Why Chevy Still Builds the Express, America’s Last V8 Family Van

Walk onto a Chevrolet fleet lot today and you can buy a van that looks, feels, and drives almost exactly like it did in 1996. The Chevy Express is a rolling anomaly—a full-size, body-on-frame van with a big, naturally aspirated V8 under the hood. 6-liter V8 that cranks out 401 horsepower and 464 lb-ft of torque.

It can tow up to 10,000 pounds and haul nearly 4,300 pounds of payload. For shuttle operators, contractors, and conversion shops, that kind of old-school grunt matters more than touchscreens or aerodynamics.

The Express isn’t just a work van—it’s a blank canvas. Specialty upfitters like Sherrod and Explorer Vans turn them into luxury campers with flat-screen TVs and captain’s chairs. First responders outfit them as mobile command centers. Airport shuttles run them all day, idling for hours without worrying about battery range or complex cooling systems.

Meanwhile, Ford’s Transit offers modern safety tech and Ram’s ProMaster gives you front-wheel drive and a wide cargo bay. But the Express keeps selling because it’s simple, durable, and cheap to maintain. Fleet buyers buy in bulk, and Chevy makes pure profit on every unit since the platform was paid off decades ago.

So why doesn’t GM kill it? Because it’s a cash cow. There’s no R&D cost, no new tooling, and loyal buyers keep ordering. Rumors of an electric successor on GM’s Ultium platform linger, but heavy-duty users need real towing and payload—not promises. Until GM proves it can build an EV van that matches the Express’s capability, the big V8 will keep rolling off the line.

The Express is the last American V8 van standing, and it shows no signs of quitting.