New Toyota Helps You Yell At the Kids 205
An anonymous reader writes If you're tired of yelling at the kids without the help of technology, Toyota has a van for you. From the article: "The latest version of the company's Sienna minivan has a feature called 'Driver Easy Speak.' It uses a built-in microphone to amplify a parent's voice through speakers in the back seats. Toyota says it added Easy Speak 'so parents don't have to shout to passengers in the back.' But chances are many parents will yell into the microphone anyway. And the feature only works one way, so the kids can't talk back. At least not with amplified voices. The feature is an option on the 2015 Sienna, which is being refreshed with a totally new interior. It also has an optional 'pull-down conversation mirror' that lets drivers check on kids without turning around."
Hmmm (Score:2)
As for the "pull down mirror", that isn't even remotely new technology. Other vehicles have had those for a decade or more. But of course because America - and the American media especially - love Toyota with a great passion, we regard it as a technological marvel.
Re:Hmmm (Score:5, Interesting)
Off the top of my head: Nissan, Honda, Chrysler, Toyota, Hyundai/Kia.
I have one, and the pickup line at school/camp is almost entirely minivan or minivan "crossovers" marketed as SUVs.
My 2008 Sienna has a "conversation mirror", so I'm not sure why the submitter seems to think they are new.
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Kia killed theirs off for one year, but a brand new Sedona model has just been introduced.
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Yeah, I lumped them together since they are the same company. Sort of like the old Plymouth/Dodge/Chrysler, Mercury/Ford, or Pontiac/Chevy/Oldsmobile minivans.
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Probably. I must be getting too old for slashdot, because I'd rather concede the point instead of arguing until my dying breath over slight nuances of words and corporate governance.
Re: Hmmm (Score:2)
We have a minivan. We got it just before our first child was born 11 years ago. It was quite handy during the years when the kids required a ton of stuff for trips (stroller, seat to eat in, portable crib, ton of diapers, etc). Now it is overkill and the low mileage makes it expensive to drive on long trips. When the time comes to replace it, we're definitely getting something with better mpg.
Re: Minivans useful (Score:5, Informative)
I've rented minivans on business trips (particularly for outdoor field tests of equipment my employer develops). They work very well for our use: surprisingly large cargo capacity in a weather proof bay, flexible reconfiguration to carry either people or equipment between test sites, low floors and true fold-flat seats (compared to many of the SUVs we've rented) making loading easy, car-like handling to suit drivers without large vehicle experience; and wide availability at car rental companies both large and small.
Now, we are talking about renting for a specific purpose for only the duration of that purpose, which is a completely different economic calculation than buying a car for daily use.Nonetheless, I've been convinced that when I do have kids (young children seem to require a frighteningly large amount of support equipment) a minivan will be the way to go. (Certainly compared to an SUV, which would offer similar features in a less convenient shape, or a small car, which lacks cargo.) Of course, this all depends on my finances at that point in time.... I'm not so well off that I can purchase vehicles arbitrarily.
Re: Minivans useful (Score:4, Interesting)
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Older kids do too.
Hockey bags/football gear/their own suitcases.
Plus, the minivan is essentially a pickup. In the Odyssey, you can put a 4x8 sheet of plywood down flat. Works great for everything but gravel/bark/loose particles.
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They don't tow or go off road well...but a majority of pickup and SUV owners don't actually tow anything heavy or take it off road. The poor off-road ability is actually a plus for the average person--lower ride height brings increa
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.Nonetheless, I've been convinced that when I do have kids (young children seem to require a frighteningly large amount of support equipment) a minivan will be the way to go.
Don't buy into the hype. My kid's seven, and we're still doing fine in a 2002 four-door Echo. (They call 'em Yaris these days). And that's counting a week long camping trip this year. Far more important than Massive Cargo Space is simply a back door to get the kid in-and-out of the seat. But what we save in fuel more than pays for the odd time we need to rent a larger vehicle.
Babies need a stroller and a diaper bag - bag goes next to kid, stroller goes in the trunk. (And after about a week you'll get one of
Re: Hmmm (Score:5, Informative)
Not good enough... we also traded in the minivan when the kids were a bit older, but our small SUVs only get around 23MPG... I'd traded in my 93 Civic that routinely got over 35MPG, now you don't even get that in a Civic or other small car without it being a hybrid or something... with very few exceptions. I may get a Mazda 3 or 6, though. They get upwards of 35.
I will say this, though, to actually contribute to the conversation about minivans... I had no problem driving one, and felt no stigma about it. All the people buying giant SUVs and justifying it because hey, once or twice a year they may buy a big box item and save on delivery! Or they need to carry a lot of passengers... Our Honda Odyssey carried 7 people a lot more comfortably than any SUV I've been in, and when you needed cargo space it was right up there with the big boys when you folded the rear seat down... even more than a lot of big SUVs; add decent towing capacity and overall better mileage, and the only reason for most people not to get one was the "stigma." Unless you're towing a yacht, or need to go off roading, a good (200hp+) minivan is a much more logical choice.
Re: Hmmm (Score:4, Informative)
We have 3 kids in car seats, and an Odyssey.
When we lived in town, it was great. Back then, my only serious gripe with the Odyssey is that if you are running a second set of wheels (e.g. for permanently mounted snow tires), and don't fit a 2nd set of expensive TPMS sensors to those wheels, the VSA (stability control) cannot be defeated via the console switch.
This is a problem because the VSA implementation sucks and is frankly unsafe when accelerating on surface transitions - for instance, when you are waiting on a gravel road and are about to pull onto a paved highway, the VSA system senses differing levels of wheel grip between the wheel on pavement and the wheel still on gravel, and cuts power, precisely when you need maximum power to quickly get to highway speed.
Last fall we moved to a rural area, and now poorly maintained roads (deep snow in the winters until I clear it, deep ruts whenever there are rains) has really shown me the shortcomings of the vehicle. My wife has gotten it stuck 4 times in our first winter.
The Odyssey needs 2 things to be superlative. Air suspension with adjustable ride height (it is a very low vehicle, for ease of entry/exit for small kids), and a proper AWD system.
My wife is now desperately wanting an AWD vehicle. But to get a proper AWD system (e.g. locking transfer case or at least a torsen differential), and the useful seating capacity of a minivan, you need to be looking at full-size truck based SUVs, like the Excursion or Sequoia.
I'm aware that the Sienna comes in an AWD version, but its particular AWD system and ride height doesn't inspire me that they will be foolproof enough to want to make the switch.
Sadly, my wife also refuses to drive a Mercedes G-wagen :)
As an aside, the Odyssey towing capacity isn't really sufficient. It's 3500lbs, and it requires upfitting the vehicle considerably with things that don't come factory - PS cooler, ATF cooler, hitch wiring, etc. (In addition to the actual hitch receiver).
When we were considering camping options, essentially nothing that had enough floor space for a family of 5 could be towed behind an Odyssey.
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I will say this, though, to actually contribute to the conversation about minivans... I had no problem driving one, and felt no stigma about it.
For all the reasons you stated, I have no problem with a minivan.
As soon as I can get one that has some get-up-and-go (probably through a turbo), I'll buy it.
re: minivan dead? (Score:5, Interesting)
The minivan suffers a stigma in America today.... It's viewed as a vehicle for moms who need to shuttle the kids and their things around. That hurts sales because even many of the moms who squarely fit into that category don't want to feel like they're defined by that part of their life. They don't want to drive a vehicle around that tells everyone that's what their purpose is on the planet -- especially when so many families are dual-income and they'd like to look more "professional".
It seems it's unavoidable though? As soon as enough people buy a functional alternative to avoid the stigma, they begin putting the same stigma on the alternative choice. Not that long ago, the station wagon held this distinction, and yet now -- driving a station wagon is viewed as trendy in a hipster way!
Honestly though, I think the minivan could enjoy a resurgence in popularity if it was approached from a slightly different angle. Make it *really* easy for all of the seats to fold flat (like "push a button and they all retract into the floor" easy), and market it to the homeowners who currently shop for light trucks! I know I've owned a couple of pickups because they were so darn functional and useful for things like hauling away yard waste or picking up a furniture or appliance purchase, or just helping a buddy move. But their big downside is the lack of any protection from the weather for the cargo, while driving. For 99% of the things I ever hauled around in my truck, I could have used a minivan just as well, if it didn't have seats in the way.
The Station Wagon Was Killed by CAFE Standards (Score:2, Interesting)
Government made them difficult and expensive to buy [thetruthaboutcars.com] compared to SUV's, which were classified as trucks (hence a lower gas mileage standard).
"Stigma" had nothing to do with it.
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Government made them difficult and expensive to buy [thetruthaboutcars.com] compared to SUV's, which were classified as trucks (hence a lower gas mileage standard).
"Stigma" had nothing to do with it.
Maybe so, but there is still a stigma attached to minivans. They say, "I now live a boring suburban lifestyle". A friend of mine said as much when he bought his Honda Odyssey. He loves the Odyssey, but he knew he was no longer cool. And, to be fair, once he and his wife had kids they became just as staid and boring as their minivan suggested.
It's cool; they're happy with their lives and love their kids and home life. But it reminded me of why I'm still single and childless. That life is unattractive t
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Get your teenagers a mini-van with glass all around and benches. Hide a diaper full of green baby shit behind a panel somewhere. Consider it a birth control car.
Don't give them a mini-panel van. They will have that rocking. Too much privacy.
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Why minivans have a bad reputation (Score:2)
Honestly though, I think the minivan could enjoy a resurgence in popularity if it was approached from a slightly different angle.
Perhaps. Minivans are undeniably practical for many uses but they are hard to make sexy. Of course it doesn't help that they have ugly styling, bad fuel economy and handle like a river barge for the most part.
Make it *really* easy for all of the seats to fold flat (like "push a button and they all retract into the floor" easy), and market it to the homeowners who currently shop for light trucks!
The problem is how to do that economically. There are all sorts of cool things you can do if money is no object. I think you'd have more luck with them if you started with solving the styling and fuel economy problems, then work your way to fixing the handling and then get into nifty features like
Listen in (Score:5, Informative)
Among the advantages of owning a minivan is that it becomes easy to carry your own children, plus a few of their friends. You get to know those friends, and listen to your kids' conversations with them. Often, the kids sort of forget you are there and converse "normally". You gain a window into their lives at school you otherwise would never have enjoyed.
Sneaky trick: if you turn on the radio with the fader balanced toward the rear seats, the kids will speak louder without even realizing it.
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Man, I never thought of that trick. Gotta try it.
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TO be honest, I like the idea (and I'm a grown up man) of a minivan. I see the Sienna, and seems to have aggressive looks. But never as the SUVs.
I'd go for the minivan if they had more aggressive/sporty looks. As you said, it's the stigma it's for moms, and therefore, for some reason they look like cute cars rather than sporty cars. Make them look sporty like the new Siennas, and they will win some market back (unless people actually need AWD).
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You are absolutely right about the stigma thing. My wife used to swear up and down that she would never get a minivan. She toughed it out with her CR-V as long as she could. When the in-laws (or other visitors) came over, I would dutifully crawl in the back, while everybody else piled in. But once we had our second kid, it became increasingly impossible to safely get the whole family where we were going. Then when the older one entered grade school, there was the need to shuttle friends about, too.
So we've
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I have an Odyssey, too, and it's pretty good for a mini-van. We got it because dogs, not kids, but many of the use cases are similar.
I do miss my Fusion Hybrid that I traded in for it, though. Pretty car, and I liked paying a lot less for gas.
Re: minivan dead? (Score:5, Informative)
The Minivan is the practical and logical choice... Not to mention, with seats down/out, the cargo capacity is laughably better than an Explorer or other "large" suvs. I can (and have) move a washer and dryer in mine... which is my litmus test for "cargo capacity". (Explorer and Tahoe, which are "large" suvs, cannot fit a washer/dryer, even with all seats folded).
It is fine to hate Minivans, but to pretend they are somehow less practical than an SUV is kind of laughable.
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The Minivan is the practical and logical choice
Agreed, unless you also need to tow stuff and/or go off road. Even if you don't do that stuff very much, renting an SUV or truck for those occasions isn't feasible, because as far as I can tell all rental car companies prohibit towing and off-road use. I do tow stuff regularly (boat, camp trailer, ATV trailer, utility trailer), and need to seat at least six people, which has made an SUV the practical and logical choice.
Now that my kids are moving out I no longer need so much seating, so a pickup truck is
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>It gets better gas mileage (28mpg) than almost all SUVs
That isn't very good compared to an SUV (Is that really the best that a minivan can get? I thought there would be at least one outlier that could best an SUV):
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byclass/Small_SUV_4WD2014.shtml
Those aren't SUVs. They're passenger cars with lift kits installed.
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Lowering kits.
Mall utility vehicles. Would high center in second on any logging road.
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Actually they are a hatchbacks (aka station wagons) but the marketing people renamed them as SUVs to make them more hip and trendy.
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The average family doesn't need to seat more than 4.
Sure, if you never cart other people's kids around. I regularly fill my 7-passenger van, despite having only 2 kids. This is especially true when the kids are still required to have car seats, which really cut down a sedan's carrying capacity. Car seats make the middle seat in the back pretty much useless (even on the minivan), and the front seat is a no-no - at least in my state.
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The average family doesn't need to seat more than 4.
Unless you or your kids have friends. Then, yeah, you do need more than 4 seats.
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#31 - Honda Odyssey
#34 - Dodge Grand Caravan
#37 - Chrysler Town & Country
#38 - Toyota Siennav #45 - Kia Sorento
Link [goodcarbadcar.net]
My reality is that they only sell $45,000 suvs or much cheaper minivans that can fit my whole family... So for me, they are here to stay. My minivan
Forgetting about full sized vans? (Score:2)
My reality is that they only sell $45,000 suvs or much cheaper minivans that can fit my whole family
You can buy a Ford E-Series [ford.com] van or Ford Transit [ford.com] van that will seat more than any minivan, tow more and is available for as little as $30,000. Only real downside is that the MPG kind of sucks.
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You sure they were vasectomies?
The death is greatly exaggerated (Score:5, Interesting)
While there were 14 manufacturers of minivans 15-20 years ago, there are only five today: Chrysler/Dodge, Honda, Toyota, Kia (with a newly reintroduced Sedona), and Nissan. Still, that's five manufacturers all offering competitive products.
As a father of four minions, I've yet to find an SUV that equals the minivan in its ability to haul six or seven people AND THEIR GEAR in good comfort, all while achieving 25+ mpg. My 2011 Town and Country actually got 27.5 mpg on one tank of gas on a recent 2800 mile trip. My brother's SUV struggles to achieve 18.
Having rented several SUVs on trips, they can seat everybody, but squeezing in the bags is a real challenge.
I sure hope the minivan doesn't disappear. Truly, it is without equal for families up to about 7 people.
Minivans are practical but ignored (Score:2)
While there were 14 manufacturers of minivans 15-20 years ago, there are only five today
7 actually (Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Kia, Nissan, Mazda, VW) though I think VW might contract the actual manufacturing to Chrysler.
My 2011 Town and Country actually got 27.5 mpg on one tank of gas on a recent 2800 mile trip. My brother's SUV struggles to achieve 18.
A Jeep Grand Cherokee with the diesel option will get around 30mpg on the highway and seat up to 7. The current Dodge Grand Caravan gets 17 city, 25 highway which is roughly the same as a full sized pickup truck with a boosted V6 engine. There really is no excuse for minivans to not be able to get mpg over 30mpg appropriately configured.
I sure hope the minivan doesn't disappear. Truly, it is without equal for families up to about 7 people.
It won't. It might not be sexy but as y
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Indeed. The VW Routan was a Chrysler Town and Country with some different skins on the inside and out. It was so much not a VW product that the VCDS system (the thing you can use to do vehicle diagnostics on any VW, Audi, Seat, or Skoda product since the early 90s) doesn't even talk to it.
In the German market, VW sells Vans of all different sizes. None of them are currently imported to the US; the Eurovan was the last rest-of-world van that
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Unfortunately, a third row seat is not an option on the Cherokee, so the max seating is five. Unfortunate because the engine provides good towing capacity in addition to mileage, so it would be nice if Chrysler made it an option for the Durango, which does have a third row.
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Depends somewhat on lifestyle. If I'd had a minivan, I'd also have needed to buy a pickup truck. An SUV fills both roles. Neither quite as well as the ideal vehicle, but well enough that it makes more sense than two vehicles... actually three since we also needed a commuter vehicle.
SUV vs pickup (Score:2)
If I'd had a minivan, I'd also have needed to buy a pickup truck. An SUV fills both roles.
An SUV does NOT fill the role of a pickup truck unless you don't actually need a pickup truck. You need a pickup when you are toting things that you do not want to carry in the interior of a vehicle like loose dirt, stone, certain bulky supplies, trash, etc. Messy stuff. Very bulky stuff. If you can put what you are likely to carry in an SUV then you don' t actually need a pickup. My wife has an SUV which we use for plowing and I have a pickup which we use for transporting bulky stuff. Significant ove
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Do you do said laughter right after highlighting the different capabilities of trucks and SUV's, as you just did above? You weren't hauling 7 people plus gear in that sports coupe, at least not safely.
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Which (gasp) you don't need to do if you have, say......a minivan.
Which (gasp) didn't exist when I was a child and yet somehow we managed without. The first vehicles recognizable as a modern minivan came on the market in 1984 and I was close to driving age by then. Prior to that you either had a full sized econoline van, a VW mini-bus, a station wagon or a second car. Worked out just fine. Plus since we didn't actually need the extra seating of a minivan 99% of the time we didn't have to waste fuel driving around a lot of extra unused vehicle all the time. We owned a
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An SUV does NOT fill the role of a pickup truck unless you don't actually need a pickup truck. You need a pickup when you are toting things that you do not want to carry in the interior of a vehicle like loose dirt, stone, certain bulky supplies, trash, etc. Messy stuff. Very bulky stuff. If you can put what you are likely to carry in an SUV then you don' t actually need a pickup.
An SUV plus a utility trailer does fill the role of a pickup truck.
Why would you "need" a commuter vehicle? The cost of any commuter vehicle is going to hugely outstrip any fuel savings you might possible generate.
The cost of a minivan plus a pickup plus the fuel to commute in the pickup is greater than the cost of an SUV plus a small sedan plus the fuel to commute in the sedan.
Minivan death greatly exagerated (Score:2, Interesting)
It seems that in the US at least, the minivan is quite nearly dead.
Not even remotely [goodcarbadcar.net]. 532,357 minivans were sold in the US in 2013.
How many companies other than Chrysler are still making them for the US market at all?
Toyota, Honda, Kia, Mazda, Toyota, Nissan and VW all make and sell minivans. Chrysler, Toyota and Honda own about 90% of the market together between their 4 offerings.
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Let me guess, you live in the city?
Crossovers and SUVs have definitely taken from the minivan market but there's no question that minivans are going to be here for a while. They are very convenient and IMO more comfortable than the SUVs we tried, especially at the price. The minivan we got was at least 10-15k less than a comparable SUV, plus fuel economy is better and IMO the interior is so much more comfortable for long trips than other vehicles.
The biggest disappointment has been fuel effiency. The miniva
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If you live or work in the city though, minivans are far less convenient - they are big, hard to park, and not hipster enough for you. In the suburbs, they are perfect.
I wish minivans would stay in the suburbs. How often do I see a minivan attempt to park on my street and it leaves 1/2 of a spot in front and 1/2 of a spot in back leaving no space for others to park, essentially taking up two parking spots. Then when I go out to the suburb to visit and need to park on the one street that has public parking there are lines drawn that are, I shit you not 30' per spot. Maybe what I wish is that suburbs removed their giant-ass parking spots so people might actually learn how to park a car in a normal-sized spot so when they came downtown they could be more considerate.
I call BS. Unless the spots are meant for Minis or Smarts, there is no way a minivan will take up two whole spots (1 plus two halves that you claim). A Honda minivan is less than a foot longer than an Accord and maybe six inches wider.
As far as the size of parking places goes in the suburban outback, I have seen parking lots with huge spaces but they are usually old places where they never shrank them from their 1970s size upon repaving the lot. Most places have normal size parking spaces that will only
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We had that "pull-down mirror" in our 2008 bottom-of-the-line Sienna. I called it the "bratfinder", at the time.
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As for the "pull down mirror", that isn't even remotely new technology. Other vehicles have had those for a decade or more.
Yeah, like limos. So where's the feature that lets the kids raise the privacy partition to cut their parent off?
Wiffle ball bat holder too? (Score:2)
Now, if only there was a convenient place to store my wiffle ball bat too. At least they already have a "mean look" mirror (http://blogs.cars.com/.a/6a00d83451b3c669e2017d41511f46970c-800wi).
Moms have been doing this for years. (Score:4, Funny)
> ...'pull-down conversation mirror' that lets drivers check on kids without turning around."
Back in the 70's, those mysterious "eyes in the back of the head" that'd always catch you when you were about to yank your sister's pigtails.
This would actually be useful the other way around (Score:2)
But just no, to the conversation mirror - most parents already don't keep their eyes on the road, we don't need to give them another excuse.
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Ah, memories of my childhood. Things like my father flying down the freeway at 60 turning around in his seat and screaming "You look at me when I'm talking to you boy!" while everyone else screamed about oncoming traffic.
At the time I learned to drive, I considered my greatest achievement was being able to hold a conversation without looking at the person I'm speaking
*Facepalm* (Score:4, Funny)
This ranks right up there with the dedicated chicken nuggets button on some ovens.
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I have an idea (Score:2)
Darth Vader (Score:5, Funny)
"I find your lack of behaviour disturbing"
"I am your father"
"That was before you misbehaved, now I am altering the deal...pray I do not alter it any further."
"I hope so for your sake, your mother is not as forgiving as I am”
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Bat Dad [youtube.com]
What Could Go Wrong? (Score:2)
Hmm, adding technology that allows the driver to focus their attention on what is going on in the back seat rather than the road? What could go wrong?
They need a "Sit Down and Shut-Up" package - 5 point restraints and ball-gags for the kids in the back seat.
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They already do. They are called white Dodge vans without back windows.
I'd much rather have the option ... (Score:2)
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Buy a limousine. Loads of room for the kids in the back, and this cool screen that can totally isolate the driver from the passengers.
Just make sure the minibar is empty before heading off to school.
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I need to isolate the passengers from each other. Otherwise, they'll tear up the passenger compartment and/or I have to make unplanned trips to the emergency room.
News that matters? (Score:2)
How about some compelling features like 40 MPG (Score:3, Interesting)
In Japan, Toyota sells a hybrid minivan (the Estima) that uses the Prius drivetrain and is based off the (discontinued in the states) Previa styling:
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/11/07/toyota-estima-hybrid-minivan/ [autoblog.com]
Most of these vans get less than 20-25 MPG, so an offering that gets 40 MPG city (or better) would surely be more compelling than a gimmick megaphone. Hey Toyota, about get your act together and bring your superior automotive technology to the USA instead of this kind of stuff.
Ugly vehicles (Score:2)
and is based off the (discontinued in the states) Previa styling:
Thank $diety. The Previa was one of the ugliest vehicles this side of a Pontiak Aztek. I've never seen a minivan I thought was remotely pleasant to look at but the Previa was ugly above and beyond the call of duty. I'm kind of astonished nobody has seemingly even tried to make a minivan that is better looking.
Seconded (Score:2)
In Japan, Toyota sells a hybrid minivan (the Estima) that uses the Prius drivetrain and is based off the (discontinued in the states) Previa styling:
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/11/07/toyota-estima-hybrid-minivan/ [autoblog.com]
Most of these vans get less than 20-25 MPG, so an offering that gets 40 MPG city (or better) would surely be more compelling than a gimmick megaphone. Hey Toyota, about get your act together and bring your superior automotive technology to the USA instead of this kind of stuff.
I've been asking Toyota for years. That said, I finally caved and got a non-hybrid Sienna, and it gets about 20mpg combined average. I'd kill for that Estima to be sold here even if they did mark up for adding a hybrid drivetrain.
Old is new (Score:5, Funny)
Worked on similar concept (Score:2)
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Amplify it and call it a feature. A deafening blast of screeching feedback noise every time the kids misbehave would be a hell of a deterrent.
I know at leat three people driving Sienna's (Score:2)
each of them over ten years old.
I'm not a Mini-van fan, but those things, even at 10+ years are nice on the inside and you can't kill them. They just keep going. Also, the years they were built they were more American than the Mustang of the same year model, actually passing it up in parts manufactured in the U.S./ Canada. I don't know if the whole "Sienna is more American than the Mustang" thing is still true or not, but a little over ten years ago it was.
9 year olds need not apply (Score:2)
I know at leat three people driving Sienna's ... each of them over ten years old.
I should hope so. Otherwise how do they reach the pedals?!
Insensitive... (Score:2)
Conditioning? (Score:2)
Yes kids, learn early that authority comes out of a loudspeaker, that's a useful trait for the future you are headed to. Next stop, Dystopia City.
Another high point is achieved ... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Another high point is achieved ... (Score:5, Informative)
Finally, the American standard of social discourse, "I'm right because I'm yelling louder", can be brought to the homey confines of the minivan and ingrained on the little darlings early on.
Have you ever tried to reason with a 3-year old? There are times when the "Argument from Because I Said So" is literally the only option left. Finer points of logic are completely lost on a person with an undeveloped frontal lobe who is in the middle of a temper tantrum.
Re:Another high point is achieved ... (Score:5, Funny)
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Everytime you see someone talk about parents doing something like this being 'wrong' you can rest assured that they've never had any children or taken care of them for any length of time.
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Every time some authoritarian parent is questioned about their actions, the first thing out of their mouths is "well, do you have kids?"
Or they assuredly have, which is why they can tell that the three year old isn't necessarily the one being childish, stubborn, selfish or petty.
actually not a bad idea (Score:3)
People in cars face forward, in the front I can hear the kids just fine, no problem at all. It really is quite difficult to hear forward facing people in the front from the back. Of course there is a further difference between hearing and listening, but this doesn't sound like the most crazy thing I have ever heard of.
Slashdot reports on installation of PA in car (Score:2)
I'm sure I saw at least three dozen other commercials last night, anyone want to post an article about those?
Not new at all (Score:2)
Stupid article (Score:2)
Why is anyone complaining about this? It's a well-known problem, even in smaller cars but especially in minivans, that the people in the rear seat can't easily hear the people in the front seat, so the people in front typically have to raise their voice. This is simply because they're facing forwards. People in the front have no problem hearing the people in the back. So this new feature certainly makes sense as it amplifies the front seated person's voice but not the people in the back. This will actu
Pandering to Idiots (Score:2)
It is the mirror that attracted my attention. Someone who cannot keep his attention on the road while he is driving shouldn't be driving, let alone raising kids.
Limo (Score:2)
Better Off Ted: The Voice of God (Score:3)
It uses a built-in microphone to amplify a parent's voice through speakers in the back seats.
Made me think of the "Better Off Ted" episode, "Bioshuffle" (Season 1, Episode 9):
Nice feature but goes in the wrong direction (Score:3)
I have a Sienna. I'm perfectly capable of yelling at my kids loud enough so everyone in the car can hear. Hearing my soft-spoken daughter in the third row is another story entirely. If the radio is on or a window is open, forget it. I'd like this system in two-way mode so she can talk to the driver and front passenger more easily.
Re: (Score:3)
It's called 'marriage'.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Childbirth is far more dangerous than the risk from any of those things.
Re:I'll add (Score:4, Insightful)
The planet is overpopulated.
No, the third world is overpopulated. Unless if you live in the third world, I don't see a problem here.
While it is OK to have kids that you can raise, it is just as ok (and serves the greater good) to abstain from having children.
How about telling that to the people in the third world popping out kids faster than they can feed them? Can't they stop having too many kids for the greater good?
Cultural institutions that deride people for remaining childless are completely misguided.
People in rich countries who think that an ever shrinking skilling workforce from low birth rates will somehow be able to support the ageing population are completely misguided when they think not having kids will have any affect on the overall picture of population and that there are no negative economic effects for remaining childless. Tell me, who is going to look after you when you get old? Who is going to pay the taxes to support your services such as doctors and hospitals?
Re: (Score:2)
Are you saying that wealthy people who do not want to have kids are morally obligated to have them anyway?
Perhaps they should have to pay a special tax if they choose to not have children in order to fund the hospitals and other infrastructure needed to support their life later in life. Insurance does not cover building the hospitals.
Re: (Score:2)
It's all well and good to not be into BC, but don't pretend its primarily for health reasons.
Re: (Score:2)
Ain't letting nobody wave no knife around my manly bits. They be too manly for that!
How about a laser? You can do a vasectomy with a laser - how cool is that?
Of course, you could do a vasectomy with a shark. I'm not sure that 'cool' would be the appropriate adjective.
Re: (Score:2)
Slashdot.
Where even car mirrors have political and racial overtones.