Quoted: I was in the same boat. I resisted the mini-van for a long time but we've got one now and I really enjoy it. It's economical on gas (compared to my V-10 Ford) and I can haul tons of baseball and soccer gear in it. They are pretty spunky too and offer some nice features. I buy cars and trucks to use. To me, they are a mode of transportation to get me from point "A" to point "B". I'm not out to impress the neighbors.

Amen.

If your opinion of yourself is predicated on the vehicle you drive, you are an idiot.

Forget the minivan....





www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=9&article_id=1315

Hemi powered for 30,000   I know I know...lotta bucks but how much are twins worth?
That's big Jim and the Twins.  Tom Leykis quote!

Railgun....

Quoted: I hear those mini vans have really nice purse holders in them.   Don't care you say ? Well you had better care... because riding in that purse are your   balls.

Mine are firmly attached to my johnson, which resides in the appropriate anatomical location.  I don't know about your relationships, but my balls have always been mine.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Dude, think of it this way: spend $6K on a used minivan, make small payments, small gas bills, small insurance costs, and small speeding tickets (what cop in their right mind would pull over a nice, law abiding dad, mom and the twins?  Never mind the 6 ARs, 5 AKs, M82A1, two cases full of pistols and more ammo than the National Guard Armory?)  Sure you can have a Suburban, but unless you are ready to deal with the encyclopedia sized payment books, the gas bills more suitable for a semi and the insurance company's direct link to your paycheck, it just might not be such a finacially sound idea.  Yes, you will look like an idiot in a minivan, but its the perfect urban camoflauge and the money you save now will allow you to buy more guns (cause what's more manly, an AR, a Glock and a Suburban or a minivan with enough firepower to take over Puerto Rico?  Seriously?  )  The guns are forever, the transportation module breaks down after a while.  

Gasoline prices.

Have you figured out how much money you are going to blow on fill-ups versus a Normal car?  Would you rather spend money buying gas or more ammo?

mini-van = castration!!    all of your manhood will be gone if you get a mini-van!!  

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They make extended cab pickups to deal with these types of situations.

I watched a show on the history channel on the history of the pickup. They had a guy with a custom extended cab pickup. He could fit his family of 8 kids in it! Not the most practical vehicle, but daddy can still have his pickup!

I had to trade in my pickup with a manual transmission for one with an automatic. I could not teach my wife how to drive a stick shift. She has no concept of engine, transmission, etc. Some good did come out of this, I used the opportunity to upgrade form a 2 wheel drive S-10 to an F150 4X4.

Truth be told, I get just a little less gas mileage from the F-150 with a 4.6 V8, than I did with the 4 cylinder S-10!

My other car is a 1985 Crown Vic. I have had this car for almost ten years. It just refuses to die. The gas mileage sucks, but the cost of ownership is so low, I could care less. I think I can get at least another 5 years out of this car.  The Vic is an excellent car, almost like a heavy duty washing machine on wheels.

I wouldnt make it my first choice to drive around everyday, but if it hauls stuff when I need it, then Im for it.

Quoted: Dude, think of it this way: spend $6K on a used minivan, make small payments, small gas bills, small insurance costs, and small speeding tickets (what cop in their right mind would pull over a nice, law abiding dad, mom and the twins?  Never mind the 6 ARs, 5 AKs, M82A1, two cases full of pistols and more ammo than the National Guard Armory?)  Sure you can have a Suburban, but unless you are ready to deal with the encyclopedia sized payment books, the gas bills more suitable for a semi and the insurance company's direct link to your paycheck, it just might not be such a finacially sound idea.  Yes, you will look like an idiot in a minivan, but its the perfect urban camoflauge and the money you save now will allow you to buy more guns (cause what's more manly, an AR, a Glock and a Suburban or a minivan with enough firepower to take over Puerto Rico?  Seriously?  )  The guns are forever, the transportation module breaks down after a while.

I paid about $6200 for a 1995 Suburban with less than 120k miles and in beautiful shape.  It's been a great vehicle so far.  I  needed something which could carry me, the wife, 2 dogs, 2 kids, and camping equipment.  A minivan would do the job (marginally) but it was the crash tests which got me more interested in the Suburban.  I bet you can find Suburbans for less now that gas prices are so high.  

My biggest problem with a used Chrysler minivan is that all of them seem to need new transmissions by 100k miles and that's expensive and I'm not sure that a replaced (even OEM) transmission is ever quite as good as the original unit.  The 3.3 and 3.8 engines in those vans are great and I like them otherwise despite the sometimes poor fit and finish and accessory quality.

If I were a wealthy man I'd be really tempted by a 2004 or 2005 Toyota Sienna.

GunLvr