Something has happened recently that you need to know about and that I’m still somewhat ambivalent about: I now own a minivan.
Yes, yes… yes…
My family has made the significant (or not so significant…?) decision to trade in my lovely 2-door Honda Civic for a much more practical Honda Odyssey. Thankfully I was able to buy this from my parents who kept babied it for years and still looks and performs like brand-new.
And now this fully-loaded 2007 is part of our family. Some, like my youngest, have already claimed their rightful spot on the bus:
I feel like this shift should be significant for me, right? Well, there was nothing more poignant than driving up to ECHO Conference in this and feeling extremely motivated to park at the far end of the lot and then sneak in the back entrance.
WHY?!
What exactly is this stigma that I feel? I shouldn’t be embarrassed, right? The thing drives like a sedan and has amenities that rival our house.
Well, at least my wife has some humor in it – after having driven countless hours back to Atlanta from Dallas she asked me to proudly pose in front of it like a champ:
She got lucky because I was tired – I don’t feel nearly as cool as I want to be. I will say, though, that I’m geeking out on some of the features.
How about you? If you’re of the male persuasion, are you rocking a soccer-mom-style-minivan? What’s your take? How am I supposed to feel about this awkward-yet-necessary transition?
Give it to me. Tell me what’s up (and what might be irreversibly down).
You have reached that level of the married/family life time when the word “practical” becomes part of your every day vocabulary.
Proud to have piloted my wife and girls 23k miles in a year to see 52 Zoos in 52 Weeks, LOL. Welcome to the club! Although mine’s hitting 151k and will need a new transmission soon, LOL. Let me know if you have issues with the Honda, father and father-in-law both helped build that thing. Just make sure you drive with a lean…..might lose some man card points for sitting straight up
This is gonna change everything. You roll up to the office – we’re putting a hot tub in the back, shrimp wall on the door, and a curtain upfront. We’ll LAN-it-up in the cab.
Props to Sue for letting you get this for the team!
This really is the perfect 8BIT corporate vehicle but shouldn’t it be @dewde who has it since he is the only “adult” in the group
Congrats john if nothing else this shows that your family is more important then your image yet again.
You’re the only one who appreciates me, Eric.
You sold out! The only way to make it better is to fill the cargo area with some 15 inch speakers, an amp and a diesel Bazooka!
http://carsmedia.ign.com/cars/image/article/757/757914/2007-tokyo-auto-salon-part-5-20070123052635425.jpg
Welcome to the club. You’re in good company.
I drive a 17 year old gold minivan and I don’t have kids. And I bought it before I started nannying the girls by about two years.
Minivans are really what the cool kids drive.
It is solid, it will hold a ton of stuff and while I would love to get better gas mileage, I don’t actually drive enough for it to make much of a difference.
We’re totally rocking the minivan too. It gets hard to fit three in the Civic! I’ll trade it for those automatic doors any day. Great choice, by the way. We had a hard time deciding between the Odyssey and the Sienna.
Welcome to the club… John, but maybe you share my fear … what I fear most is WHAT COMES NEXT?? I have this feeling the Van is just the beginning…………………
John,
I had the same situation happen. My wife wrecked our car and wanted a mini-van. We have one kid LOL. I felt extremely old the first time I drove it to the point I almost became sick. Now after a few road trips I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Trust me you won’t go back. Also since I work for Dave Ramsey, I love to see you bought used. I did the same, no payments= it drives better. Good post.
Been there, done that, when the kids got older traded it in for an SUV-ish Volvo XC90. Check this youtube vid out to help you get your pimp on with your family-mobile. Maybe you will feel less embarrassed… but then again…
http://cl.ly/INNz
Those Honda minivans last forever. Mine is 12 years old, and just keeps running. The repairs it has required are very minimal. I have just one child, but that van has come in handy so many times for hauling kid and friends around, driving my family around in one vehicle when they visit, folding down the back and taking out middle seats to haul horse equipment, landscaping equipment and bags of mulch and assorted other large items. It’s very comfortable for long drives when we’re on the road 5-7 hours to visit the parentals. I really do want another vehicle, but when I went to a big car show last winter and sat in every vehicle that was remotely appealing to me and in my price range, the darn Odyssey was the most comfortable and I just like it the best! I fear I may be driving a minivan for years to come – I don’t want to like it so much, but it’s so functional and comfortable. Maybe when the kid moves out, I’ll be able to buy a cool vehicle and have a van, too.
Nothing at all to be embarrassed about. You have to do what is best for the fam. My wife was anti minivan till one day she saw a friend carrying her baby it its carrier, remotely open the door and set the carrier in its dock and shut the door remotely. When we go home my wife said did you see what our friend did she just pushed a button and was done. I looked at her and her response was “You’ve told me this before and I didn’t listen did I. Grin. So as soon as one of vehicles decided to die there was no question what we were getting. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles but pretty close. Our Favorites our the dual temp control and dvd player.
The minivan is the best form of transportation ever invented. Roomy. Comfy. Family-friendly. Plus, several people in the world think it’s stylish.
We had a Pontiac Montana with a power sliding door and I thought it was awesome. Now both doors are power as well as the rear door. And if you are a family that road-trips a lot there is nothing better.
Personally, my favorite was always the Odyssey but at the time it was a bit outside of our price range.
I actually had similar feelings about my 2006 Toyoyta Camry. Yes, i’m 23 years old and im driving a Camry. It’s a grandma car, I realize that, but it preforms like a champ, and is a gas CHAMP!
So… we have four children. When we made it to three we didn’t fit in our current vehicle and so started to look. All of my friends drove minivans, we loved a lot of the features. But when it came to car shopping day and we drove into the Honda dealership for our own… I started crying. I have driven a truck my entire driving career. Just couldn’t make the transition.
We ended up with a 4×4 Suburban… and love it! (But still covet the automatic open/close doors and cargo storage of the minivan!)
So I hate driving. Like really hate it. I would ride a bus or subway for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.
That being said I’m rocking a Honda Civic w/ 285,000+ miles on it and my wife proudly drives a Honda Pilot. You can’t beat Honda.
However, my wife is vehemently opposed to ever resembling a minivan or soccer mom. Personally, I like the room and handling of the Odyssey (our friends have one) and wouldn’t mind shuttling the kids around in it.
Years ago, we got our first Chrysler mini-van. Bought it used and it worked great for hauling all sorts of stuff. We had it before the stigma… What helped was we bought it (very) used so we had enough left over to get a used Mazda Miata…
The Miata is the most fun you can have on four wheels…
OWN IT John! I do. We had our first child in March and it was the excuse for us to switch over to the minivan. We bought a used 2006 Grand Caravan and got a heck of a deal.
We absolutely love it! It’s got way more room and flexibility than our Grand Cherokee, better gas mileage, and I really don’t mind being that guy in his twenties driving a minivan. For us, it’s what’s on the inside that counts!
Fine. I’ll be the one to say it. You’re a dork. You drive a dorky vehicle and no matter how cool your hair is or how much style you have with your clothes it won’t matter anymore. Your hair will be messed up from the kids rubbing it and your sweet clothes will have stains on them that transferred from the seat because you’ll have perma-stains.
At least, that’s what I tell myself because I’m jealous you’re still cooler than I am. At least you still have hair to make cool…