There are vans, and then there are "sweet vans." While regular vans may bring to mind your mom's Honda Odyssey, a "sweet van" is another beast entirely. Because when the wood-paneled van with teardrop windows, shag carpeting and a heavy-metal pastiche airbrushed on the side is rockin', people know not to come a-knockin'.

Some say the sweet van is a relic of the 70s, but we aim to prove that the custom van lives on. Check out the photographic evidence in our gallery below.

Got a sweet van still kickin' around your neighborhood? Snap a picture and send it our way.


Sweet Van Art

    If a mural of a He-man dude with his pet coyote staring out over a vista including a castle built into a mesa doesn't score you some poontang, nothing ever will.

    doviende, Flickr

    This van don't run.

    Flickr

    RIP Steve Irwin. May you always be memorialized on the side of this guy's van.

    Flickr

    Elvis's spirit is alive as long as this van rolls.

    dcdan, Flickr

    I get the "Force" part, but what's up with the aliens by the back left tire?

    Flickr

    Is that a pegasus? Sweet.

    t-dot-s-dot, Flickr

    We're split on whether this is a dinosaur or a dragon, so we're gonna go with "monster."

    Flickr

    Everybody knows when the cougar hunter's in town.

    Flickr

    Spinelli must be one awesome dude.

    Jalopnik

    The Man in Black is a great visage for van enhancement.

    gerryguiff, Flickr