For too long now, the van has been, well, mini.
Or Scooby:
Or Barbie:
But a lot of us grew up with a van that did stuff like this:
So, as SUVs get more expensive and more focused on cup holders than rock crawling, the van is emerging as our do-everything alternative. It all started, like most great trends, with the surfers:
Now that’s a great place to change out of your wetsuit & smoke a dube or… loose your virginity!
Here’s another surfer with his van/office/billboard. Try that in a LandCruiser.
But lately, I’m seeing stuff like this:
Don’t let its white exterior fool you. This is no ride share vehicle. This van’s been pimped out– all the signs are there, the blacked out windows, the lift, the step (passenger side only, chics in mini skirts need a little extra help)– God knows what’s going on inside.
So why pile the bikes on the back of your $100,000 Cayenne that’s really too precious for a speed bump, not to mention a fire road? Seems kinda dumb, even if you have the cash to burn. Why not embrace the Econoline? It’s not going off-road, but neither are you, but it can take you (& all your stuff) wherever you’re going in La Z Boy comfort. Or you can keep your six figure SUV with the dream that some day you’ll drive it to the desert and do circle work without the kids. But in the mean time, I pity the fool that does.