why don't we get good work vans?

Why don’t companies sell them in the US? Because people don’t want them.

It’s not a conspiracy. The car companies aren’t out to deny US drivers the vehicles they really want or need.

If GM thought they could sell these to a majority of American’s (not just JoesTypeS), they’d be in every dealership:
http://www.planearium2.de/pics/pics-511-5.jpg

As people have said, the US is a whole lot different than Europe when it comes to our roads. Everything here involves highway travel, where as a work van in a European city may spend it’s entire life navigating narrow city streets. We are a much more spread out population so we want our vehicles to perform at 75+… even our work vehicles.