Mini-vans aren't just for soccer moms anymore. Now they have magical highway-speed-altering super powers.
So on our recent road-trip my husband had the chance to observe something I’ve been telling him about for months now, and he did not really notice. The mini-van effect. It’s a proven (by me) phenomena that causes men to become desperate in order to preserve their pride.
You know that myth about minivans not being cool or whatever? I don’t really buy that much. I drive how I always drive: the same way I talk. If you guessed “not-slow,” you get a gold star for the day.
As I drove around the great state of Oklahoma in my awesome and not-slow minivan, I began to notice this strange effect that my van had on those around me. Especially men. And especially men in trucks. And no, it’s not what you’re thinking.
This minivan effect causes men who are perfectly content going, oh say, 45 miles per hour down the highway to suddenly feel the need for speed. I KNOW that they are happy going slow because I’ve been WATCHING them go super slow. Then I was passing them going super slow. Then they SAW me passing them going super slow and realized that if they got passed by a mom in a minivan while they were driving a truck they would lose their man card…possibly forever.
So they take off.
Anyone who knows me can imagine how happy I am when I’m cruising along about to pass someone and they suddenly take off in the right hand lane and won’t let me pass. It’s like finding yellow jackets in your beehive….not really what you expected would happen. Except now it has happened so often I can only conclude that the force of coolness and magnificence radiating from my minivan shocks their feet into pressing into the accelerator more forcefully….the minivan effect.
Interesting stats, because I’m a nerd like that. If it is a man in a pickup truck, the minivan effect occurs 74% of the time. If it is a man in any other vehicle only 50% of the time. Females do not seem to fall sway to the minivan effect. A recent road trip confirmed that the minivan effect seems to be a nationwide malady.
Women…the bottom line is that we have far more power than we realized. Embrace your inner speed demon and unleash the full fury of the minivan effect on a highway near you.
I’m laughing so hard right now! We have rented vans for trips, and I’ve seen this happen.
You need the clip from the Cars movie, where McQueen is complaining to Mack about his driving in the slow lane and being passed by a minivan…
Lol! It is SO true though….see? Even Pixar knows it is true. 🙂
Oh, Angela, this is a hoot! If minivan drivers pay attention, I think they all would admit to having dealt with the minivan effect. I don’t drive a minivan any longer, but when my kids were young, I definitely experienced this. lol How funny!
I’m going to have to tell my husband my theory is confirmed. He swears it is all in my head.
I’ve been observing this phenomenon for years! It doesn’t only happen when a minivan attempts to pass a slower vehicle, either. It happens quite often when sitting at a red light, and I’m always quite proud of beating many male sports car drivers off the line. They never expect to be beat by a mom driving a minivan. 🙂
YES! My hubby purposefully picked the engine with a little more power to it so I think it surprises people how well my van will “get up and go”. Great point!
Funny. :o) It really doesn’t matter what you drive – I drive a little Honda Civic. People start daydreaming & don’t pay attention to their speed until someone is passing them.
That is certainly true but I definitely see it more often with the man-card-truck crowd than anyone else. 🙂
LOL! Love this post.
Thanks! I’m glad it made you laugh. I’m having fun going back to the story-telling me. 🙂
This also happens when you have an old car especially when they see there’s a woman driving. Come to think of it, even in my newer car they feel they have to beat me. I need a more awesome car, maybe a minivan.