Thanks for owning up, Kurt! I’m a 22 year old guy, and I proudly drive an 07 Dodge Grand Caravan. It gets 27 mpg on the highway, loaded with luggage. What’s wrong with that? I also mow lawns on the side, and I have a trailer hitch that I haul a 5×10 trailer with no trouble at all. It’s comfy, spacious, and overall the best bang for the buck. I’m also a musician, and I can haul all of my gear and 4-7 people in addition. It’s a fine product, and I will buy another in a heartbeat when this one dies. I heard the “Hey there soccer mom” jokes from my co-workers and such, but I still think it’s a great choice. When I go somewhere with my friends, I get “we all riding in your van right?” You got to get over that stigma of “being cool” sometime in life. I think Minivans will make a BIG comeback when they become hybrids/alternative energy. Why not? (Unless you need a truck of course …..)

Kurt - You are, evidently, much too young to remember the original and coolest ever minivan, the VW bus. It was the essence of cool and no one would demean anyone who drove one as being less manly. I remember a bumper sticker that was often on the back of brightly hand-painted VW vans, “Don’t laugh, your daughter could be in here!” Many of your generation were conceived in a VW van. Of course, modern minivans have been suburbanized and conventionalized and, sadly, have lost their edge but that doesn’t mean it has to be that way. Individualize your ride! Make it special!

Beenthere: I’m only a smidgen too young. One of my uncles and his wife (my aunt, of course) had a VW van and yes, it was wicked cool. I’m not prepared to discuss whether any of my cousins were conceived there.

I can also say that my aunt was super cool because she saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium…but that’s something for another talk of the day.

1. You can’t see through them or around them when you are driving behind them.

2. They take up too much room in parking spaces which leaves little room on either side for people to get out of their cars if you park next to one.

3. I have almost been sideswiped by more minivans than any other type of vehicle. Bad blind spots? Who knows?

Other than that they are just peachy. To each his own…..

Gina: I get it…but I think you’re missing the point of my question: How is that any different from SUVs? I have the same experience with them. Why, for so many years, did SUVs get all the luv and all the cool — but minivans never did?

I think the source of the minivan’s “uncool” reputation has to do with it’s being primarily favored by people who have children.

Some people (if you can believe it) think it is the height of “uncool” to buy a vehicle based on the needs of a growing family, hence the “soccer mom” snipes.

Also, Dodge Caravans like the one I owned years ago (a ‘91) were mechanical nightmares, and Chrysler had a hard time overcoming that reputation.

Minivans, especially Dodge minivans, are the worst made cars that a person can find, from electrical to engine to body, you’ll have major issues.

Car companies actually care about how their SUVs reputations are, but they just slap minivans together while half asleep it seems.

CP - Two phrases - Ford Explorer……Firestone/Bridgestone tires. People get over that perception eventually. Today I turned over 30k miles in barely a year…..no mechanical issues (and bridgestone tires to boot), but all things manufactured are subject to the human equation. I’m pretty sure Dodge/Chrysler products are not the worst thing running on four wheels. It all boils down to preference.

Thanks!

the other day I saw a minivan driven by a man and there was a stylish tribal decal across both sides. I just thought “it is still a minivan, no matter what you try to do with it”

They are always mommy wagons to me.