Tag Archives: double stroller

Death, Taxes and Hybrid Minivans

Like death and taxes, there seems to be 2 inevitable consumer truths that come with having multiple kids.

  1. You will buy a double stroller
  2. You will covet your friends minivan

I know, I know…you swear up and down that you can get by without either, especially the minivan since it carries a whole whack of baggage with it (both figurative and literal). But in the end, you will succumb to the lure of extra room.

We broke down on point one this week and purchased a double stroller. Not quite what we wanted, but we weren’t prepared to take out a second mortgage, so we settled for a much more modest Schwinn Safari that was on sale for 1/2 price at our local auto centre (go figure they would sell strollers).

My advice to my expecting-a-first-child-with-plans-on-having-two friends is to take the plunge, save yourself some cash and get the double right off the bat. Skip the single stroller completely and jump in with both feet. It’ll save you having to convert your garage into a stroller showroom with a vast collection of singles, doubles, umbrellas, etc..

Now, onto inevitable truth #2. Lately, I have begun coveting my friends minivans – a menagerie of Toyota, Mazda, Ford, and Dodge units in all shapes, sizes and colours.

We have resisted, mostly because our basic 4 door Mazda Protege is paid for full and clear and I’m not hot on going 30k into debt just for a bit more luggage space. However, with camping/beach/outing season coming quickly, I can see where the pull will become stronger.

So, here’s an obvious question to the auto industry. Why no hybrid minivan? I mean, I can get any number of SUV’s in hybrid mode, but can’t find a single minivan on the market using hybrid technology. Certainly ours is not the only family out there that would love to go hybrid, but the options for a family friendly version are not there.

All my research has shown that the earliest we’ll see a hybird minivan on the market is 2008 – a Toyota Sienna. And that is it. No other car manufacturer seems to have a hybrid minivan on the radar.

Are we the only family in North America chomping at the bit for a hybrid minivan? I know the auto industry is downright hostile when it comes to the idea that vehicles can run on energy other than petroleum. But a hybrid minivan seems like such a no-brainer to me that the financial lure would be too strong even for the auto industry.

Looks like our next vehicle will be a Toyota.