At some point when my kids were still younger with more luggage, we were also around 80 miles away from most family events. We needed a newer car and figured a minivan was the best; the kids were able to sleep in the back with the seats reclined on the long trips; we were also able to bring family members along for the trips. So I found a good used Dodge Caravan and bought it.
The only problem was that my wife did not want to drive one; was worried about the size of it and also she never wants to drive our newer car until I put a few dents in it. So I ended up driving the van as my daily driver to work and then on weekends. It was only after 5 years that she started to drive it around. We sold the car last year but kids have great memories of that Van (that even had a nick name too). I didn’t notice any difference in my manliness driving the van.
A manly professional car ? Any crew cab pick up will do in 2 wd. I guess we olderfarders aren’t as afflicted by attempts at manliness. One of the more popular cars among retired folk has become the minivan. It seems they (we) like to travel in groups of as many couples as possible just in case not everyone survives the trip they (we) will still have someone left to talk to. Minivans can be used for everything from party movers to a temporary hearse, just the thing for olderfarders.
No doubt, the minivan is the most practical family sedan on the road. If only the manufacturers could get an image upgrade on it. It is a pariah among younger men. Some men would as soon walk around with their fly unzipped as be seen driving one.
I don’t think the problem is that minivans aren’t “masculine” enough. I think the problem is that too many insecure men derive their masculinity from the vehicle they drive.
If you’re a two car family, you probably only need one family vehicle. You could have two vehicles, one small sporty or economy car and one minivan. Whoever is dropping off and picking up the kids drives the minivan that day, and the other person drives the smaller car.
I dont think the OP is super concerned with the masculinity aspect as everyone here thinks. Im sure he, like myself, would drive anything when it comes down to it. But he has a nice budget and prefers something more rugged. Not a big deal. Id be the same way.
When all the kids were young a mini-van might have been better then my SUV’s. But with trips to Pulaski NY in the middle of winter and trips to the White Mountains for skiing… the SUV fit us better. If we had one more kid…then we would have had to get a van.
If that is the case, maybe he should be allowed to keep his truck or replace it with another. I maintain that most families only need one family vehicle, and a second vehicle usually doesn’t need to be another “Mom’s taxi.”
The popularity of pickups is quite regional and within a region the popularity varies with regard to employment and co-workers and family history. Would Dr Phil drive a 4x4 Ford in camo paint? Would Oprah drive a fire engine red Jeep Wrangler? I wonder if LDub would be happy driving a khaki Nissan Frontier.
This thread has reminded me of an old customer who worked hard and built up a quite profitable business as a plumber. He had a really nice home built in an upscale neighborhood with a circular drive up to the front door where his wife insisted that her Mercedes would be parked while the pickup loaded with plumbing equipment must be kept out of sight in the rear. The husband once commented that his wife didn’t appreciate the source of their good life.
“There was my prof with her wailing Kawasaki Ninja 500 right before our eyes. We need more cool professors like her”. @chunkyazia–I agree. That is why I retired as a college professor. I didn’t have a “cool” ride to drive to work. I had my 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon coupe with the 4-4-2 trim package or my minivan. Some of my colleagues told me it didn’t fit the image of a prof to drive a thirty year old heap which just encouraged me to keep driving it. The minivan wasn’t considered cool. I couldn’t figure out what would be a cool ride in my price range, so I just retired.
The height of ridiculousness as far as image is concerned is that I had a colleague who bought a house in a very upscale neighborhood. This colleague bought some off-brand riding mower at a big box store. He was informed that he was either to have his yard mowed by a lawn service or, if he was going to do the mowing himself, he was to purchase a John Deere mower. My colleague painted his orange big box mower green to placate his neighbors.
I have another retired colleague who lives in an upscale neighborhood. He had to have a new roof on his house and decided not to put on a metal roof as he thought it would offend his neighbors. I find these new metal roofs quite attractive. I chair the building committee at my church and we have contracted to have a metal roof installed. When my present house is ready for a new roof, I am certainly going to look into a metal roof.
When I was growing up, we lived in the country and didn’t have a lot of money. When my mother went back to work when I was in 8th grade and we had to have a second car, my dad came home with an 8 year old Desoto coupe. It had a badly faded maroon paint job. I made some derogatory comment about the car not being cool. My dad didn’t say a word, but the next day came home with a sack containing rubbing compound, cleaner and paste wax and said that I was to make the car cool. I spent two days on that car and it really shone when I got through with it. I decided then that the car wasn’t so bad after all.
I would have painted pink polka dots on the mower . @wesw–I would also have mixed enough oil with the gasoline to lay a nice blue smoke screen while I mowed.
I don’t live in a real exclusive neighborhood, but I was out walking my dog (a rescue dog) one day and met a woman walking her dog. I greeted her and looked at her dog and said, “Hi Pooch”. She became quite irritated and explained to me that it wasn’t an ordinary mutt, but wa some registered breed with an impressive bloodline. She then looked at my dog and said with disdain “What kind of mongrel is that?” “Registered Democrat”, I replied.
@Triedaq - you’re a better person than I am…I’d have wanted to say something like ‘oh, I rescued mine from the pound, instead of supporting one of those horrible puppy mills.’
