Who? ME? In a minivan?

The time to get a newer car was two weeks ago. It was a tough call, but when my only semi-reliable source of transportation left me stranded twice in one week... Well, it made my choice easier.

I had been looking on line, reading reviews and opinions (Thanks!) and even scouting around and doing the evil test drive. I knew that I did not want a sedan, coupe, or tinker toy car. With the kids, and the pets, and the friends of the kids, it seemed smartest to stay in the same size, if not bigger. But, I really didn't want a minivan. It's the kiss of death for sporty fun, being almost sexy despite the retriever drooling out the window. I wanted an SUV.
Well, in case you did not know this, there are few things in this world that are as overpriced as SUV's are. What I could afford, and what I wanted were at best, light years apart. And most of the vehicles I looked at were tiny -- no backseat leg room, not a lot of storage, they felt wrong. OK, well, I could go back to a wagon. I liked my tempermental VW, I just could not trust it. So, I really don't want a wagon. That leaves me with a truck (not a clever option) or the minivan.

After some research, and walking onto lots (Hey, MR. "Girls, are you two sisters? Why don't you take her for a spin and see how she fits"... Guess what? You didn't get my business!) I went to a closer dealership. I was treated very nicely, shown what they had, made a nice offer for the sad VW, and suddenly I am a "soccer Mom". I am still in shock. Heck, when I go into the parking lot at work, there are no less than 5 minivans ever at one time and most of them are the Dodge/Plymouth variety.

I like it. I can sit up high enough to see around other cars and make turns safely. I have air bags, although I pray I never need them. The venting system does a fine job of cooling the whole car. I really like having the two sliding doors, loading of kids and dogs goes so much faster. The back deck doesn't hold as much as I had hoped, but the seats are very removable, so I can reconfigure as I need. We got a van that has the two captian's chairs in the middle, and it already has decreased the number of fights. I like that. The electronics are taking some adjusting to. The key has to be in the car, at the ignition starting position to roll up a window. Some of the controls, like the windows are literally at fingertip length. My legs are pretty short, but I don't want to be any closer to the wheel than I already am. In town it accelerates nicely, fits into parking spaces, and is a comfortable ride. I'll let you know how it is on longer trips when gas gets cheaper.