Today’s Post by Joe Farace
I think the Smart Car is awesome. The only problem is I’ve been on the freeway and felt like I was going to be blown away like a Tim Hortons coffee cup, so I may have to upgrade to a Mini Cooper— something a little stronger.—Ellen Page
In 2022, minivans accounted for just 3.6% of new US vehicle sales, and that’s down from 6.6% in 2016. The market is expected to experience an annual growth rate of minus1.88%
And this is far from the first year that has happened. Minivan sales have trended downwards for the last several years while at the same time SUV and crossover sales are climbing. I’ve written about this trend in the past, notably with this post, Friends don’t let friends drive Minivans. Based on my admittedly limited viewpoint, I seem to see more minivans, especially the tank-like Honda Odyssey, on the roads than in pre-pandemic times.
But there was a time when Mini Vans were cool… The A35 was a small family car that the UK’s Austin Motor Company Limited sold from 1956 until 1968. In 1959, the A35 passenger cars were replaced by the new A40 Farina-designed models but the estate car (station wagon) version continued until 1962 and the van version until 1968. All in all, 280,897 A35s of all types were produced including vans such this one pictured above. (By comparison, Honda sold 71,511 Odyssey vans in 2023.)
In 1956, a two-door deluxe saloon (sedan) with the 948 cc engine was tested by the UK’s Motor magazine and found to have a top speed of 71.9 mph and could accelerate from 0-60 mph in 30.1 seconds. A fuel consumption of 34.6 mpg was recorded, not that anybody cared about gas mileage at that point in time when regular gas sold for about 30 cents a gallon.
How I made this shot: I photographed the above Austin Mini Van in the charming community of Prospect Colorado. It was captured with my Canon EOS 50D DSLR before it was converted for infrared capture. The image was shot using an EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens (at 17mm.) Exposure was 1/400 sec at f/145 and ISO 800.
For all you Wallace & Gromit fans out there, an Austin A35 van was featured in the 2005 movie, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and I think it’s green like this one. The movie is available on DVD from Amazon for $9.99 as I write this. If you’re not familiar with the Wallace & Gromit series, you will love and laugh out loud at this movie