Pimp My Van?

[Photo: Robin Nelson for The New York Times]

You just can't keep the Age of Aquarius generation down. I wonder if any of the new van drivers have that venerable, Sixties bumper sticker Don't Laugh, You're Daughter May Be Inside on their rear end?

Pimp My Van? Even Some Parents Want to Stand Out

Say this for the Firedragon: it doesn't look like your mother's minivan. With dragons and flames running down the sides, a flame-embellished steering-wheel cover, dragon-embroidered seats, even dragon-shaped screws on the license plates, it's worthy of MTV's hit car-makeover show, "Pimp My Ride."

But this tricked-out 2001 Chevrolet Venture is, in fact, driven by a mother, 46-year-old Teresa Prange, who shepherds her two children, ages 10 and 5, around in it. "People can get into a rut," said Mrs. Prange, who lives in Bremerton, Wash. "And I wasn't going to get into the rut."

From tummy tucks to remodeled dens, the makeover has become an American cultural obsession these days, and even the owners of Dodge Caravans and Honda Odysseys aren't exempt.

-- Marek Fuchs, NYT, 10.22.04

Read the complete New York Times Driving article.

[Photo and text quote: Copyright ©2004 The New York Times Company]