Production 1995–present Body style van | Class Full-size van | |
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Manufacturer Chevrolet/GMC (General Motors) Predecessor Chevrolet Van / Beauville
GMC Vandura / Rally Successor Chevrolet City Express (1500 Series) | ||
The Chevrolet Express and its mechanically identical twin GMC Savana are Full-size vans from General Motors. They replaced the Chevrolet Van and GMC Vandura in 1995. The Express and Savana currently hold 44.8% of the full-size van market in the United States, just behind rival Ford E-Series. The Express outsells the Savana by more than 3 to 1 in the USA, but the Savana outsells the Express 2 to 1 in Canada.
Contents
- Chevy Express Cargo
- Chevy Express Passenger
- Chevy Express Concept
- 2012 recall
- 1500 Discontinuation
- References
After 2003, the Express and Savana had updated front-end sheetmetal similar to the GMT800 light trucks and SUVs, and at the same time, fitted with the LS engines. The remainder of the body was not modified. In 2004, Stability Control (Stabilitrak) was added to all passenger vans. In 2008, the interior was updated and side impact roof airbags were standard on all passenger models. They also offer the E85 Flexfuel Vortec 5.3L V8 engine in both the 2008 Express 1500 Work Van and Passenger Van. The 6.6L Duramax V8 engine Diesel was added as an option for 2006.
As of 2016, the Express/Savana is the last American-designed full-size van, following Chrysler replacing its Dodge Ram Van with Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based Dodge Sprinter in 2003 (since replaced with Fiat Ducato-based Ram ProMaster) and Ford retiring its Econoline line in favor of the European-designed Ford Transit in 2014.
Chevy Express Cargo
The cargo variety of the Express/Savana is popular as a work vehicle, often used by electricians, plumbers, and others needing to haul a variety of large items. In this way, it is the North American equivalent of the ubiquitous white vans in the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands, the Express is in common use as an ambulance, although its popularity is declining because of the high fuel consumption and small interior space compared to European vans.
Chevy Express Passenger
The Express/Savana is also available as a passenger van, seating 8 to 15 passengers (depending on the model), and is often used as a tow truck, ambulance, shuttle bus, or school bus. Both the cargo and passenger models, as well as the cutaway versions, often serve as the basis for conversion vans, motorhomes, and wheelchair accessible vans. As of mid-2014, half-ton Chevy Express vans and its cousin the GMC Savana have been discontinued. It was replaced by a Nissan-GM partnership badged Chevy City Express in the U.S. Only the 3/4-ton and 1-ton full size vans will be available as previous.
Chevy Express Concept
Chevrolet Express was also the name of a concept car first shown in 1987. It was a turbine powered, drive-by-wire car made to show the possibilities of future limited-access highways.
2012 recall
On August 14, 2012, GM issued a recall for 10,315 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans made from 2003-2004 in 20 cold weather U.S. states and in Canada because road salt may have corroded the fueling pipe. There are 9,389 vans recalled in the United States and 926 in Canada. The affected vans have "60/40" swing-out driver side doors.
1500 Discontinuation
General Motors discontinued production of the 1/2-ton ( <8500 lbs. GVWR ) 1500 series vans in June 2014 (2015MY). Sources cite low production numbers and CAFE requirements for the halt. With the end of the 1500 model, unique features such as the all wheel drive and driver's side passengers doors have been removed from the options list. The Chevrolet City Express compact cargo van, a badge-engineered Nissan NV200, has taken the place of the 1500 van. At the same time, the Vortec 4300 engine was phased out of production. The full-sized van is still offered as the Chevrolet Express Cargo and the GMC Savana Cargo with a larger payload.