Just let me dig my sweater vest out of the closet....

In fairness, a current minivan could walk away from a LOT of vehicles from the 80's and 90's.

I owned a WS6 Trans Am, which I purchased new.  Definitely one of the worst cars I’ve ever owned.  Today, a minivan would walk away from it at a stoplight.

Yes, I’m sure the car with the Lamborghini engine will be cheap to own.

I own two cars, a 2015 Mustang and a 2018 BMW 3-series, and neither of them can be opened via smartphone, so I’m unclear on what you mean exactly.

Not if you want to lock both your keys and your phone in the car.  Presumably to go skinny dipping.

The tag on the keychain and the paper footwell protectors have me thinking this is a buy-here-pay-here place or someone who sells used cars as a side hustle.

With the exception of a $1000 rebate from Honda the entire cost of the conversion was out of pocket.

I don't even expect our terrible healthcare system to cover a converted van....but I would expect our system to actually cover healthcare stuff, which is sometimes a challenge. This is the only modern country where you have to buy extra insurance for your insurance...and even then they can decide not to pay for…

Yup. Call me a commie all day long if you like, but in a country as rich as this one every single person should have access to the basic necessities of life. That means food, water, shelter, education, healthcare, and mobility. Doesn’t have to be fancy, but nobody should be hungry, thirsty, homeless, ignorant, sick,…

Bravo on the new purchase, the past few years of Honda’s are finally edging out the Siennas in overall quality and styling IMHO (I own a 07 and 11 Sienna.. jury is out on my next van). I feel for you and your wife- the added expense of the conversion is no small thing.

Did you see the price?

Let me remind you, an elementary school was shot up 8 years ago by a monster, killing 20 young children and 6 adults, and fully half of my country shrugged their shoulders and said “Well, no way to stop it from happening. Maybe more guns?”

Woah, that didn’t take long. 

Manual transmissions are a dead technology like manual windows and as much as riding a horse to work. The general public does not want them. Most Jalops don’t buy them either just like all the wagons and great sedans out there have all died because they don’t sell. Good automatics are more fuel efficient, shift faster…

It’s a very simple cost-benefit analysis. The % of people who would option a manual on a “normal” car is less than 1%. I don’t like it, but I can’t blame manufacturers for responding to demand (or lack thereof).

One of the nice things about cars of this vintage is that so many of the non-engine/trans parts are perfectly appropriate to be made in house. Wooden spokes were still commonly replaced at the local Wheelwright, a cracked running board by a finish carpenter, etc.

Imagine thinking this is a good ‘joke.’

I’m a cowboy...on a wood horse I ride.