Euro-style vans gaining popularity across US

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- From the smallest florist shop to the largest fleets to neighborhood churches, vans serve so many businesses and individuals. Until now, there wasn't too much of interest in the van world, but 2014 is shaping up to be the "year of the van."

Once just metal boxes on wheels, vans are undergoing a modernization like never before.

"This is a monstrous year, huge for Ford. We're investing more to develop a whole new lineup of twenty-first century vans for our North American customers," Ford spokesman Tim Stoehr said.

Credit can probably go to the Sprinter, first brought in from Europe a decade ago as a Dodge and now sold at Mercedes-Benz' dealers.

The floodgates have now opened as Ford is furthering its Euro-style van commitment with the full-size Transit.

Available as a passenger or cargo model, it's replacing the age-old E-Series van, and leave it to longtime van customizer Galpin Ford to get right to work with the new blank canvas.

"This is a vehicle that drives great, feels great, has great power, great gas mileage now, so we have this platform that we can do just about anything with. It's fantastic," said Galpin Auto Sports spokesman Beau Boeckmann.

There also a new Transit Connect, a major update to the previous one that's been a huge success for people who need a smaller van. The new one will emphasize carrying people instead of just cargo.

Ford is purposely not calling it a mini-van, even though it really is one.

Speaking of putting seats in a cargo van, that's what Nissan has now done with its N-V Series, creating a passenger model that can seat up to 12. They may be going after the void left when Ford discontinues the E-Series, V8 power and maximum towing capacity for traditionalists.

On the cargo side, Nissan is in the compact game as well with the NV200, a competitor for the Transit Connect, but built for cargo use only, so far.

And, Chrysler gets some help from Europe too, turning a popular Fiat Cargo van into the Ram ProMaster. Its secret weapon? A low load floor due to a front wheel drive design. It's also very maneuverable in tight spaces.

Vans aren't the most glamorous or exciting vehicles, but they are workhorses for many and are now getting a bit of modern style and efficiency.