Yes I Like Minivans

If you were to ask me a few years ago if I liked minivans, I would have looked at you like you were crazy.  There was no way you’d catch me in the stereotypical family vehicle of choice.  That was until I had 4 kids of my own and a wife that extolled the benefits of said minivan.

As luck would have it, my good friends Charlie and Elena Wollborg suggested The Suburban Collection and I connect for another one of their test drives.  Charlie and Elena drove a Cadillac SRX earlier this summer through this program and they were kind enough suggest me to Dan Boismier, head of all things digital at Suburban Collection.  I picked up the keys on Friday to a 2012 Chrysler Town and Country and had the van for our weekend trip to northern Michigan.

First things first.
The van completely suits our family’s needs.  I posted on Facebook that I liked it.  I had a friend tell me that there are other vehicles that seat 8 comfortably.  True, but what makes a van desirable for us are automatic sliding doors so the kids can easily get in and out and easily putting my 3 year old in his car seat.  The sliding doors ease the worry of my  7 year old throwing doors open without a care for the car that happens to be right next to me.  The other basic need…CARGO ROOM.  Chrysler has always had fold flat seats which also allows for more cargo room than most vans.  A family of 6 (plus a dog) is no small task to pack for and when you do, you end up bringing everything!  Being able to pack everything in the back and leave the passenger area free and clear was fantastic.

It’s the simple things.
Chrysler thought of everything.  The pull up shades on the sliding doors and rear windows.  How great it would have been to have those this summer when the sun was shining right on my kids faces on our many drives up north.  The power windows on the sliding doors!  When we went to the dancing light show near our house, it was great to be able to put down the rear windows so the kids could check it out!  And the dual DVDs.  My how those came in handy on the drive home!  Instead of all 4 kids trying to watch a single small screen, each row had a 9″ screen to watch Mary Poppins!  Even Buddy, pulled up a chair in the back and caught some of the show.

Gadgets Galore.
I like gadgets.  I like technology.  The van had both.  It’s UConnect system, synced my iPhone contacts quickly and made hands free driving easy.  I could also play the music from my phone and stream through the speakers.  Included on this vehicle was its blind zone warning system integrated into the outside rearview mirrors, a common safety function offered on many vehicles but new to me.  It made passing other cars a breeze.  We also had a navigation system to play with and SiriusXM satellite radio.  So many things to make this Town and Country a wonderful ride for 5 days.

What I think I appreciated the most was the program that Dan has started at The Suburban Collection.  This is a great social media platform for dealers to engage in the community and for those participating, a great way for them to meet local dealers in their area.  Dan Wiebelhaus and his team at Suburban Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Troy were fantastic.  They made sure I understood the vehicle before taking it for the weekend and were very welcoming when I returned it this morning.  Kudos to them and their social media test drive platform.

As for Julianne and I, Town and Country will certainly be on our consideration list when we are in market.  We had one before and loved it and I know we’d love it again.  Thanks to Dan, Dan and The Suburban Collection.  Merry Christmas!

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post.  The Suburban Collection did provide me use of the 2012 Chrysler Town & Country you see above for a 5 day test drive.  The opinions expressed here are mine and do not represent the opinions of my employer.

Seeds of Change

This post originally appeared on the Michigan Dads blog in October of last year.  Given my immediate focus on By Dads, For Dads, I thought it would be worthwhile to share with all of you here.  Be a leader dads.  Be a leader.

Isn’t it a great feeling when like minds come together? Over the past couple of weeks, this has happened for me in conversations that I’ve had with Matt Eder,Dave Peckens, and Elena Wollborg.

Let me give you some background. On September 29, TEDxDetroit was held at the Detroit Institute of Arts. In typical fashion, the Detroit blogger community stepped up and shared their thoughts on what TEDx Detroit meant to them, myself included. As I read through some of them, I came across this post from Matt Eder on Michigan Dads.

At that moment, it hit me. I’ve been trying to figure out “the thing” that I wanted to do to help metro Detroit. It involved my kids and it involved helping people. We can all talk about changing Detroit or renewing the city but in the end change really only happens when you can influence and encourage people to jump on board and help you.

In my immediate circle of influence is my family. My kids are at an age right now where they are soaking in everything. Complete sponges. My thoughts immediately turned to volunteering in the community in order to teach my kids a lesson in humility and serving. So that’s what we’re going to do with Matt, Dave, Elena and our families. We’re still developing the idea and the platform so stay tuned for more details.

Our larger hope is that people will see what we are doing as leaders of our families and see the value in what we are doing and want to join us. Can we be that mustard seed that encourages others to take the next step of action? I really hope so because when something small can blossom into something huge, people take notice.

Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.” ~ Mark 4:30-32 (NIV)

For me, my future is solely dependent on the foundations that I lay for my kids. I believe this is what God expects from all of us that are parents. The only way for us to lay this foundation is to invest our time with our kids. We need to be there and lead them or else someone else will and it might not be down a path we want.

So I encourage all of you parents, especially the dads, to lead your families before someone or something else does. You have a tremendous influence whether you know it or not.

Just for fun, I thought I’d share with you a video from last weekend as I was hanging out with my boys on a Sunday afternoon at The Village of Rochester Hills. We had a blast running around and as you can see the smile on their faces made it all worth it.