Mommies on Minivans: Practical, but where's the style?
01-21-11 | 03:59 PM
#1
Mommies on Minivans: Practical, but where's the style?
Mommies on Minivans: Practical, but where's the style?
Toyota can call the Sienna a swagger wagon all it wants, but the slogan isn't going to make moms any happier about hopping behind the wheel. According to The Detroit Free Press, most mothers aren't fooled by gimmicky marketing or the latest attempts to redesign the minivan as a stylish piece of transportation. Reporter Krista Jahnke followed a group of mothers from Detroit.MomsLikeMe.com as they toured the Detroit Auto Show to critique the latest wave of minivans.
What did they think? While the vast majority appreciated the added creature comforts of the newest generation of family haulers, they still seemed to feel that the minivan was always going to be a practical choice first and an aesthetic one dead last.
One woman even admitted that she cried the first time she had to drive a minivan. Admittedly, we feel her pain.
The crew took the time to check out the all-new Ford C-Max, Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, Dodge Grand Caravan and Volkswagen Routan, and was kind enough share its opinion on each. Despite its significantly smaller size, the C-Max fared well amongst those who know minivans best, while the Grand Caravan was penalized for its cavernous, grime-trapping center console
What do women want in a minivan?
New mom-mobiles get kudos, but panel of mothers isn't quite won over
One ad campaign calls them swagger wagons. Another surrounds one of these family-haulers with a ring of fire and heavy metal music.
Specci now drives an Escort and says that reputation and fuel economy are her top priorities. She would buy a minivan "if the price was right."
Ah, the minivan -- the coolest cat in the pickup line at the local elementary school.
With improved styling, fancier features and a new model, the Ford C-Max, which crams a minivan experience into a crossover SUV-size package, minivans could make a comeback this year, some auto insiders say. A recent New York Times headline read: "Mocked as uncool, the minivan rises again."
There are certainly lots of options for the discerning parent who wants to get the kids to hockey practice and the cabin Up North in comfort and a teensy bit of style.
"We have alternatives today that we didn't have 30 years ago," said Erich Merkle, an industry analyst for Ford Motor Co. "We're maximizing the choices ..."
Yet a panel of women who attended the North American International Auto Show with the Free Press and Detroit.MomsLikeMe.com last week isn't convinced that minivans are -- or ever will be -- hip.
"I just about cried the first time I had to have a minivan," said Heidi Schmidt, a 47-year-old mother of two from Farmington Hills.
The women chose their favorite and least favorite features, including cargo space, reputation, exterior styling and more, on five minivans.
The panel's moms -- all previous or current minivan owners -- are in near agreement that despite the new bells and whistles, minivans continue to be what they've always been: the most convenient vehicle for families with more than two kids; for people who want comfort, storage space and a good deal. And for anyone who isn't too concerned about image.
"It is not worth the hassle to try and stuff everything and all your kids into a regular car," said Patti Cleland, a 42-year-old mother of three from Grosse Pointe Woods.
The moms love the storage minivans provide, and they're happy that automakers are attempting to make them sleeker, more fuel-efficient and fun to drive.
But they're still minivans. And at some point in life, convenience usurps looking cool.
Amy Specci, 33, of Rochester Hills checks out the VW Routan as part of a MomsLikeMe.com panel that rated minivans at the Auto Show. (Photos by KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/Detroit Free Press)
"They've realized moms do care about the moonroofs and having a decent stereo," said Amy Specci, a 33-year-old mother of two from Rochester Hills. "But it's still a minivan. It's not a cool factor."
At the show, the moms liked the sparkly paint job of the Volkswagen Routan, and the way it lets you stow away the third row with the click of a button. They dug the styling, fuel efficiency and technology of the new non-minivan minivan, the Ford C-Max. And the storage space of the Honda Odyssey and the footrest on the second-row seats in the Toyota Sienna? Cool.
Free Press reporter Krista Jahnke, left, Patti Cleland, Amy Specci and Heidi Schmidt give a Toyota Sienna -- the so-called swagger wagon -- the once-over.
That's about where "cool" ended.
One mom abhorred minivans going in and coming out of the show.
"They're just ugly," said Laura Slenzak, a 47-year-old Commerce Township mom who drove a 1998 Camaro when her kids were both in car seats. "There's nothing stylish about a minivan. ... I think people are predisposed to think they need to drive something huge like that."
Those who make the choice to drive them say it's because they just make sense. They're not swagger wagons. They're the vehicles of parents making life work.
"As soon as my oldest is off to college and my lease is up," said Cleland, "I won't drive one."
Here's a look at what our panel thought of the offerings at this year's auto show:
Ford C-Max
Heidi Schmidt, 47, of Farmington Hills likes minivans for their practicality. Her favorite: Ford's C-Max.
As we approached the C-Max, Schmidt said, "That's it? That's a minivan?"
Technically, Ford calls it a multi-activity vehicle. (After all, minivans aren't that hip yet.) But it is shorter than most minivans and is said to handle like a car, not a box on wheels.
It has the classic minivan features -- three rows and sliding doors. But it looks more like a hefty station wagon and offers fuel economy that is expected to be above 30 mpg highway, 7 to 10 miles better than most vehicles in the minivan class.
And it does have one particularly cool feature: You can wave your foot under the rear bumper to open the rear door. You don't have to set a kid, the groceries or your all-important latte down to fish keys out of your pocket.
Schmidt picked it as her favorite based on the styling and wrote, "I could see myself in it."
Cleland took one look at the cargo room behind the third row and said, "I couldn't fit an umbrella stroller in there...." She said it's her least favorite.
Slenzak liked the C-Max best only because it isn't really a minivan: "I still might not be seen driving it, but I wouldn't have to wear a bag over my head to be a passenger."
Specci felt crammed sitting in the second row, but still picked it as her favorite, calling it "cute and fuel-efficient."
Honda Odyssey
It's probably not fair to be the first true minivan we considered after looking at the sportier, sleeker C-Max. But someone had to go next. And so as we approached the Honda Odyssey, Specci blurted out, "It's ugly!"
It looks like, well, a minivan.
Cleland, who leases a 2010 Odyssey, agreed: "It's not cute. It's a minivan. But I wasn't looking for cute."
It did have features that brought praise: well-placed plugs and headphone jacks in the each row, the cargo room in the back and third-row seats easy to manipulate up and down.
However, the buttons to open the two sliding doors are situated to the left of the steering wheel on the console -- so only the driver can reach them. "It's the most irritating thing that they're not in the middle," Cleland said.
Said Slenzak: "If you're buying a minivan to have a minivan, this will do it."
Schmidt, who picked the Odyssey as her least favorite, added: "But you'd be so sad every time you walked up to it."
Cleland liked it best, noting that her 6-foot-tall, 14-year-old son is perfectly comfortable anywhere he sits in it.
Chrysler Town & Country
Our panel denounced the Chrysler offering as too familiar. The biggest complaint all around was that the gear shift, right next to the speedometer, is on the dashboard.
Other styling issues also brought complaints: The console, which is a rolling ridged plastic, will soon be home to "every crumb and icky thing," Schmidt said. Slenzak, who drives a Mustang convertible, said she doesn't like the touch screen to access radio presets.
Specci, who previously owned a Town & Country, picked it as her least favorite based on uncomfortable seats and body styling she called ugly.
Toyota Sienna
The entertaining ad campaign featuring a young family has dubbed this minivan the swagger wagon. It did have some features that were well-received. Among them: the four up-front cupholders, the dual moonroofs and the reclining second-row seats with leg rests.
"It's like I'm in first class," Schmidt said as she lounged in the seats. "Can someone pour me a coffee?"
Cleland test drove a Sienna last year and said it rode beautifully.
Specci declared the seats "comfortable enough."
The widescreen DVD screen was flashy, but the moms all agreed they'd never buy a built-in DVD anyway. "I have a friend who can't drive to Walgreens without her kid whining for that DVD player," Schmidt said.
Slenzak, the minivan hater, said the seats were too hard to move and the tracking in the floor is an instant "crud catcher."
Volkswagen Routan
As first impressions go, this minivan -- with a dark blue crystallized finish -- made a good one.
"Points for sparkles," Schmidt said.
The moms also liked the third-row seating that could be moved into various configurations with the push of a button. One push? The seats folded flat, perfect for stowing groceries or sporting equipment.
"You've got to pay a lot of money for that feature," Cleland said, "but it's nice."
Another push and the seats popped up and flipped back to face outward, a configuration made for tailgating.
But Slenzak picked the Routan as her least favorite, writing: "It's just a Town & Country with Volkswagen pricing." Chrysler engineered the Routan along with Volkswagen.
New mom-mobiles get kudos, but panel of mothers isn't quite won over
One ad campaign calls them swagger wagons. Another surrounds one of these family-haulers with a ring of fire and heavy metal music.
Specci now drives an Escort and says that reputation and fuel economy are her top priorities. She would buy a minivan "if the price was right."
Ah, the minivan -- the coolest cat in the pickup line at the local elementary school.
With improved styling, fancier features and a new model, the Ford C-Max, which crams a minivan experience into a crossover SUV-size package, minivans could make a comeback this year, some auto insiders say. A recent New York Times headline read: "Mocked as uncool, the minivan rises again."
There are certainly lots of options for the discerning parent who wants to get the kids to hockey practice and the cabin Up North in comfort and a teensy bit of style.
"We have alternatives today that we didn't have 30 years ago," said Erich Merkle, an industry analyst for Ford Motor Co. "We're maximizing the choices ..."
Yet a panel of women who attended the North American International Auto Show with the Free Press and Detroit.MomsLikeMe.com last week isn't convinced that minivans are -- or ever will be -- hip.
"I just about cried the first time I had to have a minivan," said Heidi Schmidt, a 47-year-old mother of two from Farmington Hills.
The women chose their favorite and least favorite features, including cargo space, reputation, exterior styling and more, on five minivans.
The panel's moms -- all previous or current minivan owners -- are in near agreement that despite the new bells and whistles, minivans continue to be what they've always been: the most convenient vehicle for families with more than two kids; for people who want comfort, storage space and a good deal. And for anyone who isn't too concerned about image.
"It is not worth the hassle to try and stuff everything and all your kids into a regular car," said Patti Cleland, a 42-year-old mother of three from Grosse Pointe Woods.
The moms love the storage minivans provide, and they're happy that automakers are attempting to make them sleeker, more fuel-efficient and fun to drive.
But they're still minivans. And at some point in life, convenience usurps looking cool.
Amy Specci, 33, of Rochester Hills checks out the VW Routan as part of a MomsLikeMe.com panel that rated minivans at the Auto Show. (Photos by KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/Detroit Free Press)
"They've realized moms do care about the moonroofs and having a decent stereo," said Amy Specci, a 33-year-old mother of two from Rochester Hills. "But it's still a minivan. It's not a cool factor."
At the show, the moms liked the sparkly paint job of the Volkswagen Routan, and the way it lets you stow away the third row with the click of a button. They dug the styling, fuel efficiency and technology of the new non-minivan minivan, the Ford C-Max. And the storage space of the Honda Odyssey and the footrest on the second-row seats in the Toyota Sienna? Cool.
Free Press reporter Krista Jahnke, left, Patti Cleland, Amy Specci and Heidi Schmidt give a Toyota Sienna -- the so-called swagger wagon -- the once-over.
That's about where "cool" ended.
One mom abhorred minivans going in and coming out of the show.
"They're just ugly," said Laura Slenzak, a 47-year-old Commerce Township mom who drove a 1998 Camaro when her kids were both in car seats. "There's nothing stylish about a minivan. ... I think people are predisposed to think they need to drive something huge like that."
Those who make the choice to drive them say it's because they just make sense. They're not swagger wagons. They're the vehicles of parents making life work.
"As soon as my oldest is off to college and my lease is up," said Cleland, "I won't drive one."
Here's a look at what our panel thought of the offerings at this year's auto show:
Ford C-Max
Heidi Schmidt, 47, of Farmington Hills likes minivans for their practicality. Her favorite: Ford's C-Max.
As we approached the C-Max, Schmidt said, "That's it? That's a minivan?"
Technically, Ford calls it a multi-activity vehicle. (After all, minivans aren't that hip yet.) But it is shorter than most minivans and is said to handle like a car, not a box on wheels.
It has the classic minivan features -- three rows and sliding doors. But it looks more like a hefty station wagon and offers fuel economy that is expected to be above 30 mpg highway, 7 to 10 miles better than most vehicles in the minivan class.
And it does have one particularly cool feature: You can wave your foot under the rear bumper to open the rear door. You don't have to set a kid, the groceries or your all-important latte down to fish keys out of your pocket.
Schmidt picked it as her favorite based on the styling and wrote, "I could see myself in it."
Cleland took one look at the cargo room behind the third row and said, "I couldn't fit an umbrella stroller in there...." She said it's her least favorite.
Slenzak liked the C-Max best only because it isn't really a minivan: "I still might not be seen driving it, but I wouldn't have to wear a bag over my head to be a passenger."
Specci felt crammed sitting in the second row, but still picked it as her favorite, calling it "cute and fuel-efficient."
Honda Odyssey
It's probably not fair to be the first true minivan we considered after looking at the sportier, sleeker C-Max. But someone had to go next. And so as we approached the Honda Odyssey, Specci blurted out, "It's ugly!"
It looks like, well, a minivan.
Cleland, who leases a 2010 Odyssey, agreed: "It's not cute. It's a minivan. But I wasn't looking for cute."
It did have features that brought praise: well-placed plugs and headphone jacks in the each row, the cargo room in the back and third-row seats easy to manipulate up and down.
However, the buttons to open the two sliding doors are situated to the left of the steering wheel on the console -- so only the driver can reach them. "It's the most irritating thing that they're not in the middle," Cleland said.
Said Slenzak: "If you're buying a minivan to have a minivan, this will do it."
Schmidt, who picked the Odyssey as her least favorite, added: "But you'd be so sad every time you walked up to it."
Cleland liked it best, noting that her 6-foot-tall, 14-year-old son is perfectly comfortable anywhere he sits in it.
Chrysler Town & Country
Our panel denounced the Chrysler offering as too familiar. The biggest complaint all around was that the gear shift, right next to the speedometer, is on the dashboard.
Other styling issues also brought complaints: The console, which is a rolling ridged plastic, will soon be home to "every crumb and icky thing," Schmidt said. Slenzak, who drives a Mustang convertible, said she doesn't like the touch screen to access radio presets.
Specci, who previously owned a Town & Country, picked it as her least favorite based on uncomfortable seats and body styling she called ugly.
Toyota Sienna
The entertaining ad campaign featuring a young family has dubbed this minivan the swagger wagon. It did have some features that were well-received. Among them: the four up-front cupholders, the dual moonroofs and the reclining second-row seats with leg rests.
"It's like I'm in first class," Schmidt said as she lounged in the seats. "Can someone pour me a coffee?"
Cleland test drove a Sienna last year and said it rode beautifully.
Specci declared the seats "comfortable enough."
The widescreen DVD screen was flashy, but the moms all agreed they'd never buy a built-in DVD anyway. "I have a friend who can't drive to Walgreens without her kid whining for that DVD player," Schmidt said.
Slenzak, the minivan hater, said the seats were too hard to move and the tracking in the floor is an instant "crud catcher."
Volkswagen Routan
As first impressions go, this minivan -- with a dark blue crystallized finish -- made a good one.
"Points for sparkles," Schmidt said.
The moms also liked the third-row seating that could be moved into various configurations with the push of a button. One push? The seats folded flat, perfect for stowing groceries or sporting equipment.
"You've got to pay a lot of money for that feature," Cleland said, "but it's nice."
Another push and the seats popped up and flipped back to face outward, a configuration made for tailgating.
But Slenzak picked the Routan as her least favorite, writing: "It's just a Town & Country with Volkswagen pricing." Chrysler engineered the Routan along with Volkswagen.
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/21/m...res-the-style/
01-21-11 | 06:40 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 91,601
Likes: 89
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
For many people, though, practicality wins out over styling. I know many people who have bought minivans (sometimes with my help), simply because they were the best overall vehicles for them. The long-standing stigma with minivans often seen in the auto press and among "enthsiasts", is, IMO, complete nonsense. Though they are not among my personal first-choices among vehicles as a DD (I'm single and don't need one), I can think of lots-worse things than actually driving one. And the newer minivans don't body-roll like beach-***** around corners the way that they did a number of years ago.
.
01-22-11 | 07:04 AM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 91,601
Likes: 89
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Not quite pointless. I think that the Ford C-Max, when it debuts, is going to be an interesting vehicle, and should sell well. Its basic idea, though, is not necessarily new, as the Mitsubishi Expo/Plymouth Colt Vista/Eagle Summit Wagon triplets of the early 1990's were done more or less along the same concept. So was the Mazda5, although it has narrower 2+2+2 seating instead.
And minivans, contrary to the common stereotype, are not just soccer-mom vehicles either. I've known a number of men who, for verious reasons, also like them.
I have personally met mothers that have told me they actually like the styling of certain minivans.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-22-11 at 07:08 AM.
01-22-11 | 07:23 AM
#5
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 9
From: Michigan
I don't even know what to say about this article. It only represents a small fraction of the type of mom buyer. Judging based on where these ladies are from, they're from middle to upper-middle class neighborhoods in Oakland County, Michigan which is fairly affluent. These are the types of moms that drive the full-size SUVs.
01-22-11 | 07:39 AM
#6
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: CA
I grew up riding in minivans, my parents didn't care how they looked, minivans are practical and cheap (used anyway). If you want something stylish you can always get a larger SUV, but it still won't be as practical if you actually use all 7 seats. It's a pain to get in the back on any SUV I've seen.
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01-22-11 | 07:55 AM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 8,764
Likes: 1
From: Treasury
For the most part, their style says boring. They are for a certain use and some people will trade use for style, and they can still hate the style at the same time because maybe they didnt have a choice that made finanical sense.
And yeah, mothers can be auto enthusiast's as well so why is it so bad that want to drive around in something that looks decent?
Which is way the crossovers are coming in at a great time........
01-22-11 | 07:56 AM
#9
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 8,764
Likes: 1
From: Treasury
I don't even know what to say about this article. It only represents a small fraction of the type of mom buyer. Judging based on where these ladies are from, they're from middle to upper-middle class neighborhoods in Oakland County, Michigan which is fairly affluent. These are the types of moms that drive the full-size SUVs.
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