Brain Fertilizer

Sigh.....a sporty car....

We simply must have a van to accommodate us all. R asked if I wanted to go with a car with the seat option in the front. I reminded him of our need to travel 1700 miles together, and gave an emphatic no way would I want to be squished up like that for that long.

So van it will be.

To tell the truth, I think within another 5 years we'll see the return of a car wide enough to accomodate 6 passengers.

Nathan- Behold, the future! I mean, sitting out front. :)

http://www.chevrolet.com/impala/

Six passengers. Comfortably, no less. ;)

Well, I was right, wasn't I? [grin]

I'm really surprised by this, though. The standard has been single person bucket seats in the front for quite some time.

...and I gotta say, I sat in a 2004 Impala, and there didn't seem to be room for 6 passengers, but I'm assuming full-size adults. They don't specify that in the linked webpage. So perhaps that's 4 full-size adults and two 8-year-olds? Could you pack 5 child's car-seats/boosters and still have room for a driver?

we used to have that with most cars in the mid-70s, and maybe even the Caprice Classic into the mid-80s, but it's been sadly absent since.

Interesting link, Jo, thanks.

the sedan model fits three adults ok. Two adults and a tween comfortably.

I made a pact with a friend many years ago that no matter how many kids, no matter what life held, we would never own minivans. :) I intend to keep my promise, haha.

Three quick reactions to that:
1) That's too easy, considering SUVs.
2) What does the "Freestyle" count as? Minivan or SUV? It tries to be a cross of both.
3) What's wrong with minivans? It's an effecient way to move people and things.

Easy to answer: A.) friend and I think they are ugly, B.) We think they're the vehicle equivalent of sweatpants, C.) Ask anyone who works an espresso bar, a fast food drive-thru, or as a gas station attendant "what does your rudest, most obnoxious customer drive?" and you'll probably hear "minivan" repeated incessantly.

Sure, C is a chicken and egg thing, but why risk it. ;)

Hm. For me it has always been Cadillac/Towncar drivers.

"equivalent of sweat pants", eh? Colorful...but what do you wear in situations that call for sweatpants (like exercising on a chilly morning), then? Diaphonous silk? Point being, when something is appropriate to your needs, why let style concerns stop you from using it?

Ever try to run in sweatpants? ;)

it was more of a humourous anectodte about two young people trying to make sure they preserve their "cool" as they age, but since you're pushing:

There is an epidemic in this country of mothers who think because they have one kid, and might have a need to seat a friend, too, by God, they need a minivan. I see it every day, and it is unbelievably unnecessary. They take up too much space (well, if minivan drivers could ever learn they don't belong in "compact" spots it might help) and are not known for fuel efficiency. Nor are they very safe either. If one was concerned about safety and seating a brood, they'd get a Volvo wagon with the third seat option. No American minivan can ever beat the performance or quality.

I run in sweatpants all the time...

Costwise, minivans these days can be a good value. You can usually find a new, year-late model minivan for less than $14000.
And while a Volvo station wagon is definitely a better buy overall, it costs 2 to 3 times as much. Some people simply can't swing that. Not to mention that requirement to wear earth sandals and redecorate your house with patchouli-scented hemp-strung love beads...(just kidding!)

Compared to a similarly priced mid- to small-SUV like the C-RV or Ford Escape, you get approximately equal gas mileage and much more convenience: dual sliding doors, fold-flat seats, etc.; they usually have cargo/person-hauling capability as good as the Explorer/Durango/Envoy class, but cost, fuel economy, and size/footprint is much better.

Now, I doubt I'd make the same choice. I'd probably prefer to buy the Impala you linked and just rent a truck on the days I need to haul something.

I agree with you that some people buy inappropriately big vehicles for the wrong reasons, lik on the off-chance that someone might come to visit and they'll need the extra room...a much more cost- and materials-efficient way to handle that is to just rent what you need for that week once a year, rather than pay the gas/maintenance depreciation costs on a big SUV or minivan.

A question about depreciation, though: which is worse? To buy a $10,000 car that depreciates by 50% in the first year or a $40,000 that takes 5 years to depreciates by 50%? The cheaper car can only depreciate so far, and if it still runs and is in decent shape after 5 years...?

Which is yet another reason I probably will never buy a BMW, Audi, Volvo, Benz, Porsche, Cadillac, etc. No matter how great the resale value is, you lose more money driving one of the nice cars around than you do something inexpensive. I'm all about getting people and stuff where they need to be in the most efficient and least expensive way possible...

One of the reasond minivans depreciate so rapidly is because they seem to have more ailments once they get worn in. Does that say more about the people who buy them, or about the vehicle? Who knows.

But they are a very poor buy. Look at the resale on a Volvo. really holds value.

Not that I would buy one! ;) If I don't go bigger next time, or if i don't need a truck, I will probably go for a Saab or Malibu.

If I need the space and wanted to spend the money, I'd almost definitely go for the Malibu Maxx. Impressive piece of work, there.
...except that I'd give the Freestyle a good, hard look, too. Lots of versatility built into the Freestyle.

But I don't need it right now. I just need a good, non-cramped grown-up-looking passenger car.

I dunno, that freestyle sorta has that hippie Subaru styling. ;)

Subaru's are for hippies?!??!!

Huh.

Most of the people I knew who drove them in the 80s just wanted a decent car that could deal with rough county roads and occasional deep snowfall.

So they've assumed the mantle of "Peace, out" from Volvo, then?

...other people can join in, too, you know.

If I wanted to have a conversation with only Jo, I could just email her.

Subarus are the modern-day granola-cruncher-mobile. Hard to believe MT or I have never owned one, eh? ;)

Slowly coming to terms with the fact that I now drive a minivan. Heh.

Sad thing is that it's dying and we can't afford another van, so I have no idea what we'll do. Something sedanish, I suppose, that will be used with an eye toward replacing it with something bigger down the road. We really need the van space so that Jay can pick up parts even if the weather is bad, too.

Oh, well. Being broke is a bitch. *shrug*

The van has the best of being a car and the best of being bigger all wrapped up into one. It's the most damned practical thing I've ever driven. Not as long as a wagon so it's easier to park, handles like a car rather than like a truck, lots and lots of space, easy to get kids in and out of, and some of the features on the new ones are downright fancy. I used to hate the minivan drivers, too, but I'm really not looking forward to having to make do without mine.

Er, not that I have an opinion or anything. :-)

Wow. I was the thread killer. Not so often that I have that honor. :-)

Congrats on the purchase. Sounds excellent.

Nah, you didn't kill the thread...just showed up a little later than usual and I didn't have time to respond to your comments...
I pretty much agree with your opinions about vans.

But then, since actually being cool has never been a possibility for me, I never had to worry about making the attempt.

I am afraid you are probably correct (or at least those whom you know that work the gas stations and drive-thrus) but as a free-thinking, tolerant woman, I am a teeny-tiny bit surprised that you lump all of us minivan drivers into one broad category ;)

Unfortunately, women think that they are more deserving than all the other people in line with lives to be assisted simply because they have children. I really do despise that attitude and feel both embarrassed for the misrepresentation and annoyed that one is so selfish.

"No matter how many kids"- Jo, come now. If you had (according to your own pact rules) 7 children and had to take them all with you somewhere, and were legal in the transportation (that is, required everyone riding to either have their own seatbelt or to be in a car seat), I want to see the car that you would use to get to your destination :D