Okay, hear me out: I know it sounds weird, but in a lot of ways, the 1959 to 1969 Bedford CA was a realization of a type of futuristic design concept, just disguised as a delivery van, and, as such, pretty much ignored in that context. Bedford was Vauxhall/GM’s British commercial vehicle division, and the CA was a very space-efficient and useful package: stubby little hood, sliding doors, and a ton of space inside. Packaging-wise, it felt like the sorts of cars of the future everyone was predicting in the 1930s, like the Stout Scarab:
Okay, sure, the Scarab had a rear engine, but if we tuck that engine up front in an almost-cabover kind of configuration, we end up with a very similar zeppelin-box-on-wheels result. I mean, look:
If that body was a bit more curved in the folk-aerodynamic ways of the era and you had a little table and couch inside the back there, you’d essentially be accomplishing the same things as the Stout Scarab. But, instead, it’s now a humble workhorse. Still, I see you, Bedford. I see what you could have been.
Hey, for fun, want to try making some captions for what that little girl is telling the delivery driver up top? I’ll put the picture here again, so you don’t need to scroll. Here’s three to get you started:
“Make it look like an accident.”
“Deal. If you can get it on two wheels turning out of the driveway, I’ll give you $50.”
“You work for me now.”
“Thank you for dropping me off. Please reset my visual subsystem so I may reboot and imprint on my new controller.”
I gave you a bonus one! Now you try.
‘I hate you Milkman Dan’
“Sir, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai.”