The Chevy Express full-size van has been doing its thing for a while now. First introduced for the 1996 model year, the Express has soldiered on with minimal changes for almost three decades, and alongside its mechanically identical twin, the GMC Savana, has sold more than 3 million units over the years. And hey, why not? After all, it it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
A recent meme pokes fun at just how little the Chevy Express has changed over the years, showing the exact same van for the 2003 model year, 2023 model year, and 2323 model year. Indeed, the idea of the Chevy Express trundling along amid fusion-powered hover cars three hundred years in the future is just a little too good to pass up.
Simply put, the Chevy Express is one of the longest-produced designs in American automotive history. Dropping in as a successor to the Chevy G-series van, the Express has been offered in a variety of body variants, including two-, three-, and four-door configurations, as well as a cutaway van chassis variant for applications like ambulances and buses.
General Motors refreshed the Express and Savana for the 2003 model year, introducing new body work that included an updated windshield and fascia. The dash was redesigned as well. There have been a few changes under the skin, as well. For example, the 2021 model year brought the naturally aspirated 6.6L V8 L8T gasoline engine to the lineup, replacing the 6.0L V8 LC8 and 6.0L V8 L96 engines offered prior. The 6.6L V8 L8T engine was unavailable to order for the Express Cargo van for the 2024 model year.
Other engine options have included the 2.8L I4 LWN turbodiesel Duramax engine, which was added for the 2017 model year and dropped for the 2023 model year. Meanwhile, the 2024 Chevy Express introduced new transmissions to the lineup, while the 2025 Chevy Express offers a new rearview camera mirror feature.
So, despite the familiar styling, the Chevy Express has changed – at least a little bit. Either way, a major update doesn’t really make sense in light of continuing sales success.
Here’s the another 300 years.
Comments
POST THE DISASTROUS C8 Z06 LAP TIME ON THE RING THAT CAME OUT TODAY
. WHY NO NEWS ABOUT THAT? BEST REGARDS
BARRY
Great vehicle. Have run four of them. Simple, dependable and easy to service.
They need to convert some more plants into building these vans.
Maybe everybody that wants one would be able to get one in a timely manner?
My understanding is that the slow build rate for the GMT610 vans is due to worn out assembly line equipment at the Wentzville plant. GM simply won’t spend any money to replace it because they didn’t intend to continue production this long. Apparently the assembly line is frequently down for equipment/robotics issues.
Still pulling our boat and our RV trailer with our identical 2001 GMC Savana with 200,000 miles. I did have to replace the muffler for the first time last month – darn!!
Please don’t fix what isn’t broken!
That’s a rule that GM often goes against.
Still waiting on the one I ordered in 2021 to be built. Crickets from GM.
Interesting. I ordered a blazer and nothing after about 80 weeks now. Order not accepted by Chevy. I found something else.
Best dang vehicle GM ever made. Certainly the most reliable. Definitely the most versatile. Took my 2024 GM van on the Hillsborough Concourse rally tour this year. With that 401 HP 6.6 gas engine was right up there with the Ferrari’s, Lambo’s, corvettes and all the other exotic cars on the tour. I’d like to think it was my superior driving skills, but in reality this van is just the all around perfect vehicle. The kicker is there is so much room in one that you can even have all the creature comforts of your home with you. Just make sure you bolt everything down so when that Ferrari guy say “last one to the beach buys lunch” you and your van are not the ones that will be buying lunch and you will have already have your lunch with you. Come on GM I want a Ferrari Red 2025 3500 cargo van. Let’s get to building them.
Umm… the L8T 6.6 certainly was NOT dropped for 2024. I have a 2024 Savana 6.6 in my driveway.
There was a period where the 6.6 was not being installed in certain work van models in 2023, but that constraint was removed for 2024.
The least GM could have done is update the seats to have headrests on the passenger versions, to better compete with the Ford Transit.
Zero reason for a modern day passenger can to not have headrests, and downright dangerous in a rear end collision