When my dad remarried, we ended up as a blended family with five kids so my folks bought a GMC van conversion. Nothing fancy, it seated seven and had a fridge in the back. No fancy TV or anything. Different times, but on drives to the cabin one of the kids' jobs was to pass beers from the fridge up to dad.
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The third generation Odyssey pretty much nailed it in perfecting this mode of transportation. It was ubiquitous in our peer group and neighborhood, and we still have ours. We had the entry level model, though, and it was always funny when the kids' new friends couldn't figure out how to open the doors.
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For a while, I kinda wanted a Honda Fit as a daily driver. It was like if you took a van and shrunk it down to seat 5. It somehow felt a bit different than a typical hatch back. Such a practical little car.
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Originally Posted by timun
Mid-engined, supercharged, all-wheel-drive?
God, I remember sitting in a Toyota van that had bench seats that were perpendicular to the driver (like a bus). Certain later versions had swiveling mid row captains chairs.
I'm kinda sad that modern vans don't have these types of features as options.
Can we have a moment of recognition for 1996 - when thirteen years of minivans with only one sliding door on the passenger side finally ended? Thank you Chrysler for doing what none dreamed possible.
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For a while, I kinda wanted a Honda Fit as a daily driver. It was like if you took a van and shrunk it down to seat 5. It somehow felt a bit different than a typical hatch back. Such a practical little car.
There was definitely a lot of practicality in the Fit especially with the way that the rear seats folded up but overall it was such a cheap car. Gutless, loud, thin sheet metal, etc. We were shopping for a small city car many years ago and looked at a Fit but ended up with a Golf.
Seeing these pictures of old minivans causes my body to have a visceral reaction. I was the oldest of 4 kids. The minivan always reeked to high heaven of whatever the younger kids had shoved into random crevices and was now rotting. When the minivan was left out in the sun, the plastic interior began to emit a very specific smell that mixed in with the smell of young children to create an especially nausea inducing smell.
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They really shouldn’t have discontinued the Mazda 5. Tiny vehicle but with more room than any of the RAV4/CRV sized SUVs. It was the size of the original mini vans.
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Originally Posted by timun
I knew two people who had Mazda 5s; great vehicles.
I also knew two people who had one, and I also had one and it was indeed a great vehicle. It was like a sporty mini-minivan.
I had to replace the suspension once because they used the same suspension as the Mazda 3 but the 5 was a heavier vehicle. The two other people I knew also had to replace suspension. That was really the only downfall of the Mazda 5.
We also had a Grand Caravan and we had a family day trip planned to go to Waterton but it was an extremely hot day and the AC was dead in the Grand Caravan. Thankfully the Mazda 5 was able to pack all 5 family members, our backpacks and coolers for lunch. It was a bit tight in the 3rd row but my daughter was under 10 at the time so she was small enough to not be that uncomfortable.
Sadly, the Mazda 5 reached an untimely end when a drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned it. I owned it for 9 years and insurance gave me about $1500 more for it than what I originally paid for it.
#vanlife has definately shifted towards #minivanlife as the price of used cargo vans remain stubbornly high.
This video has some great ideas on how to outfit a Pacifica as a camper van for a family of 4. The stow&go makes it's tricky to adapt to a Sienna or Odyssey but it's still doable. The microwave is a brilliant idea.
When I had my Westfalia Camper van? It was awesome.
Zero power, but a 'Bus' steering wheel and the big ass manual stick on the floor...you felt majestic. Its weird. Its an odd feeling to describe but you've got to try it.
I have driven semis and I have driven Greyhound buses and theres just something about it that makes you feel amazing.
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