2008 Econoline - official photos

[the Teuton]

How does one get past the fact that all but the front of this van comes straight out of 1993?  This van has been out and nearly untouched for 3/4 of my life!

[SVT666]

How does one get past the fact that all but the front of this van comes straight out of 1993?  This van has been out and nearly untouched for 3/4 of my life!

I thought the chassis is directly from the Super Duty pickups.

[GoCougs]

Oh, wow - shades of Clark Griswold's Family Truckster - and not good ones.

[The Pirate]

Oh, wow - shades of Clark Griswold's Family Truckster - and not good ones.

Haha, you have a point there!

[Soup DeVille]

How does one get past the fact that all but the front of this van comes straight out of 1993?  This van has been out and nearly untouched for 3/4 of my life!

Maybe because I'm older it doesn't bother me as much?

Besides, like I said: it's primary purpose is a work truck, not to impress the valets.

Take big trucks as an example. The Mack R-model was made from 1970 to 1991 with zero cosmetic changes to the styling of the cab. The Pete 379 has looked the same for even longer than that and is still in production. Lots of changes have happened to the interior and machanicals of these trucks, but the theory was pretty much: if it aint broke don't fix it.

[Pancor]

I used to drive the previous version of this truck with a cube body and the powerstroke daily, and it was a good machine.  I think the interior looks like absolute trash (most heavy trucks even look better!) but when the only thing on your mind is how shitty working for a living is, you don't give a fuck.   However, I still favour the Sprinter, followed by the Duramax Savanna.

[TBR]

I think it is important to remember the Ram Van in this, it still shared a significant number of parts with the '70s equivalent and I think that caused its demise.

[Soup DeVille]

I think it is important to remember the Ram Van in this, it still shared a significant number of parts with the '70s equivalent and I think that caused its demise.

As did the horribly awkward seating positions...

[ChrisV]

The sales point to how perfect it is for its intended market. As a work van, that interior will primarily be filthy and covered in work detritus, so what it looks like new is of little importance. Or, in an ambulance capacity, covered with radio gear and switchgear so much you can't even SEE the stock dash. Some of you guys are so ignorant of what the uses of this vehicle are you really can't see the bigger picture.

[omicron]

The sales point to how perfect it is for its intended market. As a work van, that interior will primarily be filthy and covered in work detritus, so what it looks like new is of little importance. Or, in an ambulance capacity, covered with radio gear and switchgear so much you can't even SEE the stock dash. Some of you guys are so ignorant of what the uses of this vehicle are you really can't see the bigger picture.

It's certain that reliability and functionality would be of higher importance than style; of course, complacency can eventually lead to irrelevance in the market. I suppose that any number of cost-benefit analyses have been performed - would interior and exterior improvements generate enough additional sales to pay for the upgrades? One suspects that attention paid to engine efficiency and safety would be more desirable to business and fleet owners than new exterior and interior styling.

[ifcar]

They did just give it a new front end, so they must have decided that styling paid some factor.

But I think the biggest factor is the price. As long as they can keep it cheap (and by never changing it substantially, that's easy), they can continue to account for more than half the sales in their class.

[omicron]

They did just give it a new front end, so they must have decided that styling paid some factor.

But I think the biggest factor is the price. As long as they can keep it cheap (and by never changing it substantially, that's easy), they can continue to account for more than half the sales in their class.

I suspect the styling change has more to do with a bunch of marketers sitting about wondering what to do this week, rather than any pressing requests from buyers.

[SVT_Power]

It's certain that reliability and functionality would be of higher importance than style; of course, complacency can eventually lead to irrelevance in the market. I suppose that any number of cost-benefit analyses have been performed - would interior and exterior improvements generate enough additional sales to pay for the upgrades? One suspects that attention paid to engine efficiency and safety would be more desirable to business and fleet owners than new exterior and interior styling.

That's some fancy writing for a econoline thread 

[S204STi]

This truck is "New" like I'm Jessica freakin' Alba.

[sportyaccordy]

I prefer the diesel Dodge Sprinters...

[Submariner]

I prefer the diesel Dodge Sprinters...

As do I...