I’m coming out of the closet.
The best car we ever owned was a minivan. Specifically, a 2004 Toyota Sienna. Dark green. Tan interior. Stone-cold awesome.
We put 250,000 miles on that thing.
Three kids. Countless vacations. Thousands of sporting events, lake trips, and hardware store runs. It towed our jet skis, cruised the interstate, and swallowed everything we threw at it.
It was reliable. Comfortable. Easy to drive.
You might be thinking, “A minivan? Really?” Yeah. Really.
Why does a minivan trigger a little cringe?
Probably identity. And that identity has been shaped by the culture and the market.
Minivans became shorthand for “settled-down.” People want vehicles that say “adventure.” Even if the closest you get to off-road is the garden section of Home Depot.
Manufacturers know this, and they leaned in. Minivan margins are slim, and SUV margins are fat. Target the marketing dollars at the fat margins.
And we followed. Not because SUVs and giant pickup trucks are better for our lifestyle. But because of story. The story we tell ourselves about the person we are or want to be. It’s a story of freedom and adventure.
I don’t, but I could.
Whenever you’re making something for someone else, make sure you know the story they tell themselves about themselves.
Because it’s the story they’re really buying.
P.S. About 80-90% of the 30 million Jeeps, SUVs, and trucks with knobby tires, roll-bars, and lift-kits on the road today have never been, and will never go off-road. That’s about 24-27 million “I don’t, but I could.”
