Hey, that pic was taken literally around the corner from my apartment! Noice!
I'm actually in a very similar situation as you; I've been divorced for about 4 years and have my kiddos roughly 50% of the time as well.
It vaguely reminds me of a dust buster I used to have... But then again, most minivans do.
*golf clap*
Bahahahaha!
I'll second the 2JZ as my favorite inline six of all time because, well, like you said...
I dunno about making it better, at least as far as the short term goes, but for keeping it better in the long run:
I hear that Delta City plan of theirs holds some real promise.