Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Panel Van shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Panel Van offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Panel Van at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Panel Van? Wrong! If the Panel Van is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Panel Van then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Panel Van? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Panel Van and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Panel Van wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Panel Van then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Panel Van site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Panel Van, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Panel Van, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
panel van, HQ model from 1971-1974 panel van, XF model from 1986-1992 (this MkII model 1990)
A
panel van (or
panelvan) is a form of van, usually one based on a family automobile
chassis. They were especially popular with younger car buyers in
Australia during the
1970s.
Australian panel vans
In Australia, panel vans were a development of the Australian
Pickup_truck#The_Australian_ute (a variety of Pickup truck also based on a car chassis). 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 Australia in the late 1950s, but didn't become popular until the mid-1960s. By the early 1970s, usually when based on the Holden Kingswood and Ford Falcon (Australia) model of the time, panel vans had become Australian cultural icons. 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). 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
Chrysler_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.
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", 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. In Melbourne, panel vans were known in police terminology as
divisional vans, giving rise to the Australian words
divvy van (and the drinking chant, "we're going home in the back of a divvy van!").
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 popularity of panel vans waned in the 1980s. Holden's last release was their WB model, in 1983. Subsequently, Ford became the sole manufacturer of them until
1997, when the XH model was released. 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. 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.
See also
External link
- Examples of hot-rodded Holden panelvans
- Shazam Panel van bodies
panel van, HQ model from 1971-1974 panel van, XF model from 1986-1992 (this MkII model 1990)
A
panel van (or
panelvan) is a form of van, usually one based on a family
automobile chassis. They were especially popular with younger car buyers in Australia during the
1970s.
Australian panel vans
In Australia, panel vans were a development of the Australian
Pickup_truck#The_Australian_ute (a variety of
Pickup truck also based on a car chassis). 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 Australia in the late
1950s, but didn't become popular until the mid-1960s. By the early 1970s, usually when based on the
Holden Kingswood and
Ford Falcon (Australia) model of the time, panel vans had become Australian cultural icons. 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). 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 Chrysler_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.
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", 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. In Melbourne, panel vans were known in police terminology as
divisional vans, giving rise to the
Australian words divvy van (and the drinking chant, "we're going home in the back of a divvy van!").
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 popularity of panel vans waned in the 1980s. Holden's last release was their WB model, in
1983. Subsequently, Ford became the sole manufacturer of them until 1997, when the XH model was released. 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. 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.
See also
External link
- Examples of hot-rodded Holden panelvans
- Shazam Panel van bodies
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