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.