My first car was a Pontiac Fiero. White. A two-seater. It was FAST (and my mom liked that we’d never be stuck driving a ton of teenagers from party to party – heck, there were TWO of us and only ONE car, so to her, it was perfect). I totaled it hydroplaning on a bridge. Maybe it was too fast.

My second car was a Pontiac Fiero. Silver. I almost totaled it. I was T-boned late one night, and I should have let them total it, but I loved it. It never drove the same after that. But it was still fast.

My third car was a Nissan Sentra. Baby blue. Four seats, four doors. I hated it. But I OWNED it, and at the time, that was most important.

My fourth car was a VW Golf. Black. TURBO. Manual transmission. Also four seats and four doors, but it was FAST. I loved it. I drove 2 hours to buy it – there were only 4 of its kind for sale in the US. I owned that one, too, but when we had a child and Bart’s car was more practical, we decided to trade mine in for a Subaru Outback, the family car.

Then it was MY turn. We bought a Fiat 500e. ELECTRIC! Four seats, two doors. A clown car, really. But SERIOUSLY fast (notice a pattern here?), and tiny. You can park it anywhere, turn on a dime and it heats up or cools down in seconds (clown cars usually do).

But wait, I skipped a step. Before we bought that Subaru Outback, my husband wanted a minivan. Then he made SIT in one. I hated it. The eager car salesman opened the back, dropped down the seats and said, “Look at all that room!” I almost cried, and so, we bought a Subaru.

Enter Child #2. Oh, and kindergarten. Picture my sweet husband hauling children to and fro in a meager, barely fit for human beings to ride in Subaru Outback. And guess which word popped back up again: MINIVAN.

He’d done research (of course). Honda and Toyota own the market, but KIA, they’re trying to compete. The Sedona has exceptional safety ratings and lots of features, all for a lower price to gain market share. Plus, it claims to NOT “look like” a minivan. Believe me, it’s a minivan.

But I love my husband and want him to be happy as a lark as he safely drives our children (and other people’s children) around the city, so we made a deal: As long as I don’t have to drive it, he can have a minivan.

And so we now own a minivan. YES, a MINIVAN. At the first dealership we tried, the salesperson tried to show me all the great features of their Kia Sedona. I finally had to tell him: Your pitch is lost on me. Sell that guy.

The second dealership tried the same. Clearly the wife is the one who is supposed to love/want the minivan. Again, I directed them to Bart, who of course knew more about the vans than the salesmen, and it was down to 2 options – one had a “technology package” that literally lets you see all 4 sides of your vehicle simultaneously (in addition to many other features).

Though it was more expensive (of course), I know my husband, and I made the call: Get the Technology. You know you will love it. Plus, since my time in that vehicle will be limited to “passenger time”, it should be exactly, perfectly what would make him happy.

On a side note: Zoe also loves it. She feels like a queen on her throne and can open/close her own door. What a thrill!

And best of all? I still have my Fiat.