The Death of the Minivan

Marketers are blaming practically everyone for the death -- well, at least the illness -- of the minivan. But, really, it's the Baby Boomer's fault.

Boomers are no longer buying minivans because they no longer need to haul around teams of young kids. And Gen X won't buy them -- precisely because the boomers did. One market researcher told the AP that "Gen X no more considered a minivan than most people would consider eating soap."

That attitude carries over to Gen Y, the boomer's kids: one Ford executive's offspring "drove him to sell his minivan and purchase an Explorer because minivans are considered 'uncool.'"

Boomers, of course, adopted the minivan because it was so much cooler than the station wagons they spent their family time in. But they loved it too much -- and now they've killed it.

The AP reports that "of the 14 minivans on the market, sales have dropped on all but the Honda Odyssey." As a group, they're off 12.4% for the first eight months of 2006. Respected industry magazine Ward's says it's a 14.5% drop.

Ford, for one, is reported to be exiting the segment entirely.

SUVs and crossover vehicles seem to be picking up the slack.

We're saving this story so than in twenty years we can post about the death of the crossover vehicle, and the resurgence of the station wagon, as Gen Z (?) rebels against a Nissan Murano / Honda Pilot -dominated world.