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Looking on How Many Are Left can be an immensely depressing experience, one almost on a par with watching Celebrity Municipal Refuse Tip Challenge on Channel Five.

You idly search for well-remembered vehicles of your youth, only to discover their survival rate is in single figures.

To learn that only six examples of the Bedford Chevanne remain on the road https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/bedford_chevanne is almost as much as shock as realising Alexei Sayle is now 68 years old.

The excellent Vauxpedia site states that the Chevanne ‘did not sell in very large numbers in the UK’ yet my memories are of a familiar sight in high streets, builder’s yards or parked outside of warehouses.

The Chevette, Vauxhall’s interpretation of the GM “T-Car”, debuted in May 1975 and the commercial variant seventeen months later.

As compared to the very early 1960s-looking Bedford HA (which would remain available for several more years) the Chevanne looked far more up-to-the-minute and, boasted a 970 lbs cwt payload and a modern fascia.

Bedford thought their latest light commercial would appeal to those operators who were unlikely to use the full cargo area as its raison d'être was to combine a reasonable load bay area with the Chevette’s fittings and road manners

The brochure emphasised that this was a van that possessed ‘smooth clean lines’ for the Chevanne resembled a windowless Chevette Estate rather than a typical utility vehicle of the day.

Any driver graduating for an HA would indeed probably be further amazed by the two-speed wipers, electric windscreen washers, inertia reel seat belts and fresh air ventilation.

To further enhance driver comfort and business image, you could also specify the optional cigar lighter, heated rear window, metallic paint finish, a rather essential rear wiper & washer and, on later models, even GM automatic transmission. 

Commercial Motor tested the Chevanne in February 1977 and thought it ‘very well equipped with deep pile carpeting and cloth-faced seats’.

The writer concluded ‘Bearing in mind the type of operator for whom the van is intended, the Chevanne looks good value at £1,866’.

Power for the Chevanne was from a low-compression version of the familiar Viva 1,256cc engine which meant an operator could use two-star fuel.

It was also a rather lively machine by the standards of the day; CM magazine regarded it as a ‘very quick little vehicle as far as acceleration and speeds in gears are concerned’.

In late 1979 the Chevanne gained the flush-fitting headlamps of the Chevette car line-up and the later versions even sported a clock as standard equipment. 

One sales campaign states, with a modicum of hyperbole that the Bedford was ‘smart enough for Knightsbridge’ and ‘just exudes class’.

However, ‘there is one thing the Chevanne isn’t, and that’s cissy’.

Yes, forty years ago, such non-macho vans apparently doomed many a once-thriving business.

Either that or the copywriter had been reading too many Dennis The Menace stories.

Chevette production ceased in early 1984 and it is all too easy to forget how dashing the Chevanne seemed back in the late 1970s.

This was a time when many shopping precincts seemed to enter The Twilight Zone after five o’clock in the evening and episodes of Crossroads appeared to last for several years.

And in such an environment, the Bedford ‘that gives the impression of driving a car’ appeared quite dashing. But never ‘cissy’.

Why choose Lancaster Insurance?

Here at Lancaster, we love classic cars as much as you do and we understand what it takes to protect them for future generations.

We have links with some of the top classic car clubs around the country and some of our policies even offer discounts of up to 25% for club members.

Other benefits of classic car insurance through Lancaster can include:

• Historic rally cover
• Static show cover
• Limit mileage discounts
• Choice of repairer
• 24-hour claims helpline

Give your classic the protection it deserves and get a quote for your classic today.