How does a 400 horsepower, fire-breathing Honda Odyssey strike you?
Not exactly the greenest of conveyances, but I bet some hyper-fast minivans would go a long way toward changing the "vans are for soccer moms" story which makes people go and buy silly, tippy SUV’s for road use. A powerful van would at least be greener than an equally powerful SUV. After all, a mini van really isn’t a small van; it’s a tall car. And space is the ultimate luxury.
It’s bizarre, I know, but would you believe that retrofit vans are a whole subculture? (Of course you would, what isn’t?)
http://www.turbovan.net/turbovan.html
It turns out that the first and second generation Chrysler vans came with a wolf-in-sheepish-clothing 2.5L turbo that absolutely screams when you let it out to play. There is video on the site of these vans smoking stock mustangs and corvettes in the quarter mile.
Interestingly, many choose not to alter the exterior. This preserves the “sleeper” effect – i.e. you never see it coming.
Great blog btw – got the hookup through John Lilly, with whom I’ve no doubt you are acquainted.
Cool.