My parents drove a variety of cars during the time I was growing up that were perfect for hauling kids around and driving carpool etc. My favorite was the VW bus, my mom took out the middle seat and we would sit on the floor, or pretend we were surfing while she tried to get air on the "bumpity-bumps." My parents also had the giant station wagon with a way back. The cool thing about the way back was that the rear window could go down, so if you sat back there you could inhale all the carbon monoxide you wanted and you were perfectly positioned to shoot out that window like a missile if you were rear-ended. We were in a carpool for a few years where parents would run outside and stack kids in each others cars without any thought of seatbelts or front row etc.
Anyway, fast forward to a more safety conscious era and the vehicle chioces are much more limited than the glory days of the 70's. Apparently there are two options:
1) Soulless, uninspiring minivan
2) Gas guzzling monstrosity designed for pulling horse trailers
I would like to be on an advisory panel for a company to design a car for parents who would like to cling to the hope that they might still be cool. The ideal car would look like a small SUV on the outside (Q5) and it would defy dimension and be like a small family room inside, like the bottle in "I Dream of Jeanie)." I cannot believe that self-vacuuming seats have not been invented yet. Also, All-wheel-drive and possibly a hybrid or TDI engine. The car should not be available in beige, seafoam green or white. It should also be affordable and have a sporty interior free of plastic burled walnut. I can't wait for this car to hit production, because in the meantime it looks like I'll be driving a minivan.
I used to 'surf' in the back of my Dad's Citroen Dyane 6 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_Dyane ) . We had lots of winding country roads near our house and I could never stay on my surfboard (the back seat facing backwards so I couldn't see what was coming!)
The car also had a soft-top roof that rolled back and on occasion I was allowed to stand up on the back seat and hold onto the center bar for dear life! What is the auto/safety industry coming to?! Our poor children...
Posted by: Sasha | May 15, 2009 at 09:42 AM