Get Your Motor Runnin'
Jennifer Said:
A minivan?
Are you kidding me?
Old people, responsible people, people's parents (yeah, okay that's us) drive minivans -- they don't even make them in 5-speeds for Christ's sake. What has gotten into you?
Yeah, okay -- the ones we've seen are really, really nice and extremely well equipped -- some of those things have more electronics than NASA. And yes, in addition to our frequent "road-trips", we do drive back and forth from CT to Boston at least once a month. It's hard to argue that the extra space wouldn't be nice for the kids on those longer trips, but -- honestly, they have plenty of room in our SUVs. I mean, we never had a minivan growing up..... we managed just fine. And, have you seen the prices of those things? For us to get something even comparable to the Honda your Dad recently got, we'd have to shell out over $30,000. For $30,000 I want a Beamer or a Benz not this generation's Woody Wagon.
I am not old. I already surrendered my 'lil sports cars, I already surrendered my stick shift, I already surrendered fuel efficiency -- do I really have to become one of the Joneses? a Stepford soccer Mom? Can't I retain some (and I do mean some) semblance of cool ('cause the SUV with two carseats and two "safety first" window shades screams cool)?
We are a family of four..... two adults and two tiny little children -- what do we need a land yacht for?
Warren Said:
I hate to admit it. I really do. I know this will put the final nail in the coffin of my hipster cred. But, I actually like today's minivans and I would consider buying one...now.
These are not your father's minivans - the boxy, utilitarian Dodge Caravans or the tweaked out Econolines complete with the same level of comfort. No, no, no. Gone are the days of the 300 lb. bench seats that could only be removed with the help of Andre the Giant - now you had space in the van, but you lost two parking spaces in your garage (if you had one). I know of where I speak. My father passed down a 1986 Ford Aerostar to me when I got out of the army - who was I to complain? It was free and I needed a car. It was not, however, a babe magnet. It screamed soccer mom or flower delivery guy. It might have been bulky and spartan in its amenities, but it was free, it was well-maintained and, did I mention it was free?
Since then, I have owned a Civic, a PT Cruiser and, now, a CR-V. Mrs. Big Dubya and I also own a Pilot which now takes the lion's share of the family trips. As spacious as the CR-V is, when you put the kids in their seats and throw some luggage in the back, that's it, it's full. The Pilot, however, has plenty of space, but not as much as an Odyssey, surprisingly enough. (I'm comparing Hondas to Hondas and nothing else - I'm far too lazy to go investigating Nissan and Chrysler and Toyota.) Mrs. Big Dubya mentions never having a a minivan growing up - I do as well, but I also remember a 24-hour trip to Florida in the backseat of a Chevy Citation with my two brothers - I would have killed for space back then. That's what minivans offer. And, unlike the minivans of the late 80s and early 90s, today's are just a tad cooler - satellite navigation systems, dual sliding doors, MP3 players, XM Radio and, holy shit, 15 cup holders. Fifteen!
I don't know. Minivans have such a stigma attached to them that it makes it difficult to actually take them seriously as a viable option for family truckin'. But, honestly, who am I kidding? I'm 40-years-old. Days of tooling around in an IROC are long behind me (thankfully). Maybe I can maintain some of my youth by adding some neon or some nice rims. If those don't work, this certainly will show how cool I am.
A minivan?
Are you kidding me?
Old people, responsible people, people's parents (yeah, okay that's us) drive minivans -- they don't even make them in 5-speeds for Christ's sake. What has gotten into you?
Yeah, okay -- the ones we've seen are really, really nice and extremely well equipped -- some of those things have more electronics than NASA. And yes, in addition to our frequent "road-trips", we do drive back and forth from CT to Boston at least once a month. It's hard to argue that the extra space wouldn't be nice for the kids on those longer trips, but -- honestly, they have plenty of room in our SUVs. I mean, we never had a minivan growing up..... we managed just fine. And, have you seen the prices of those things? For us to get something even comparable to the Honda your Dad recently got, we'd have to shell out over $30,000. For $30,000 I want a Beamer or a Benz not this generation's Woody Wagon.
I am not old. I already surrendered my 'lil sports cars, I already surrendered my stick shift, I already surrendered fuel efficiency -- do I really have to become one of the Joneses? a Stepford soccer Mom? Can't I retain some (and I do mean some) semblance of cool ('cause the SUV with two carseats and two "safety first" window shades screams cool)?
We are a family of four..... two adults and two tiny little children -- what do we need a land yacht for?
Warren Said:
I hate to admit it. I really do. I know this will put the final nail in the coffin of my hipster cred. But, I actually like today's minivans and I would consider buying one...now.
These are not your father's minivans - the boxy, utilitarian Dodge Caravans or the tweaked out Econolines complete with the same level of comfort. No, no, no. Gone are the days of the 300 lb. bench seats that could only be removed with the help of Andre the Giant - now you had space in the van, but you lost two parking spaces in your garage (if you had one). I know of where I speak. My father passed down a 1986 Ford Aerostar to me when I got out of the army - who was I to complain? It was free and I needed a car. It was not, however, a babe magnet. It screamed soccer mom or flower delivery guy. It might have been bulky and spartan in its amenities, but it was free, it was well-maintained and, did I mention it was free?
Since then, I have owned a Civic, a PT Cruiser and, now, a CR-V. Mrs. Big Dubya and I also own a Pilot which now takes the lion's share of the family trips. As spacious as the CR-V is, when you put the kids in their seats and throw some luggage in the back, that's it, it's full. The Pilot, however, has plenty of space, but not as much as an Odyssey, surprisingly enough. (I'm comparing Hondas to Hondas and nothing else - I'm far too lazy to go investigating Nissan and Chrysler and Toyota.) Mrs. Big Dubya mentions never having a a minivan growing up - I do as well, but I also remember a 24-hour trip to Florida in the backseat of a Chevy Citation with my two brothers - I would have killed for space back then. That's what minivans offer. And, unlike the minivans of the late 80s and early 90s, today's are just a tad cooler - satellite navigation systems, dual sliding doors, MP3 players, XM Radio and, holy shit, 15 cup holders. Fifteen!
I don't know. Minivans have such a stigma attached to them that it makes it difficult to actually take them seriously as a viable option for family truckin'. But, honestly, who am I kidding? I'm 40-years-old. Days of tooling around in an IROC are long behind me (thankfully). Maybe I can maintain some of my youth by adding some neon or some nice rims. If those don't work, this certainly will show how cool I am.
posted by mr. big dubya at 8:38 PM
9 Say it:
We got something similar, to keep a big of cred. We went with the Pacifica. Which is basically a station wagon... but -- at least it's not a minivan!
As much as it hurt to give up my Passat for an Odyssey, I'm glad we did. We made ourselves feel better by indulging in the leather seats, navigation system and the DVD player. It's a pretty pimped out ride, notwithstanding the lack of hipster cred. The Odyssey is also surprisingly manuverable.
OK, Maybe it's not so cool when your high school crush sees you driving around in it, but who cares about cool any more? The fruit snack stuck to your shirt and the Sesame Street soundtrack blasting from your sweet sound system will sell you out no matter what you're driving.
Ugg...the minivan debate.
Tucker and I went through the exact same thing right before we got our SUV. Then again, at the time, we were just concerned about carting around our 60 lb dogs and not a load of kids.
As much as I HATE typing this, I really like the Nissan Quests.
There. I typed it. I feel a little better. :)
http://TastesLikeCrazy.blogspot.com
I just bought a 2004 Explorer with the third seat. I was considering getting a minivan also (as uncool as it is to have Godsmack or Alice in Chains basting while driving one). The problem was where we live I NEED a 4x4 or AWD. If you have a pilot, you have plenty of room and don't really need a minivan. You've got the third seat and plenty of cargo space. Plus the mileage is decent. IF you had no SUV, then I'd say look at the minivan, but you don't need to change (unless of course it's a lease and it's up soon). Just know that as cool as the Honda commercial makes the Odyssey seem, it's really not.
Yea, the damn stigma of the minivan. They just aren't cool. But man EVERYONE that I know who has one sings their praises that you just don't know comfort and versatility until you have one. And that you quickly forget or care whether you look cool once you have all those amenities.
Unfortunately like my husband said (Mike) we needed the 4WD/AWD and couldn't afford that one. Otherwise, whether he thinks they are cool or not, we probably would have ended up with one too.
So don't let him fool you. LOL
Wow, my first visit to your site. I love it. I wish we had a mini-van, but with only temporary custody of 2 of our grandchildren, we'll tough it out (been 2.5 yrs already) - need the 4-wheel drive here on the Maine mountain top.
When it was time to say bye bye to our cash eating Passat we looked at compact SUVs, mostly for the convenience of our 2 dogs...but ofcourse the trunk space is nice for the stroller, etc. We ended up with a CR-V, one of the most boring cars on the planet--but as my husband says "practical, boring, and will last forever." Maybe that should be our tag line? But, there was one moment at the Toyota dealer when we were looking at RAV-4s when the guy mentioned a minivan sale and my husband said "tell me about it." What? Excuse me? Is this my husband? If they were cheaper I think he would have been all in. Thank goodness they are pricey. With just 1 kid i think we are far from that...but i do like the sliding doors.
LOL
I was a diehard suv fan...until I was about to have baby #3. We all headed down to the dealership to look for another, bigger suv. And my then almost 3 year old son (with my 1.5 yr old daughter watching) CLIMBED into a minivan and sat DOWN.
I watched that and said, "Hm. THAT will really helpme when baby #3 is here." And we bought a minivan.
IT is so much easier for little kids to climb in, and the remote door slide is AWESOME. Great when you have your hands full with stuff, ALONG with the kids.
So now I'm a soccer mom with a minivan. We first got a Honda Odyssey, and I LOVES it. Unfortunately our steep, LONG driveway called for all-wheel drive, so after 2 years, we got a Toyota Sienna. Both are real nice. But if you are looking for a minivan with some, shal I say, SCROTUM, if you know what I mean, the Honda has LOTS of power.
My 2 cents, from a mama in Connecticut!
the husband wanted a minivan, so HE drives it. I have a peppy sedan. I hate, HATE to say it, but the Relay RULES for road trips. It's like bringing your living room on vacation. And when we went to see GreenDay, we fit 8 adults and all our beer and tailgated at Gillette.
That's how we roll, 30somethng.
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