Wrapping things up, it doesn't actually look too bad in this picture, mostly due to the nice trees out front! It's very interesting to see how many minivans were parked outside of this store -- maybe they're a bit more popular in California than around here, where they're a pretty rare sight (people seem to prefer minivan-sized SUVs instead). The lack of Teslas is a clear sign that this area is a bit different demographically from most of the California locations I've posted so far!
At least historically, minivans (which aren't really mini anymore, they have not been mini since the 1990s really outside of a few exceptions like the long-discontinued Mazda5) have been popular with people who have disabled members of the family due to it being easier to get people with poor mobility into the wide opening of a sliding rear door versus a standard car door. Also, the step into a minivan tends to be lower and more car-like than an SUV, which helps people in wheelchairs and such. Furthermore, the wide, low entry into the rear sliding doors allows for the mounting of wheelchair lifts and other mobility devices.
ReplyDeleteGiven that most of the spots in this photo are handicapped spots, it is possible that some of these vans are for people with mobility issues. I feel like most vans I see with lifts and such are Chrysler vans, and none of these are that, but perhaps those devices exist for other models as well.
However, I will say that there is a stereotype about Asian families and Toyota and Honda minivans. At least there was in the 2000s and early 2010s, I'm not sure if that stereotype still exists. Is it possible that stereotype is true here in Orange County? I reckon it could be, lol, especially given some of the neighboring businesses the Albertsons has which are visible in this photo.
At least for a long time, Orange County also had a stereotype for having a different political orientation than most of the rest of the LA metro area, though I'm not sure how much of that is still true in current times. Whether that has anything to do with the Tesla count, well, I don't know, lol. Teslas have long been popular here in Houston so I don't know what to make of that, especially given the dominance of the oil & gas industry here! I suppose a lot of power plants use oil & gas, so there is that!
Speaking of minivans, I saw an Oldsmobile Silhouette cruising down a freeway here in Houston today. It was the less remarkable looking 2nd generation model, though it looked pretty clean and straight for such an old GM model. While those 2nd generation GM minivans were popular with Chevrolet and, to a slightly lesser degree, Pontiac badging, the Oldsmobile and Buick versions were always quite rare even when they were new. The VW EuroVan might well have been more popular in the Pacific Northwest, lol.
Oh, and on the topic of Albertsons, especially dated Albertsons, if you have not seen Mike's latest HHR post, be sure to check it out! Link: https://houstonhistoricretail.com/2025/01/31/food-town-albertsons-new-caney/
DeleteCould be, who knows. My neighbor who uses a wheelchair has a modified Toyota Sienna with a wheelchair ramp.
DeleteHmm, that's not a stereotype I've heard before. I tend to stereotype Asian-Americans as driving European luxury cars! When I was a kid, it seemed like pretty much everyone had Toyota or Honda minivans, but you don't see much of that those days.
I've always liked those first-generation GM minivans. One of my neighbors in Port Angeles had one of them (I think it was even the Oldsmobile type) 20 years ago, but it's been a while since I've seen one. It seems like the only 90s minivans that are still a common sight are the Dodge/Chrysler ones, but even then I might be mixing those up with the 00s ones that are pretty similar looking. There are plenty of 90s cars (and trucks and SUVs) still on the road around here, but not minivans for some reason.
A lot of 1990s and 2000s minivans (and maybe later ones too, but I've long stopped following reliability trends for minivans!) had transmissions made of glass, including the Chrysler and Honda. This is also true with Ford ones, which you hardly see anymore. The problem is that a lot of these vans used sedan transmissions even though they are much heavier and people carry more weight in them. Some of those transmissions weren't even reliable in sedans, but they were even worse in vans. I suspect the Hondas got fixed by their owners when they needed transmission replacements, but the others were not. I don't remember the Toyotas being so bad. They generally have broken door handles and stuff like that which are likely cheap to fix, relatively speaking.
DeleteThe stereotypes about Asian moms with Toyota and Honda minivans was certainly true in Houston and California! I'm not sure about Seattle, maybe you'll have to use StreetView to investigate Seattle Asian supermarket parking lots. I would do it, but I don't know what Asian supermarkets there are there aside from anything you've posted on the blog!