Chevy Express Van Finally Joins 2005, Gets Bluetooth Audio And A Touchscreen Radio

The Chevrolet Express van has been largely unchanged for my entire 29 years on this Earth. There's no exaggeration there — the Express began life in January of 1996, just a few months before I did. For 2027, though, the Express does get a genuinely major upgrade: A touchscreen radio with full Bluetooth audio compatibility. Welcome, Chevy Express, to the far future of 2005. 

The report for the 2027 Express comes from GM Authority, which credits an internal spec code at General Motors for pointing out the change. It suggests that the updated Express will get the same 7-inch touchscreen radio as the lowest-trim Silverado trucks, replacing the buttons and monochrome screen that Express buyers have had as their sole option since 2020. With the upgrade, Express van drivers will finally get such advanced features as "Bluetooth audio for music, rather than just for calls." Isn't life in the far future grand?

Chevy did offer a touchscreen in the Express in 2019, but it was removed from the options list after a single model year. Now the van (and its GMC Savana twin) will get Chevy's other oldest, worst infotainment — still a massive upgrade, since it includes compatibility with the devices we've all used for music for the past couple decades. GM is, perhaps, just a touch behind the times with the Express platform. 

Of course, just like when the Express lost its sealed-beam headlights in 2018 (it was the last vehicle on the market to wear them), the U.S. car market loses something neat here. Sealed beams were easy to replace at any auto parts store after a collision, and the Express's simple knob-and-buttons radio is likely the last of its kind we'll ever see on dealer lots. All is touchscreen now, and that does grant us functionality beyond what any CD changer can manage — at the cost of occasionally being an absolute annoying pain to use.