Critics accuse the premier and his supporters of wanting to return to an earlier, simpler, less pluralistic, possibly more Paleolithic age. But on the van thing, he’s way ahead of his time
Vans, and especially souped-up vans, are newly cool all over again, 45 years after they last oversteered onto the North American cultural scene. By last July, sales of full size vans were up 23 per cent since 2014; three-quarters are “upfitted.” #Vanlife, is “a weekly e-mail newsletter of #vanlife news": the hashtag has 4.7 million posts on Instagram. The Ford Motor Co.’s Transit van comes in 92 different body configurations, three lengths and three heights .
During the seventies and eighties, during the first wave of “vandemonium,” converted vans were about freedom and individuality – about Cragar wagon-wheel rims and built-in stereos and shag carpeting and octagonal steering wheels and Budweiser shifters and either very large or very small windows, depending on how much weed you smoked. “Keep on vannin” was an actual slogan.
Experts trace the current wave of vandom to the introduction of the latest Ford Transit model five years ago. Before the Transit, which had been available in Europe for 50 years, North American vans were long, low, body-on-frame rectangles. The Transit and its modern competitors are uni-body designs that increase interior cargo volume.
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