“The Red Car” by Don Stanford. Read it in the second or third grade, and fell in love with European cars (and, of course, the MG-TC in particular).

This was pretty pant spoiling. Skip to 5:45

So I will say that I much prefer the load floor with the rear seats totally removed. They just bolt right into the floor and you can remove them with a big star bit and socket wrench in a few minutes even if they aren’t quick release.

“Because minivans are fucking huge.”

Because minivans are fucking huge.

Wow I will admit I haven’t been here in a while, but you’re missing the point entirely when people compare minivans and CUVs. Not only that, but since COVID, air travel is going to be much less common, and this is where minivans come in hard and fast.

My brother has a 2015 Oddy and at any given time has 3 car seats, a…

I drive a transit for work. Not a lot of power, but they drive nice, mileage is decent and have nice safety features. Prefer them over the MB Metris in the fleet.

There is not a minivan out there that can tow over 3500 lbs, so for any families with a boat or camper this is a no go.  

the greatness of automatic sliding doors cannot be overstated

Agree with you. I love my GX...but once you get to 3 the game changes completely. It’s genuinely shocking how large of a vehicle you need for 3 car seats, stroller, etc. I’m doing this dance now as the GX won’t work for 3 poopfactories [and neither will really anything else except full size SUV [even the Tahoe is shit…

Couldn’t agree more. I don’t understand how auto journals (EIC even!) can resort to such cliché garbage about minivan vs SUVs. Then he contradicts himself by saying he’s keeping the Lexus because of lame excuses.

This van gave me some things to think about. I own an SUV, because I plan to take my family to see the wonders of the North American wilderness while it’s still recognizable to me.

“Do you think most minivans are different and sell mostly in base spec?”

Actually, a good chunk of minivans I see on road are the base models.

I agree. If crossovers were so bad, dealers would be discounting them like yesterday’s sushi (protip: don’t buy yesterday’s sushi), and only people who want a new car but can’t afford anything else would be driving them.

Believe me even when you have two kids you are better off with a minivan. you eventually drive grandparents around with you and the minivan is the only option where they can actually get in the back seats. When you take that road trip to the beach or travel for christmas and thanksgiving you need all that cargo space.…

LOL, when I suffered some (thankfully temporary) stress-related hair loss, I shaved my head. And my face, because I’m not cool enough to have a beard with a shaved head.

I’m finding that I routinely need to haul more people than my compact hatchback can, and also my side-hustle involves hauling lumber and sheet goods, therefore I’m buying a minivan next month. However, it will not be a $40K brand-new model, it will be a $10K Grand Caravan because I can get one that’s only a few years…

As for Minivans being huge. This is no small (sorry) consideration. They drive big, they park big and they drink big. They are big. If you want maximum interior volume for people and cargo and can live with the trade-offs of bigness they are bloody fantastic.

First of all, everyone knows that the Odyssey isn’t a bargain, it’s for those that have to have a Honda. Plywood is no-go without sto and go, need a Dodge for that and a better price to boot. Safety? Sure, I guess there’s that, but new “safety ratings” mean that the difference between vehicle ratings are really…

“Because, for reasons I cannot begin to understand, people are buying crossovers instead. Even the best crossover is a kind of “worst of all worlds” compromise that’s too dumb to really live, too profitable to die — a warning to future generations about perverse incentives. The Honda Odyssey, on the other hand, is to…