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The Rise of Man Vans
Jun 29 2007 by Sara Lacey
6/29/2007
Quintessential Mom-Mobile Better Suited to Men
Just like the age-old debate of working moms versus stay-at-home moms, most women I know are either minivan moms or they're so not. Personally, I am not. I've been wondering why I have such a psychological hang-up with minivans. Other types of utilitarian vehicles don't irk me the way minivans do. I recently tested a new minivan and thought that now that I have a couple kids, the van would win me over in spite of my admittedly superficial objections to its visual shortcomings. Well, it didn't win me over, and I'll tell you why: It didn't fit me. The seats were large and everything seemed out of reach. It seemed like it was built for someone else — like maybe a dad.
While the minivan may have been built for moms and kids, I've noticed a newly emerging phenomenon, one that was recently brought up at a meeting at Mother Proof's global headquarters. More and more dads and single men want to drive or are already driving minivans. Do you know someone like this? Perhaps your significant other? Many of the moms I know refuse to own up to the minivan-mom stigma, but have husbands who want one. Badly. Obsessively. Is your home like this? One of the other mom-reviewers here said the guy across the street from her bought a minivan and pimped it out into a 'Man Van.' Whatever you gotta call it to make yourself happy, I suppose.
I understand there are some things a minivan accomplishes that simply can't be done in any other vehicle, so I won't argue that they have no place in our vehicular vernacular; that's not the argument I want to have here. I'm just interested in this new trend. I mean, if husbands started driving the vans, we moms could have our Minis, convertibles and Smart Cars. Start embracing the Man Van concept, ladies. Now we can have our cars and drive them, too!
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
User Comments
I’m a dad who swaps between a Mazda5 and Toyota Sienna - no problems here.
I’ve heard the expression, “If I get a minivan, my life will be over!” A success of SUV marketing, nothing more.
Well, my mom drives a Dodge Charger and my dad drives a minivan! He likes it for his commute and would never drive a station wagon instead.
I love the Mazda 5, an idea whose time has come for sure.
Growing up, the first mom on our block to have a minivan was a mom I did not want to be like. So maybe it’s some unconscious, deep-seated thing that would take years of therapy to correct. It’s not the minivan’s fault, I know. It’s me.
But if my husband insisted on a minivan, I’d be cool with that. Is that weird?
Most Moms I see are driving 10mpg Tahoes and Expeditions, so much for concern over Mother Earth!
A real man (such as myself) has no issues driving a mini-van. They seat up to 9 folks (negates the need to take 2 cars to the ballpark, restaurant, etc.) can carry just about anything from IKEA, and for business needs, they can haul just about anything, safely and securely.
I have been a mini-van driver since 1988, and will never be without a van in the household. Nothing else has the versitility, relative fuel economy (based on # of people carried) and hauling capacity as a mini-vam.
I love that Dodge, noted mostly for muscle-cars and trucks, is still making the minivan a priority!They were the first to do it, and they’re still the best! The ‘08 has a burly feel that reminds me of thier trucks, but it’s all van inside-and it couldn’t be better! Now mom and dad can fight over the Van keys instead of the Charger keys every morning, and the kids want to sit in the driveway and watch movies in the car instead of making a mess in the house!! Thank you Dodge for another genius move
Maybe if we get more Japanese Dekotora or custom van action going, maybe they’ll catch on more…
Personally, I’ve always found minivans to be excessively long and bulbous for my needs. I’ve got a Jeep Grand Cherokee right now. Once the baby’s big enough to not need a gigantic car seat, I’ll happily trade it in for Saturn Sky (Redline of course) or something equally fun.