Mini-Van Envy at Channel 15
By: Melanie Droz
2010 Dodge Caravan SXT
Due to the hospitality of ABC15 reporter Tim Vetscher, the Sunnyslope journalism class recently took a tour of ABC15. In an attempt to save money on transportation, we decided to carpool to the studio. I was lucky to have the 2010 Dodge Caravan SXT that week; there is no way I would have been able to fit seven students in my Chrysler 300.
I must admit, the kids made a few jokes regarding my new life as a soccer mom when we walked up to the van. I even chuckled at the thought of having seven teenagers in my backseat; would someone pull up next to me and think I gave birth to all seven of them at the youthful age of 29? However, with a spacious third row of seats and second row, leather-trimmed bucket seats, none of us complained once we were inside. After all, there were a ton of features in the van that made the $26,730 price tag seem reasonable.
The girls in the third row enjoyed the cool breeze through the vented windows, the two students in the second row were amazed they had control over the air conditioning, the young lady who called shotgun had fun turning on the heated driver’s seat and I, as the driver with the warm butt, loved the overhead console with interior conversation mirror. I was able to see all the kids as I attempted to start conversation, even though they were focused on texting their friends who were still in class.
Overall, the drive there was pleasant. We scanned through the SIRUS satellite radio stations and reveled in the fact we were getting 17 city and 25 highway mpg. Had we taken the school bus, we would have been paying absurd prices for gas and the driver. My only fee was a guarantee that they wouldn’t embarrass me at the ABC15 studio.
So much for that! They took coupons from the break room, golfed on the miniature course on the patio, dangled from the heliport, acted silly on the green screen and removed signs from their original place. Not to mention the countless number of times they tried to make me blush in front of Tim. I tell them once I think he is tall and dreamy and I don’t hear the end of it.
Despite all of their humorous attempts to make me aggravated, we had a wonderful time on the tour. They got to sit in the anchors’ chairs, report the weather, watch an update through the control room and ask several of the producers and reporters questions about life as a journalist. They even walked away with ABC15 pencils (some of which I found in several of the eight cup holders in the Caravan).
With our hands full and the rain beginning to drop down as we were leaving ABC15, it was nice to have remote keyless entry with engine immobilizer and driver-side and passenger-side power sliding doors. The 2010 Dodge Caravan SXT even comes equipped with rain sensitive, variable intermittent windshield wipers, which were convenient as we fought our way through heavy storms on our way to lunch. Regardless of the weather, I felt safe with so many of my students in the van. The 5-star government safety ratings in frontal and side crash along with side curtain air bags in all rows, assured me that their parents would be grateful they were in such good hands.
Although we had the choice to set up the third row stowable table in the Caravan, we decided to go to Sauce for lunch after the tour. It gave them a second opportunity to tell me how cute it was to see my knees buckle whenever Tim came near me.
As the day came to an end, I cleaned out the van of pencils and leftover drinks from lunch. I was happy the 2010 Dodge Caravan SXT came with stain repel, which is a stain/odor/static resistant fabric. Otherwise, eight bodies could have done some damage.
Even though only one person pulled up next to us in the Caravan with a look of concern for the poor mother driving on her face, it was worth the adventure I got to take as one of the coolest soccer moms ever.
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