Well there is good news for conversion van enthusiasts, and especially the manufacturers who still produce the luxury vehicles that are larger than most of today’s SUV’s, better equipped, and make an excellent tow vehicle for the trailer towing family.

Twenty-four leading conversion van manufacturers have recently announced the formation of the Conversion Van Marketing Association, an industry group formed to raise consumer awareness and increase sales of Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana conversion vans. The president of the new association will be Rod McSweeney, Chairman/Owner of Southern Comfort Conversions, Inc. of Trussville, Alabama.

We spoke with McSweeney shortly after the announcement was released and were surprised and excited to find out how bullish and optimistic he is about the new role he will assume for this group of GM van converters who are determined to change the way people think about conversion vans …. if they think about them at all.

Rod said, “When you get sick and tired of being sick and tired, something usually happens. And that is where we are today. We should have done this ten years ago. Many of the van conversion companies are doing better and this is the first time we’ve got together for oneness.”

McSweeney has been in the industry for 25 years and was pleased that his peers selected him to run the new association. He noted, “We have tried to get the Big 3 (GM, Ford and Dodge) together in the past and it just didn’t work. Now Dodge has exited the market and Ford didn’t want anything to do with this initiative. General Motors stepped up and put money aside and picked seven members to be on the Board of our new association.

They put up $2.2 million to create the CVMA and are committed to getting the word out and growing this segment of the market. We will have a dedicated web site, create new sales tools and information packages, and establish a dealer council because GM wants the dealers input to the decision-making process that will be incorporated into the CVMA.”

The CVMA is comprised of manufacturers with special pool agreements to purchase vans from GM, upfit them with premium paint, interiors and audio-visual equipment and sell them to GM dealers for sale to customers.