Ford became the first American maker to put a full-size van on a separate frame, and the 1978 Econoline was Motor Trend's first-ever Truck of the Year.
Lead trim: Econoline 300 cu in (4.9 L) I6
Ford E-Series (Econoline)3rd Gen · 1975–1991
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Ford E-Series (Econoline) yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactFord became the first American maker to put a full-size van on a separate frame, and the 1978 Econoline was Motor Trend's first-ever Truck of the Year.
Collectors Spotted in the Ford E-Series (Econoline) Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Ford E-Series (Econoline) yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
7 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Econoline 300 cu in (4.9 L) I6 | 1975–1991 | 4.9 L Inline-6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Econoline 302 cu in (4.9 L) small-block V8 | 1975–1991 | 4.9 L V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Econoline 351 cu in (5.8 L) small-block V8 | 1975–1991 | 5.8 L V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Econoline 400 cu in (6.6 L) Cleveland V8 | 1975–1978 | 6.6 L V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Econoline 460 cu in (7.5 L) 385 V8 | 1975–1991 | 7.5 L V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Econoline 6.9 L International IDI diesel V8 | 1983–1988 | 6.9 L V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Econoline 7.3 L International IDI diesel V8 | 1988–1991 | 7.3 L V8 | 185 hp | 338 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The posh Club Wagon Chateau trim had been dormant since 1989 — the moment this fourth-generation van brought it back in 1992, Motor Trend named it Truck of the Year.
Ford became the first American maker to put a full-size van on a separate frame, and the 1978 Econoline was Motor Trend's first-ever Truck of the Year.
A 1967 UAW strike delayed this van's launch nearly four months into January 1968 — so instead of calling it a '68 or '68-and-a-half, Ford just sold it as a 1969 model.
Ford bet this truck would sell better than the van version — buyers disagreed by nine to one, and the van became the one everybody remembers.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
Chevy pitched the Astro as the anti-minivan, telling buyers life was too big for one, while it rode on a rear-wheel-drive truck frame.
The IIHS rated the Astro Poor in a 1996 crash test, yet 2001–2004 Astros later had the lowest driver death rate of any US passenger vehicle.
The boxy, unglamorous Astro quietly posted one of the best real-world safety records in America: IIHS found 2001-2004 models had the fewest driver deaths per million vehicles of any passenger vehicle on US roads.
The third-generation Tourneo Connect, released in Europe in October 2021, is a rebadged fourth-generation Volkswagen Caddy, assembled by Volkswagen in Poland.
Ford beat the 25% "chicken tax" by importing the Transit Connect as a passenger van — rear windows and seats included, then stripped out and recycled once it landed in the US.
Ford spent years in federal court over the second-gen Transit Connect: in June 2019 the US won its appeal, and judges ruled the van was cargo-only — ending Ford's workaround for the 'chicken tax.'
GM sold a rebadged Nissan NV200 as the Chevy City Express for four years, then killed it in 2018, citing weak sales and the fact that its parts weren't even compatible with GM's own parts catalog.
Its name is a pun: "S-Cargo" means "Small Cargo" but sounds just like escargot — French for snail, the shape the whole van was built to resemble.