When one thinks of painted vans, they immediately envision the 1960’s and 1970’s Volkswagen van covered flowers, and weighed down by lounging hippies. Banish these thoughts from your mind, as we introduce you to the most badass van paint jobs to grace our nation’s roads. The classics are well represented, along with some jaw dropping airbrushing that could be in a gallery.

(Images via fandomania, highsnobiety, outside-blog)

Bumper stickers are not always enough. When you truly want to declare yourself a fan of a film or television show, you should buy a van with plenty of “wall” space, and hire the best artist you can find to create a gorgeous mobile mural. Or not. Whether you decide to or not, you can surely enjoy these fine examples of people who did just that.

(Images via kilometermagazine, paradoxoff)

The classic sunset van design has been kicked up a notch in these visually stunning examples. Great color and fine details make driving next to these vans almost like canoeing on a lake as the sun goes down.

(Images via ipaintfx, wexarts, livingwilliamsburgvirginia)

Americans are more patriotic than most, and apparently van owners take this to an entirely new level. There are few things that will get an American’s heart pumping like a huge representation of our nation’s flag barreling down the highway.

(Images via webshots, airfx)

Not all van art has to be happy flowers and tie dye colors, as these vans show. The quality of the work is stunning, and it’s great to see an artist incorporating the van’s windows for the full effect.

(Images via houstonist, vwvortex, io9, truckinweb)

Larger than life, abstract themes are definitely airbrushed van classics. The best artwork incorporates each side of the van, so any neighboring cars can see a different part of the full piece.

(Images via moillusions, moillusions)

illusions are far from classic, but it would be hard to show a collection of painted vans without hitting some comical advertising. These ads are realistic and unexpected enough to catch even the most alert driver off guard. The drivers of these vans probably see a lot of double takes from fellow road warriors.

(Images via crawfu, liquorandlibations, bestweekever, soundcloud, bestweekever)

Unfortunately, a lot of the true classic van paint jobs have been lost to rust and the sands of time, but old photos live on, even in a digital age. Hopefully some of these awesome rides will inspire a new generation of airbrushing professionals to pick up the nozzle and create their own work of art.