Compact van

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Dodge A100

Toyota Hiace van being used as an election bus in Japan in 2005

1968 Chevrolet Sportvan 108A painted as the Mystery Machine

A compact van is a type of van characterized by a flat front design, mechanicals based on a compact car, an engine placed either at the rear or between and behind the front seats and were roughly the same size as the VW Bus. Popular in the United States during the early 1960s these models were replaced by fullsize vans, at the end of the 1960s in this market, these used body-on-frame construction and featured front engines under a short hood.

1 Japanese vans
2 Compact vans in media
3 Examples
4 Gallery

[edit] Japanese vans

The flat front configuration is also used for Japanese vans, and the format remains popular in Japan South East Asia to this day. Those that comply with Kei car regulations are known as microvans.They were also later supplemented by minivans, which with car based components, and sized like the original VW Bus. In these markets the compact vans often survive as combined commercial passenger and goods vehicles. Due to their resemblance to a loaf of bread they are colloquially known as "bread cars".