Friday, August 24, 2007

My Honda Odyssey--Mom-mobile extrodinaire

Dear Van of Destiny,

I have to admit, I wasn't quite ready sign up for driving you. I used to make fun of people who drive minivans. I declared "I will not, under any circumstances drive one." Just like my declaration that my children would never watch Barney that has fallen to the wayside and I realize you both make my life easier even if you are sometimes annoying. The final straw, four kids. Even our last SUV couldn't haul us all at one time and forget bringing along friends!

So why did I pick you out of all the minivans in the world? First, your Honda cousins have never steered us wrong. The Civics and Accords that came before you were always there for me, always ready to go whenever I needed them. Reliable is the first thing I needed in my vehicle of choice. Second, Gman was drawn in by your cool (for a minivan) features. The remote sliding doors, the cargo net in the back, all those cup holders, the rear outlets for gadgetry and don't forget the DVD player. It doesn't hurt that around here it seems everyone drives on of your siblings, on our street alone there are 5 Odysseys and if they aren't driving you they are driving your cousins, there is a Honda in almost every driveway which leads me to believe that people like me drive you (as much as I hate to be a conformist, this is one of those times I'll go along with the crowd even if it did get Gman surrounded by police thinking he'd stolen you). Finally, the price was right. Honda was offering a sweet lease deal on you and we couldn't pass it up and even after the lease was up we decided to keep you, we know you'll be with us for over a hundred thousand low-maintenance miles.

I do wish sometimes you could morph yourself into a new color, really the gray is getting old. My other complaint, what is up with the radio controls on the steering wheel that sometimes change the channel and sometimes the volume. Keeping me guessing? Same with the gas gauge, really should it be telling me you are empty when there is still a quarter of a tank--is that you trying to get me to quit living on the edge?

So, van of destiny, thanks for the last three years. School, work, soccer, ice skating, camping, and long trips to grandma's house you've been there for us through it all. Thanks for never making me wonder if you are going to start or if I am going to get stranded somewhere. I appreciate the fact you are always there for me even when we pack you to the tail-lights with people and things. I hope you appreciate that GMan lets me park you inside every night so you don't have to face the elements. I'll try to get the kids to be a little neater but you know how that goes. I'll also try to get you to the car wash a little more often, I know you like to look your best inside and out.

Love,
Maven

Have your own car story to tell? Join in the Blog Blast love fest, write your own letter to your car today and send the link over to Parent Bloggers (parentbloggers@gmail.com) to be entered to win one of FIVE circle bags in conjunction with Ask Patty. If you register at Ask Patty the women friendly car people give you additional chances to win stuff and I know you are all about winning stuff so go check it out. The Ask Patty site was reviewed on Cool Mom picks last year and is debuting CarBlabber.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like your vehicle is pretty reliable and serves many purposes -- especially with all the activities you mentioned!

I came over from PBN. ;)

Anonymous said...

I know, as much as I do not like mini vans, there is nothing quite like them.
Here from PBN.

joansy said...

I once was in love with my Odyssey, but now I'm hoping that someone steals the beast so I can get the insurance money. The source of my angst: $2500 to replace the [many explitives here] tires. Do you have the Touring version with the run-flat tires? The dealer made them seem like such a great deal, but they've turned out to be a huge, huge hassle. I'm also not happy with my average of 13 miles to the gallon. So our minivan sits and sits and sits as we pile miles on our diesel VW beetle (average of over 50 miles per gallon) as I patiently wait for the all electric car.

I do like the navigation system, the back up camera and all of those cup holders. And it is nice to go out with 6 girlfriends and only need one designated driver.

g-man said...

Joansy- Regular tires. (Thank goodness) We had two Odysseys at one time and the `99 got 22+ MPG and the new `04 gets only 19+ MPG. I do sometimes miss the "utility" of the van, but I am pretty happy with my Civic (30+ MPG).