An automotive workhorse: The Chevrolet Express

Prior to engaging with the City as a Livery Clerk in 2008, and Coachmakers’ Liveryman in 2009, I enjoyed a 40-year plus career in automotive engineering, writes Hon Assistant David Barrett. Beginning as a 17-year-old Apprentice Draughtsman in vehicle body engineering at Ford Motor Company, my 21-year career there was largely focused on truck engineering, and the iconic Transit van platform. I worked on the design and development of body hardware on the 1977 model, the 1986 model and the 1992 facelift.

My eventual departure from Ford took me to an independent British design and engineering consultancy focused on international automotive design contracts, oddly enough there began a diversification with a series of sports car projects (with General Motors Buick, Mazda Motor Corp) far removed from cargo vans and van-derived buses. Eventually the firm won a major cargo van project from General Motors USA, to create a new Chevrolet commercial van.

GM had a dilemma in the early 1990s, its ageing Chevy G Van was 26 years old, and was now junk by modern standards. Ford US had a new Econoline van launched in 1992 which was exerting extreme pressure on GM to act. After such a long period without re-development, and no retained knowledge of commercial vehicle design, it started looking around the world for inspiration. GM really liked the European Transit programme and asked the question “who were the guys who did this?”

Fortunately, many of the managers, engineers and designers with Transit experience had moved to our firm, so we got the job. At the beginning of 1992 I moved to Detroit, US to take over the Hard Trim Group as Engineering Group Manager for the planned 1998 model year GM Chevrolet Express and sister brand GMC Savana, a range of commercial vans, bus variants and chassis cabs.

David with a GMT600 Protype and his team in 1995

Work began in the Detroit suburbs on a six-year programme to create a world-beating, robust and durable platform that would serve GM’s customers far into the future. The products received clean fresh styling (see photos) with a range of different door options, wheelbase lengths and engines. Of course when a completely new vehicle platform is created, the production validation sign off is just the beginning of many issues to resolve. An entire year was spent at the chosen production site, Wentville, Missouri working in the assembly plant on remediation issues from squeaks and rattles, wind noise and fits to mis-alignments in the pursuit of perfection. The series of vans, buses and cabs were launched on schedule in late 1997 to great acclaim.

Here is the really great part of this story, it is still in production, still selling strongly with no plans to replace it until at least 2027. That means it has enjoyed 30 years of production with just relatively minor exterior freshening, new electronics and upgraded engines to keep pace with emissions. I was in Detroit recently in October 2024 to enjoy a reunion with work colleagues accumulated during 17 years of working in the US. During this short visit I attended a GMC brand dealer and got chatting with the sales manager. He told me that he orders dozens of GMC Savana vans every month, but can’t get them due to demand, maybe one or two are delivered if he is lucky.

Lastly, and due to the robust chassis frame construction and V8 diesel power of the Chevy Express, you can view them every day on the evening news at work in conflict areas in the Middle East as ambulances, fire trucks, civil defence and police vehicles –the van of choice. It makes me proud that I helped create such an iconic and long-term workhorse.