Big Cars

I have driven my trusty little Dodge Neon since 2004. I have loved this car but I think she is dying a slow and terrible death. Let me just say that I hope when I'm dying, I don't leak as much or make as many different horrible noises.

So, having put off for many weeks the inevitable, we are finally taking it in to be looked at, and have fully prepared ourselves for the possibility that we may just need to put her down. We already started looking for replacements.

My criteria: large enough for a few more kids (so it lasts us a number of years), 4WD or AWD (since we'll be moving to the other side of the state and I insist on being able to come visit my parents whenever I want), automatic locks (a true luxury after having manual locks - I never cared until I was lugging a diaper bag, carseat, and any other number of items to and from the car), air conditioning (do they even make cars without it anymore? Another true luxury after having a basic model Neon with no A/C!, but especially important if we're going to live in the desert), and a CD player. This does look like a long list, but really, I'm quite easy to please. No DVD player required, no sunroof, no leather seats necessary, nothing else fancy (although I wouldn't object to heated seats...I like my bum toasty in the winter, ha!)

Jesse suggested a minivan.

I do NOT want a minivan.

I cannot even rationally explain why the thought of driving a minivan is so repulsive to me.

I just hate them. I'm not sure why.

Which probably means I'll end up with a minivan and fall in love with it, since life seems to work that way - forcing me to beat down my pride.

Oh, that's probably it - I'm too proud to drive a minivan, I'm too elitist to count myself among the soccer moms of the world. Or something lame like that.

Nah, I just hate them, I don't like how they look, plus, the thought of driving one over the Cascade mountains in winter sounds miserable and scary to me.

So we're looking at more interesting vehicles that have adventurous names like "Explorer," and "Expedition" and "Durango." These sound way cooler than "windstar," and "odyssey," and "entourage." And I am all about being cool. It's the most important thing about me.

Right?

*crickets*

Anyway, if you're a mom of more than one child, what do you drive? What is your dream vehicle for hauling your family from place to place? What features do you love or feel like you couldn't live without that I may not have thought of yet?