I went all over the USA and parts of Canada in vans in my childhood and my family didn't even get a sedan until I was in 9th or 10th grade, and then in my 20s I played in bands an had lots of good times riding around in the drummers' vans (for shows, but also just for fun, going up to Canada, celebrating New Year's Eve b filling the van up with people and driving around the city from party to party, etc. etc.) so I'm one of those lucky few for whom vans have nothing but warm, positive memories. If I had the money I'd probably have one of my own.

Actually that's not true, they didn't get a sedan until like 2012, they went from vans straight to the most minimal Hondas available (back in the 90s when that meant manual transmission, manual steering, no AC, no radio, no passenger side mirror, no power or automatic anything - that's what I learned to drive on and frankly it kinda sucked). Eventually Honda caught on that people were buying the cheapest cars and customizing them, so they stopped offering them in the USA to force tuners to buy a bunch of overpriced options (stock Honda cassette player in the early 90s was $500 extra. For a cassette player) they were just going to strip out and replace.

I've been seeing an excellent olive green Volkswagen, I'd say '70 or '71, around town this spring, with the original custom seat covers and everything. A couple weeks ago it was parked right out front when I got to work. It gives me hope.

A good van puts me at ease.

A few years back there was a van I'd see every day in my town. It was poopy brown and had "Taken care of business" airbrushed on the side. It was highly excellent.

Engines run when a good van goes to war.

Back in the mid 2000s in Boston, for about a year, every day on my commute to work before the subway went underground we would pass a parking lot next to the VFW, and there was a big, white Dodge van in it that had the worst painting of a dragon on the side I've ever seen in my life. It was just scrawled on there with black house paint and looked like Godzilla with elephantiasis drawn by a drunk teenager and covered about half of one side of the van.


Made my day every time.

Back in the mid 2000s in Boston, for about a year, every day on my commute to work before the subway went underground we would pass a parking lot next to the VFW, and there was a big, white Dodge van in it that had the worst painting of a dragon on the side I've ever seen in my life. It was just scrawled on there with black house paint and looked like Godzilla with elephantiasis drawn by a drunk teenager and covered about half of one side of the van.


Made my day every time.

I used to see my favorite van all the time around town where I used to live. The entire thing had a meticulously painted likeness of Starry Night all around it and on the back it had a portrait of Van Gogh with a dialog bubble containing the words: "Look at this Van GO!"

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UCnK5eCVFRk/UewYIJ5Qp1I/AAAAAAAAMtY/__Np kJbTss0/s1600/look+at+that+van+go.jpg

That's her!

I don't know, but I'm pretty sure Nasa still has the original Astrovan that is used to drive astronauts to the launch pad in service, or possibly they're on their second one.