It’s a sad commentary on the shallow values of our society that the most important job (parenting), is rewarded with scorn when parents choose an eminently practical vehicle (the minivan) with which to do that job.
If I ever get married and have kids, I hope I’ll have enough self-respect to not give a rat’s behind what anyone thinks of my beaten old Dodge Caravan 
Well, it IS entertaining for the children, I think…
I have no moral opposition to anything anyone wants to drive. If you want to drive say, an Explorer, that’s fine by me. But I don’t understand why someone would want to drive something that’s slow, handles and stops like a truck, gets lousy mileage, and doesn’t even offer the utility of a truck nor the driving enjoyment that a performance car that gets the same mileage would give.
I went through a period of “I could never own a minivan.” Then, while traveling with the two toddlers and having to haul a couple of extra adults I rented a Caravan.
We were in it for 5 minutes before I looked at my wife and said “Why don’t we have one of these?”
At the time, our regular daily family traveler was a Ford Explorer. There is absolutely no comparison. SUVs should be called SVs - in that the “sport” part is applicable (for that tiny tiny tiny proportion of owners who actually use them that way). For basic, everyday family stuff, the minivan gets the “U” for utility.
Honda 3:16
V-tec just kicked in, Yo!
God did save the Fury. It was resurrected. Now it’s a motorcycle made by Honda. It resembles a chopper.
Doesn’t driving an Explorer when you don’t need one unnecessarily drive up demand for fuel and therefore drive up the price of fuel for the rest of us? Doesn’t being unnecessarily decadent hurt the little guy who can’t afford $4/gallon fuel? No man is an island.
I think that there are ‘in’ vehicles for every time period. Right after WW II,today’s SUV equivalent was the Willys Overland which was also known as the Jeep Station Wagon. The Toyota Prius analog was the Nash Airflyte. The Nash Airflyte 600 got the 600 name because it was alledged to be able to go 600 miles on a 20 gallon tank of gasoline. I’m not certain what kind of gasoline mileage one could get on the Jeep Station Wagon, but all Jeep Station Wagons were equipped with the Borg-Warner overdrive so that the 4 cylinder “Go-Devil” engine wouldn’t over rev at highway speeds. My Dad taught taught at a state college at the time and quite a few of his colleagues either had the Jeep Station Wagon or the Nash Airflyte. Since my Dad was finishing his degree, we didn’t have an ‘in’ car–we had a prewar Chevrolet. As I kid, I thought that the Jeep Station Wagon was cool, but that the Nash Airflyte looked like a rolling bathtub that was turned upside down. I guess times don’t change.
And the disciples were in one Accord
It is hypocritical to be morally opposed to SUVs but drive an even larger minivan.
It is not morally wrong to drive an SUV at all. It is a double standard to claim SUV’s are morally wrong while the person claiming this is driving any kind of car. Who is the one who decides what is morally right or wrong to drive? No one on this planet.
A couple of years ago, I was driving south on I-35 and passing all the traffic in some of the most rude and aggressive driving I had ever witnessed was a Chevy Suburban with the rear end plastered with every “save the earth” tree hugger bumper sticker you can immagine.
(shrug) Maybe he just wasn’t clear on the concept.
Personally, I salute the caller for letting her morals guide her purchases. If we only knew where our hard earned money went whenever we purchase a car, or apply for a loan, or buy a pack of cigarettes, or write a check to the government, or order a burger. If we could look deep into the books of the companies we patronize, the causes they support, their business practices, the treatment of their employees, would we like what we see? So long as she doesn’t insist I do the same, she is free to use any criteria she wants. For example, and just as flippant, I’d never consider buying a vehicle maufactured after 1959 with exterior chrome. But that’s just me.
The Triumph is mentioned a few times as well.
Personally, this past month the only thing that’s kept me from freezing my buns off fhas been the constant snow shoveling. I think we should all get SUVs. I’m hoping global warming will kick in.
Seriously, being “morally opposed” to the choices of another is a “slippery slope”. Are you “morally opposed” to incandescent lightbulbs? I myself am “morally opposed” to disposing mercury into our landfills. But now that incandescent lightbulbs have been banned in favor of flourescent bulbs, guess what’s going to happen? Millions upon millions of bulbs all containing mercury vapor are going to end up being disposed of every year. Whose “moral opposition” rules: mine or yours?
Correct As Usual, FoDaddy !
CSA
The “Children” We Got Our Caravan For Grew Up And We Still Have Our Caravan That I Purchased New.
That Caravan with dual sliding doors and “integrated” factory Child Safety Seats has been the most practical vehicle we could have hoped for. It still does the Varsity golf, soccer, and baskeball games for my grown 16 Year-old daughter. My 23 Year-old son is out of here.
I know some people won’t believe this (Consumer Reports Says It Ain’t So), but this van has needed nothing except gas (27mpg!) and just a little routine maintenance. How come every American vehicle I’ve owned is the best vehicle going ?
CSA
Whitey, You’re Going To Drive Yourself Nuts Worrying About That Stuff. Let It Go. There’s Plenty Of Everything For Everybody. If The Little Guy Wants Something Then He Can Pursue It Like We Do.
No man is an island, but my property is actually a penisula ( I have water on three sides and the house on the end).
CSA
Millions upon millions of bulbs all containing mercury vapor are going to end up being disposed of every year.
Not to mention all the poor girls of today who shall never know the joys of an EZ-Bake oven…
Really, incandescents are superior in certain applications. Besides mentioned, places needing infrequent lighting, of short duration, that needs to be instantly available at full strength.
…I expect conversations about the show to be in that topic area.
Me too, but in this case, I didn’t take notice of which forum it was in. I usually just click “Recent Discussions.”
It’s hard to blame the OP though. “Repair and Maintenance” is the default selection. There should be no default selection, and all OPs should be forced to manually select a forum.
FoDaddy, I agree this is on the wrong forum, but it’s hard to blame the OP for this site’s shortcomings. “Repair and Maintenance” is the default selection. There should be no default selection, and people should be forced to manually select a forum to submit a question.