Sedan delivery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A sedan delivery (commonly called a delivery) is a two-door station wagon with solid panels in place of the rear side windows. They were almost always ordered from the factory with few or no options and the lowest trim package. These vehicles were used in the same way a delivery van is used today. They were used by businesses ranging from plumber to baker. Although many were crushed, some survive today, many converted into personal vehicles. They are very popular in the hot rod circles.

With the growing sales of the Volkswagen Microvan, they faded from the scene. Chevrolet dropped the body type in 1960 while Ford moved it to the Ford Falcon line-up until 1965. Pontiac produced them up to 1957. Plymouth produced them for a short while until 1937. However they attempted a comeback with sedan delivery versions of the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto wagons in the 1970s. Chrysler had shown a concept-car edition of a sedan delivery based on the PT Cruiser at the NAIAS in 2002 but it didn't receive the green light for production.

Ironically while in decline in America, the sedan-delivery concept inspired Holden and Ford in Australia to manufacture their own sedan deliveries, which evolved into the panel van.

Today, sedan deliveries have some fans, restorers and customizers. Some even customize various station-wagons into deliveries.