So maybe I need more intuitive doors and it wasn't just me?! Love it. Thanks for reading and commenting. Maybe I will get a chance to test drive a Town and Country and compare it to the Odyssey.

Mr. Charness; well I experience with the T & C has been exactly the opposite. Of the 4 vans we have had, we had 1 that had an issue with the power steering pump. Otherwise, ours have been flawless. My brother in law, just sold his 1999 van with over 130K on it and the only thing he has ever done to it is maintenance, tires, and OCLs.

What is considered buy American...from a firm that has it's HQ here? A car that is completely manufactured and assembled in the US? A car that is just assembled here? I think buy American is such an oversimplification that anyone who utters it is being intellectually disingenuous. I have driven "foreign cars" that have more American made parts and have been assembled here than your typical "American" manufacturers, and these "foreign" cars have contributed more to American workers, and the American economy. Also if the buy American is going to be said, I sure hope that idealistic philosophy is followed in regards to electronics, clothing, vegetables, fruits...etc.

Upon some basic research, only Chrysler makes minivans still and they are owned by FIAT so there are no American minivans at the present time.

Buy a Surbaban --- much larger than a "minivan" and better in the Michigan winters. A 4x4 Surbaban is a much better choice than a Honda anything. Fitting 3 kids across in a second or 3rd row seat in a full size truck is very easy. Throw a hitch on the back of your surbaban, and if someone isn't paying attention, the damage from a rear ending is minimal. Try that is an Honda "minivan" or a T&C. Parking a Suburban is pretty easy once you get used to it; and the backup camera makes it almost foolproof. A full-frame truck is the way to go!

GM can put you in a Yukon or Tahoe 8 passenger 4X4 hybrid for about the same price and combined fuel economy. Plus it tows 6000 lbs when you want to.

The Honda Odyssey was very spacious and I loved how it fit my four kids and all their stuff. I also liked how it drove, I totally get why people love it so much. My quest for coolness is futile and admittedly immature. And by the way, I admire practicality.

but Angela, it's an Odyssey. I could save money by buying some rinky-dink 3hp lawn mower at Walmart too, but I don't like throwing money away.

I don't get why people say they like an Odyssey. A Suburban, Tahoe, Traverse, Yukon or Youkon XL makes much more sense. They probably also hold resale better.

Dirty? No. Just not my philosophy, particularly after having some American cars made when quality was not job 1. I'm very glad that they have improved. Before my latest vehicle purchase, I test drove a number of GM cars. None were right for me. I'll give them a chance again when it's time to get a new car, but that could be a while. I've only got about 200,000 miles on my Accord right now.

Do you have any sites backing up your claims? (Not about bigger, since that has no appeal to me. Personally, I'm not a fan of the SUV genre, considering many of them to be bully cars.) However, we've had no problems in snow and ice and the biggest threat to our safety is probably the large number of SUVs, their high bumpers, and often aggressive drivers. I don't need to add to the problem.

BTW, the tricked out Odyssey was a joke.

Here is the problem with this entire thread, the term buy American means Chrysler, GM, and Ford...while the rest I guess are Honda, Toyota, Kia, Mercedes...etc. The only thing American about the first three is that have historically manufactured here. The sad part is Toyota and Honda manufacture more of their car in the US than The Big 3, and Chrysler is not even an American company any longer they are Italian. If you are loyal to a particular brand that is one thing, but don't confuse the issue with buy American, especially when that doe snot mean anything except an old union chant. I personally like my town and country, not because it is American, but because I like the Stow'n Go. I'm on my second one, but if Toyota, Ford, Honda suddenly introduced a minivan that had Stow'N Go and didn't require thousands of dollars of maintenance after 80k in mileage, I would jump ship tot he best car. I drive a Ford Fusion now, and owned 5 explorers prior to that, but when the quality of Ford was in the dark ages 2001-2007, I sold my explorer and got a Lexus. Car was great, and even after being nearly totaled in a car vs. deer collision, the car still sold higher than its luxury counterparts of Cadillac and Lincoln with the same mileage...with an insurance deer collision. I liked the Fusion because it is a good quality car, but my loyalty exists only for quality not for some false buy American jingle, that means nothing in a global economy any longer,

Love that idea, Joshua ... any takers?