May 30 2007
Not too Cool
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Minivans are anathema to one’s cool image. If you drive a minivan, well get ready for a ton of soccer mom cracks. It seems though that guys are more sensitive to the minivan stereotype than woman. After all, I can count on one hand how many men I’ve seen behind the wheel of a minivan. Why is it that minivans are viewed as uncool?
I found an interesting article on MSN today, written by a man no less, that speaks about the perks of driving a minivan and how wrong he was in his judgement:
I used to be just like you—way too cool to drive a minivan. My Dad drove one for business when I was in my mid-20s, and I made all the “soccer mom” and “driving 40 mph in the left lane” jokes. The minivan was sad, it was pathetic, and worst of all it was boring. But then it became something else after my kids were born: a life saver.
Just like most up-and-coming young professionals, I blew through my 20s worrying about what was cool. What you wore, what you drove, where you worked; it all mattered—a lot. At that age, I suppose, some of it is insecurity and the rest is just trying to understand who the hell you are.
Then I got married. She was beautiful and much more hip, cool and together than I was. At that point I could have never imagined her in a minivan. A convertible BMW? Sure. A minivan? No way.
After my daughter was born, life got more difficult in the blink of an eye. We dealt with everything new parents do—no time, no sleep, no money, and carrying an obscene amount of stuff whenever we went anywhere. My priorities changed from worrying about image to worrying about ways to make our lives easier.
Then I borrowed my Dad’s minivan for a weekend trip.
