I am on my 3 Chrysler Mini Van. I have never felt ashamed to drive a mini van. Our kids are grown, and gone, and we still have a Town and Country van. It rides as well as a Linclon, gets 26+ mpg on the highway, and has room for people and cargo. You can add any number of blings, and sound systems that are available. Maybe some of these people have a problem with their identity if they are concerned about their vehicle reflecting who they are. The mini van is very much a part of our America. If it goes, so does our “America”. Bill Crews-Panama City, Florida.

There’s not a danged thing wrong with driving a minivan. It tells the world you’re so cool you’ve got nothing to prove. Only people who are not cool or secure in their coolness factor need to prop up their image with a flashier vehicle.

I bought a Dodge minivan last year, mostly to haul stuff. Yeah, a truck might have sufficed, but then without a camper shell your load would be exposed to the elements during transport. Could have bought an SUV. I looked at some of the Jeep vehicles and they were swell, handled nicely, had all the bells and whistles. But the basic minivan was one hell of a lot cheaper. It does the job I want it to do and I don’t really care what image I project to the rest of the world. And the mileage really isn’t all that bad with the low-end cylinder engine. Hey. I’ll be laughing at the cool people all the way to the bank with the money I saved.

What’s wrong? Really is it that hard for oil dependent, fast-junk food crazy, lazy Americans to understand? Convenience over intelligence has become the American way as exhibited by their preferences for SUVs, pickup trucks, highways, vans and cheap beer. Self destructive habits rule!

Minivans are a bit too “frumpy” for me. SUV’s, though, are cool–but not “green” enough! So I’ll stick with my Toyota, and I’ll continue to admire those SUVs along the roadside, which I notice are frequently parked adjacent to gas pumps!

My wife drives a minivan that we bought so she could carry her work supplies. I prefer a small car. My parents bought their first van in 1965, because my mother, who was only about 5 feet tall, didn’t like driving a station wagon with a big front end. I think it was a Ford, with 3 on the tree. They had to order back seats and seat belts extra. To take a seat out, we had to remove 8 bolts. Eventhough it was made long before Chrysler introduced the minivan, it wasn’t much bigger than the ones built today. There was only enough seating for 8 and we had 10, so my brother and I would sit on the motor cover that extended between the front seats. I guess my parents would go to jail if they let us do that today. Anyway, I have good memories of that van and the ones that followed.
I have a much different idea of the minivan today. I have two images. One is of a rushed soccer mom, talking on the phone in the McDonald’s drive-thru while detached kids watch DVD’s in the back. The other image is of a domesticated man, sadly watching Corvette’s pass him by.

I have driven several Dodge Grand Caravans as rentals – and thoroughly enjoyed them! The “Stow and Go” seating especially caught my eye, it’s a very cool feature. I seriously thought about getting one as my next vehicle (that purchase is still over a year away) but gas prices have made me reconsider. Now I am leaning toward something more fuel efficient – like a plug in hybrid.

I always said when I started to have children I will never drive a minivan.
However after the 3rd one and onto the fourth I had to let go of my Jeep
Cherokee. I got a minivan and loved it. I had it for 5yrs and then my son
totalled it on his 16th b-day. Of course with gas prices who can afford a new one. My daughter that is four tells me everyday lets go get our van. She even misses it.

I had a 1974 Bronco that would turn on a dime. No carpet, crank windows, vinyl seats, but upgraded with power assist steering, automatic trans and add on air conditioning. It was great for fishing, hunting, camping, and utility hauling or towing. When I finally wore it out and tried to replace it in 1998 I discovered that SUVs had been radically changed to accommodate soccer moms replacing their minivans. Standard equipment included power windows and seats, carpet, cloth seats, soft suspension and a drastically reduced turning radius to avoid rollovers by idiots trying to do an 80 degree curve at 70mph. Now the minivan style SUVs are suffering in the marketplace along with their precursor. Good riddance.

The “mini-vans are for weenies” mindset is nothing more than a contrivance. You are absolutely right - there is NOTHING more inherently geeky about a minivan than an SUV — other than marketing.

I LOVE my minivan! It handles like a car, gets decent gas milage and I can hold my kids, their stuff, our pets and all the crud that accumulates. We’re off to our farm with my kids’ ATV in the back today. Bottom line: it makes my life easier. Oh, and my self image is based on things other than marketing and someone else’s idea of “cool.” If it wasn’t, I’d still be out behind the high school smoking!!

I’m 32 and dreaming of a mini-van. With one toddler and another child on the way in a few months I covet all the cargo space (strollers are HUGE!). Plus the sliding doors make it SO EASY to load the kids into car-seats, which it seams we have to do now until they’re 16!

We borrowed my parents last winter for a trip to Michigan, and can’t imagine what we’d have done without it . . . and that was with just one kid. Hopefully within the year I’ll have my own minivan.