I want a minivan.

[Stuff]

I think the Toyota and Honda van's are somewhat cool looking. The others, you will just look like a loser.

  Coming from a guy who drives a G5

Nothing wrong with any of the coupes under 20k.

[dorin]

The sedans and wagons of yore were as long and wide as minivans are today.  They were probably as heavy, if not heavier.  There was lotsa steel in the ol' County Squire.  The wagons, IIRC, sometimes had a rear facing seat for extra passengers.

You're wrong there.
- 1958 Ford Country Squire:  3508 lbs. (seating for
- 1968 Ford Country Squire:  4167 lbs.

- 2007 Chrysler Town & Country:  4442 lbs.
- 2007 Chevrolet Uplander:  4233 lbs.
- 2007 Honda Odyssey:  4678 lbs.
- 2007 Kia Sedona:  4387 lbs.
- 2007 Toyota Sienna:  4266 lbs.

[dorin]

I'd find your openmindedness for minivans more praiseworthy (i.e., "I do think that people should realize that things like hipness and sex appeal are both relative and subjective") if you weren't so snotty about "piece of station wagons."  As things stand, I think you're a bit of a hypocrite.

[mrthompson]

Links, please. 

[Snowman]

I want a minivan.

Although it sounds like an innocuous desire, I am often met with a barrage of disparaging groans and snickers when I admit this in mixed company. “Don’t do it!,” the crowd will yell as they look at me with mix of horror and pity on their faces. Apparently, minivans symbolize something undesirable to many people. From what I can gather, many believe that purchasing a minivan is tantamount to surrendering any chance of being hip, spontaneous, and most importantly, sexy. I think this population of knee-jerk minivan-phobes is sorely misinformed.

I will concede that my desire for a minivan is pragmatic, even banal. Basically, I want the ability to transport more than just my family of four in a safe and comfortable fashion. Right now, I can offer an extra passenger in our car about eight inches of butt space (complete with lap belt) between two booster seats in the backseat. I know that in the good old days, we piled ourselves two deep into the front seat and such, but there are laws against that now. Besides, I want a vehicle with some room to stretch out during long road trips.

So, the only vehicles still currently being manufactured that offer the kind of space I want are oversized SUVs and minivans. While an oversized SUV might render me cool in some circles, my personal belief is that if you own that type of vehicle, you better damn well be using it to pull a large boat or horse trailer - not to take your kids and their friends to the movies. This belief makes the minivan the obvious choice for me.

When I explain my logic to the anti-minivan camp, they inevitably conclude that I can circumvent this dilemma by purchasing the apparently now hip and ironic full-size station wagon. Strangely enough, nobody ever suggests the full-size conversion van - complete with swivel seats and card table -which, if you’re into being ironic, has far more bang for the buck. But that’s beside the point. My point is that I’m not going to choose some piece of station wagon over a minivan. It may be hip in some circles, it is certainly has an air of spontaneity, but in my world view there ain’t a damn thing sexy about a station wagon.

So lately, I’ve taken a different tack. It is this. I am claiming, with a straight face, that minivan is really the sexiest ride around. First of all, if you need a minivan, you’ve been getting busy on a regular basis in the past few years and you have the goods to prove it. Secondly, anybody who has taken a ride in the recent crop of minivans cannot tell me these vehicles don’t offer a smooth ride. If a smooth ride brought Prince to a falsetto in Little Red Corvette, the minivan can do the same for fathers in their 30s and 40s. Finally, all that space I’ve been talking about? I have a friend, a mother of three, (I am not making this up) who insists that the biggest advantage of her minivan is the ample space it has for her and her husband to get down to business while the kids are at piano lessons. If a vehicle in which you can have sex is not sexy, then I guess just don’t get it.

While I don’t really expect people to believe that the minivan is the sexiest vehicle out there, I do think that people should realize that things like hipness and sex appeal are both relative and subjective. I’m going to buy the car that suits my needs regardless of what other people say, but I’m going to have some fun doing it, and part of that is changing the image of the minivan, one group of nay-sayers at a time.

So all you folks with your Subarus, your mini-SUV’s, and your cramped sedans, listen up. The question is no longer “is the minivan cool?”, but rather, “are you cool enough for the minivan?”

“but in my world view there ain’t a damn thing sexy about a station wagon”   
Your world must be hell.

[DockMan]

amen, Snowman, amen.

[airbalancer]

Black or Blue is probably better to for sexy, grey / silver does not cut it for sexy

[Titanium48]

I'd like to see a minivan that is actually mini and not a 2000 kg hulking monster.  Start with a 5-door subcompact hatchback, make it 10 cm wider, stretch the wheelbase by 30 cm and add 20 cm of rear overhang.  There is now room for a third seat between the rear wheels while the middle seat has become wide enough to accomodate 3 people with a modicum of comfort, giving a total seating capacity of 7.  Add a set of rear hinged doors (like you find on extended cab pickups or saturn "quad coupes") to access the rearmost seats.  The whole 7-door, 7 seat package should come in under 1500 kg and be adequately powered by a 2.2L 4 cylinder engine, giving decent fuel economy.

You've almost described a Mazda5.....

I guess I did.  I still think the "quad coupe" style rear doors would be an improvement - they'd give a wider opening and be easier to use than a slider.  I also wonder why Mazda doesn't offer a 3-person bench middle seat as an option.  8.0L/100km on the highway is dissapointing, but that might be due in part to a 2.3L engine spinning at 2750 RPM at 100 km/h in 5th gear - it could probably use a wider ratio transmission.  My Saturn has the same power to weight ratio and 5th gear has the engine doing 2200 RPM at 100 km/h.

[Turbo Bob]

I see many couples panic when they have one or two children and run off to buy a vehicle because they think they need a bus all of a sudden.

Exactly!!

I'm gonna get a two seater for me and the baby, and a two seater for the wife, with room for another baby! HOWZAT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbGEOob5x4g

 

[mdxtasy]

A minivan isn't a need, but it sure is handy.  Having a vehicle that can be the versatile jack of all trades vehicle is a very nice and convenient.  Haul stuff?  No problem.  Seat 7?  Of course.  Family vacation with room to spare and room for luggage?  Easy peasy.  Efficient?  Yes.  Comfortable?  Of course.  Nobody NEEDS the room....as most times you will be carrying excess cargo capacity that won't be utilized.  But for what a minivan can do, it's a good all rounder.

"When growing up we were a family of 5 and the minivan was not available yet and we traveled well on vacations in sedans and wagons with enough luggage for holidays."

You probably didn't have flushing toilets and electricity when you were a kid, doesn't mean it's not nice to have now.     

[Snowman]

Prior to the Highlander purchase my wife was pressuring me to buy a minivan. I presented her an excel spreadsheet populated with utilization factors which indicated we could rent a van for 3 weeks a year and be ahead. If you analyze how many time you utilize the vehicle to its full capacity it will be clear. 

[mdxtasy]

Prior to the Highlander purchase my wife was pressuring me to buy a minivan. I presented he an excel spreadsheet populated with utilization factors which indicated we could rent a van for 3 weeks a year and be ahead. If you analyze how many time you utilize the vehicle to its full capacity the answerer will be clear. 

I agree.....I'm more of a wagon man myself.

[Turbo Bob]

Prior to the Highlander purchase my wife was pressuring me to buy a minivan. I presented her an excel spreadsheet populated with utilization factors which indicated we could rent a van for 3 weeks a year and be ahead. If you analyze how many time you utilize the vehicle to its full capacity it will be clear. 

You consultants, I bet you do a cost/benefit for everything!

[G0dspd]

Changing the plugs on a V6 or V8 Mini Van ....

Pray tell, what is this beast? 

Mercedes R Class?

I'm sure Dodge will introduce the Dodge Caravan SRT-8 with the new generation. 

[Snowman]

Changing the plugs on a V6 or V8 Mini Van ....

Pray tell, what is this beast? 

Mercedes R Class?

I'm sure Dodge will introduce the Dodge Caravan SRT-8 with the new generation. 

Yes, and I like it.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Dad had one of these. Considered intermediate at the time. Not too far off the porkiness of the current "mini" vans, but could tow a hell of a lot more. Dad had the 400. Best mileage he ever got was 18mpg IIRC. He traded it in on an '82 Escort, which got double the mileage. A bit tight with three kids in the back though!

Available with wood-grained side trim and Rally II wheelswas the stylish Grand LeMans Safari. It was a plush station Wagon with features, on the standard equipment list,like cut-pile carpeting and extra acoustical insulation.Designated by Style Number G35, this 4,505 pound haulercould be bought for as little as $5,479. That included the400 cubic inch V-8; Turbo-Hydra-Matic transmission;power steering, and power front disc brakes. Interestinglyenough, PMD records do not give a production total forthis car. However, Crestline Publishing has discoveredthat 6,094 examples were built.

http://www.abodysite.com/76hisbook.html

[Turbo Bob]

“but in my world view there ain’t a damn thing sexy about a station wagon”   
Your world must be hell.

Snowy, it might upset the ride quality a tad but that wagon needs bigger rims!



 

[Snowman]

“but in my world view there ain’t a damn thing sexy about a station wagon”   
Your world must be hell.

Snowy, it might upset the ride quality a tad but that wagon needs bigger rims!



 

   

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Oh god, are there a lot of cars like that down here. There's a mint green late 80s Buick with 24s on it. I've seen a Corolla with ~22s on it. Horrible.....

(not my picture)

[dorin]

Links, please. 

Google is your friend Mr.T. 

I got the minivan weights from Edmunds.com and I just googled "country squire".