The GM Design team recently released an interesting photograph on Instagram showing that The General’s two popular commercial van models, the Chevy Express and GMC Savana, were tested in a wind tunnel to improve their aerodynamic properties with direct experiments.
In the image, we see two GM designers, Shannon Kemp and Orlo Reed according to the comments on the post, putting the finishing touches on a scale model of the G-Series van (an umbrella term including both the Chevy Express and GMC Savana) before wind tunnel testing.
The photo of the two men and the 1996 G-Series van model was likely taken in 1994 or possibly even earlier, since the vans were first launched in 1995 for the 1996 model year. Notably, the design of the Chevy Express and GMC Savana have scarcely changed in the thirty years since, showing that the wind tunnel testing likely optimized the vehicles’ aerodynamic characteristics so successfully that no changes are deemed necessary or worthwhile, for fuel economy or economic considerations.
GM’s wind tunnel facility in Warren, Michigan opened in 1980 and features one of the largest tunnels outside the aerospace industry. The wind in the tunnel is supplied by a 4,500 horsepower fan whose six laminate spruce wood blades have a total diameter of 45 feet. The fan can generate winds of up to 138 mph to test models and vehicles.
The Chevy Express and GMC Savana have changed very little since Reed and Kemp put the finishing touches on the mockup shown in this fascinating historical photograph. However, pricing for the vehicles has risen by more than 20 percent over the past three years.
Both commercial van models received significant pricing increases for the 2024 model year as the trend continues. Specifically, GM increased the vehicles’ MSRPs between $1,600 and $2,900 depending on configuration. The higher end of this range, roughly $2,700 to $2,900, is most usual.
As a reminder, production of the Express and Savana is carried out at the GM Wentzville plant in Missouri, while Cutaway model variants are also produced by Navistar in Ohio.
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Comments
IMO, not including the horrendous dash, these vans have aged very well.
Not so much for the paint.
White paint doesn’t stick well on make of vehicle, no pigment…my white Toyota Tacoma was peeling paint bad down to the primer in 4 years. Many of these Chevy vans you see on the road are very very old with many miles on them however, since the basic body style hasn’t changed for many years the look as if they have white paint that’s gone and they are still same looking van as newer one.
If they tested this in a wind tunnel, It does not look like they changed anything to make this brick slippery in the wind. But they have made the money slipperier out on the consumer’s hands.
I used to work at the GM tech center in Warren. NASCAR teams would frequently have trailers parked near the wind tunnel. There was even an Americas cup team that put sails in the windtunnel!
The purpose of the America’s Cup wind tunnel tests was to develop the underwater portion of the boat hull, not the sails. The fluid dynamic properties of air flowing at high speed over a scale model of the hull matched the full-scale boat moving through water at lower speeds.
Make short wheelbase vans.
I drive part time for a logistics company that has 3 of the Chevys and some Ford Transits and Mercades. It is amazing how much less the Chevys are affected by a strong wind than the other 2 brands. 2 of the Chevys have Isuzu engines. Won’t win any drag races but boy do they have torque.
Assuming both the Transits and Sprinters are high-roof?
For the folks screaming “GM needs a high-roof to compete!”, I suggest try driving one for a day in crosswinds.
I have a 2013 ford e350 xlt.
It drives like a jacked up f350 with a sailboat in the bed of the truck
The gmc van I test drove felt a sporty minivan in comparison
Way better ride and engine in the gm it felt like.
But the e350 also has way more comfortable interior and more solid feel to it.
Just my impression. I’d be stoked to have 1 of each
I imagine it was like wind testing a concrete block !!!
You may be surprised how low the drag is on a well-tuned brick (or block)!
Considering that this was a reduced-scale model with very little detail, the wind tunnel test must have occurred very early in the development program, probably in the early 1990s. Later on, a highly detailed full-scale model would have been tested. The men in the photo are clay sculptors, not engineers. It’s nice to see them get a bit of the limelight.
Once cars can fully drive themselves with no human involvement vans will be back in a big way .
Tested 30 years ago. No data Cd, frontal area.
Empty article.
Hi Tom, we all miss those days 30 years ago. Thanks for everything you did to improve motorsports safety.
My 2015 Savanah 12 passenger with the 6.0 V8 would get 21 mpg all day long at 70 mph. It was very stable in high winds too. As a 3/4 ton and with the load range E tires made for a very stable platform while towing my 6,000 lb RV.
I work at the GM Wentzville plant, over 40 years , there are no vans built at this time cause of a supplier fire. I notice a lot talk going on about the Express and Savana future . Its time for a Design ,that will give the customer of the next 40 years the same great service we have in the past. Thats without the sacrifice of jobs. We live in the age of wi-fi, and self-charging phone docks, LED lighting, The Silverado front body clip would be a great addition. But what do I know ,just a 40 year line worker venting.
Too bad GM doesn’t tell the people who have orders what the real reason for delays? People just want honesty. My 2016 van was canceled/delayed and I had to find a 2015 certified used. It was a nice van and I towed a trailer but it didn’t have a backup camera, which I had ordered on the 2016. I drove it till 2020 but I was always pissed it had no camera. I even tried a aftermarket one but it never worked properly because of the Bluetooth.
If I could I would send the Wentzville employ a day’s wages for telling the real reason vehicles are not being made vs the BS GM dishes out. He or She needs to be in charge of consumer affairs!
Thank you, (40 years working Wentsville,) for your honesty. I know the plant was on strike, I heard the fire damaged the frame plant, I know you can’t get seats for the passenger vans, I know that they make the Colorado and Canyon at Wentsville. I don’t know if there are two separate lines or do they switch from vans to trucks and back again. It would be wonderful to hear what the real answers are.
I am driving my third Chevy Van and they are like a car to me. I have used them hard, I drive them hard and have few problems with them. I have had a ton of more weight in them with my job of being a renovation contractor. I am driving a 2001 express 2500 with about 180,000 on it, my only problem so far was I recently had to change the fuel sending unit. I like my Chevy vans very much.
Mr. C, 21 mpg in a 3/4 ton van with the 6.0 liter engine is very impressive, especially considering I have had several 3/4 ton GM pickup trucks equipped with the 6.0 engine that routinely got half that mpg.
Thank the EPA… the extra pounds the van has gets it exempt from some of the pollution control.
Not sure of your informational source, but I believe that is Sharon Kemp. SHE was highly regarded as a Design Center employee.