer Citroën since 1996 The Fiat Doblò is a Panel van and Leisure activity vehicle produced by Italian automaker Fiat since 2001 The Ford Transit Connect is a compact Panel van developed by Ford Europe and introduced in 2002
Panel vans were also especially popular with younger car buyers in Australia during the 1970s. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970.
Australian panel vans
In Australia, panel vans were a development of the Australian ute (a variety of pickup also based on a car chassis). GM Holden Ltd is an Australian automaker based in Port Melbourne Victoria. 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 A pickup truck is a light Motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling A pickup truck is a light Motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling 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 and Ford in the late 1950s, but didn't become popular until the mid-1960s. GM Holden Ltd is an Australian automaker based in Port Melbourne Victoria. 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 The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 By the early 1970s, usually when based on the Holden Kingswood and Ford Falcon model of the time, panel vans had become Australian cultural icons. The Holden Kingswood was a range of Full-size cars manufactured by General Motors-Holden's, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors (GM The Ford Falcon is a Full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960 The Holden Sandman is probably the best-remembered of these: for example, one of the vehicles driven by Mel Gibson in the 1979 movie Mad Max was thought to be either a Sandman or a customised Kingswood panel van (apparently a 1975 HJ model in both cases). The Holden Kingswood was a range of Full-size cars manufactured by General Motors-Holden's, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors (GM Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, AO (born January 3 1956 Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Mad Max is a 1979 Australian apocalyptic action thriller Film directed by George Miller and written Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ford panel vans (known briefly as Sundowners) were also popular, to a lesser degree. Chrysler 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. Chrysler LLC is an American Automobile manufacturer that has been producing Automobiles since 1925 The Chrysler Valiant was a passenger car introduced by Chrysler Australia in 1962 with production ceasing in 1981
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","scooby-doo mobiles" and "fuck-trucks". During the 1970s it also became fashionable to decorate the exterior sides with murals painted with intricate detail.
Australian police forces also purchased fleets of panel vans to use in a black maria, or paddy wagon, role. Paddywagon and Black Maria are slang terms for either a Police car, or a police vehicle used to transport large groups of people who have been Arrested
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, in 1983. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Subsequently, Ford became the sole manufacturer of them until 1997, when the XH model was released. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar This was to prove the last entry in the history of the Australian panelvan. In 2003, Holden released a new Sandman, based on their VU model Holden Commodore of the time. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The Holden Commodore is an Automobile manufactured by the Holden division of General Motors (GM in Australia and formerly in New Zealand These Sandmans were a limited edition release, 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.
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Cars can come in a large variety of different body styles. Some are still in production while others are of historical interest only A panel truck is a windowless cargo van built on a truck chassis A sedan delivery (Car derived van in British English commonly called a delivery in US is a two-door Station wagon with solid panels in place of the rear side windows A pickup truck is a light Motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pullingDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic