"Soccer mom" backlash

First off, I don't think Nissan has any standing for talking about the health of the minivan industry overall.

Secondly, I find it hilarious that the soccer moms as a group want so badly NOT to be seen as "soccer moms" that they would all move to some other vehicle--as if that vehicle won't identify them as "soccer moms".

They think they can hide? They're as bad as infants. "Can't see me!"

"But even before the economy took its toll, families were migrating away from minivans. U.S. minivan sales peaked at 1.37 million in 2000, 17 years after Chrysler introduced them. They've been falling at a steady rate since then, to 793,335 last year. This year, sales are expected to fall below 650,000 for the first time since 1986.

One reason is the rise of crossovers, which offer similar space but more car-like handling. "

Yeah, right--"similar space" my ass.

Oh, and for all the soccer moms: "crossover" is just a new term for "station wagon," which is what those cars are. You remember--station wagon? Just like the one your dad drove when you were young? Yeah, that station wagon.

People are such idiots.

*shrug*

Self-perception is the thing. Hubby refused to get a minivan because he thought it screamed middle-class, boring family. So we got a (shitty) station wagon instead.

Honey, the wagon has the same image...

Natalie

;-)

Yup

Natalie

I can't help but feel that comedians have a certain influence on the public's attitude about things. I mean, how many comedians had the same sarcastic smarmy-mouthed routine about how castrating it was for a man to be seen driving a minivan by his budds? I think in that regard, people are lemmings.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Oh of course there's that perception, but looking back at the original advertising for minivans, they were aimed at mothers, especially regarding safety.

Natalie

I like 'em!

May have been a 'boring' vehicle, and originally based on a car, but this thing was a truck, esp if you had the AWD version. All in all, a pretty useful vehicle, and if you didn't sabotage the transmission by using the wrong fluid they were pretty durable. I had one that had 249,000 miles and was still running strong.

I had trouble convincing my spouse that minivans were safe because of news reports about the rollover problems of regular vans.

Minivans do have a good safety record. It might be because large engines aren't available because of the small engine compartment.

I would like to see a hybrid minivan, and I am sure that a lot of other people would also.

-- Ron

I had trouble convincing my spouse that minivans were safe because of news reports about the rollover problems of regular vans.

Minivans do have a good safety record. It might be because large engines aren't available because of the small engine compartment.

I would like to see a hybrid minivan, and I am sure that a lot of other people would also.

-- Ron

Probably, but I think the industry is too afraid to build such a vehicle these days, especially with the failure of the hybrid Accord.

Natalie

Did it ever occur to you that they buy what they buy because THAT is what they NEED and want? My one daughter recently had her fourth child, she traded he 2006 midsize car for a 2008 van, the type of vehicle she needs to haul her family. One of my neighbors bought a Lincoln town car and traded her '07 Accord because the T-Car is the only car with a trunk big enough to haul her husbands dialysis machine

This business of people agonizing over their "image" if they drive something out of fashion or thought to be a "chick" car, or "gay" car is beyond comprehension. I for one have never been a slave to fashion (which is notoriously fickle anyway, since if it's "IN" one year, it's sure to be "OUT" the next) and if someone ever twitted me about the sort of vehicle I drive, they'd be told to take a flying f..k at a rolling donut.

I imagine this 'fashion sense' is ingrained in people as children, when certain sneakers and skateboards and such are "IN" and if you want to be accepted by your peers, you have to get the favored brands and show them off. But when people reach adulthood and presumably the age of reason, they should certainly choose for themselves and not be enslaved by what their neighbors and co-workers may think of their choices. If I choose to drive a Gremlin or a Yugo, or a "chick car" like a Mazda Miata, I'll damn well do it.

>

"mack" ...

, Bill Putney wrote:

Well, driving an Echo, I'm sure you know I don't care what people think, but some people are really hung up on that. Hubby hates driving my car. I hate driving his xA because of its' lame handling and terrible blind spots. I think it's ugly, too. But cosmetics were never important.

You hit the nail on the head. People want to be "cool" even as adults. Pathetic.

Natalie

"JoeSpareBedroom"...

Thanks for reminding me that I'm old.

Natalie

Try playing the bass line. Then you'll REALLY feel old.

I have a magnetic soccer ball on the back of the Sienna. I have a couple on the Jeep too. Tomes

"Wickeddoll®" ...

We bought ours because we wanted something that got good MPG, pulled the pop-up and was able to be filled with a _lot_ of camping stuff. The Sienna was the perfect vehicle and has served admirably for 197K miles doing this. Tomes

"Wickeddoll®" ...

The reason that we went for the Sienna was because at the time in 1997 it was rated as the best ever in the offset crash test. If I am remembering correctly [and I think I am], this was right after the Previa scored the worst ever score in the history of the test and the Toyota engineers went nutzo fixing the problem.

I would love to see hybrid minivans. If they can fit it all in a Prius, I think they can do it in a Sienna. Tomes

"mack" ...

I did very well driving my Gremlin from 16 to 21 years old... Tomes [grinning at memories...]