The Loneliest Liberal: Santa Claus’s reindeer don’t pull a van

By James Knudsen

Dear Santa...I want some clarity about whether I should purchase a minivan again. Do I need another minivan? Maybe. I just think they’re the most practical platform out there and they were on their way to conquering the American roads until Arnold Schwarzenegger had to have a Humvee, sparking an SUV craze that we still haven’t recovered from. Thanks a lot, Arnold. Anywho, if you run across a low-mileage, second-generation, KIA Sedona (or rebadged Hyundai Entourage) that’s had a recent valve adjustment, you can just put it under the tree, by the curb.

Christmas morning there was no minivan at the curb. It would seem Santa is not a regular reader of Moristotle & Co. I guess it’s true what they say, “It’s the parents who read Moristotle & Co.”
    Santa or not, the question regarding a minivan remained unresolved days after the presents had been unwrapped, rewrapped, and regifted. My initial infatuation with the second generation Kia vans had faded upon learning why I was finding so many for sale with just under 100,000 miles. Turns out the engine needs a valve adjustment at that milestone and the cost can run into the thousands of dollars.
    With this knowledge, I turned my efforts toward finding a used minivan from the Chrysler/Dodge lineup, and I succeeded. A few days before 2017 ended, a low-mileage, 2010 Chrysler Town & Country joined my stable.

    It was promptly pressed into service on December 30 as my fiancée and her two daughters joined me on a 2,200+ mile round-trip journey to the Seattle area. Driving from Tulare, California, to Bainbridge Island, Washington, usually involves spending a night in a motel somewhere along the way. Turns out that it is possible to leave Tulare at 7 a.m. Saturday and arrive at your sister’s front door a little before 1 a.m. Sunday. But I don’t recommend it.
    We spent the last day of 2017 riding the ferry across Puget Sound to see Pike Place Market, and the first days of 2018 seeing the Bloedel Reserve and the Pacific Science Center.

But the real purpose of the trip was to visit colleges. This turned our return trip into a much more leisurely drive that included overnight stops in Ashland, Oregon, Chico, and San Jose, California.
    The still unnamed (unchristened?) Chrysler performed with nary a hiccup, using more gasoline but less oil than my 2008 Scion tC. I suspect that there are still college visits to make in the coming months, and I’m happy to say the transportation part of the equation is now a known quantity.

Copyright © 2018 by James Knudsen