Auto Firms Aim for Custom Van Revival
An automotive fad of the 1970s, customized vans, might be the next big thing coming out of Detroit.
The big vans once decorated with shag carpeting and beads have evolved into sophisticated vehicles for families and groups alike, and General Motors Corp. and two dozen companies are spending a couple of million dollars to spread that message and try to revive demand for the big, souped-up rides.
GM helped form the Conversion Van Marketing Assn., or CVMA, last year to raise awareness of the customized vans -- the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana in particular -- and to dispel outdated perceptions of vehicles decked out with wild paint jobs and crushed velour upholstery.
Today’s vans, which typically cost less than a loaded full-size SUV, feature leather seating, central air conditioning, home theater-quality sound and flat-panel televisions.
GM’s investment underscores the ultra-competitive nature of the U.S. vehicle market, where the world’s largest automaker can’t afford to cede one iota of business. GM’s chief competitor: cross-town rival and No. 2 U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co.
“With the proliferation of vehicles over time -- SUVs, crossovers, etc. -- this is one more niche vehicle we can offer the consumer,” said Ross Hendrix, GM’s marketing director for commercial vans. “We see an opportunity and we’re pursuing it.”
Conversion van sales peaked in the early 1990s but have fallen steadily over the last 10 years because of the popularity of hulking SUVs. Sales totaled about 181,000 in 1994, fell to 76,000 in 2000 and dropped even further to 38,000 in 2003, when Dodge ended production of its full-size Ram vans, according to Conversion Van Marketing Assn. figures. But Dodge added the Sprinter, which is available for conversions, to its lineup in 2003.
That basically limits the choices to the two GM models, the Sprinter and Ford’s E-Series model. Virtually every major automaker, in contrast, sells some type of SUV.
The CVMA is composed of 24 manufacturers that buy the vans from GM, outfit them with premium paint, electronics and customized interiors and sell them to GM dealers for sale to consumers.
About 800 of GM’s 7,400 dealers sell conversion vans, according to the CVMA, which would like to increase that number as well.
The CVMA’s goal is to boost sales of GM vans by 25% in the next two years by raising awareness, said association President Rod McSweeney, owner of Southern Comfort Conversions Inc. in Trussville, Ala.
