The blog is very useful.

2005 Honday Odyssey should start selling 22 September. http://www.honda-acura.net/forums/showthread.php?t=149716 has description and photos. I’m looking forward to this vehicle as it will hopefully teach some humility to 2004 Sienna dealers

Thanks for all of the ideas. I took your suggestions and signed up for a particular Sienna at carsdirect.com, agreeing to their fixed price (about $1300 over invoice, which is maybe $2500 over the dealer’s actual cost as estimated by a Consumer Reports report on the car). It seems that they don’t have too much pull with dealers, though. They said that they couldn’t get any of their affiliate dealers to sell a car like that at the carsdirect price. Maybe they could find someone to order it for me and they’d have it available after 12 weeks (just in time for the new Honda Odyssey to be available and for the New England winter to set in).

PatW: I’m not sure that airplane ownership impresses women. But it certainly is enough of a headache that it cures you of a desire to own a fussy car such as a Ferrari. It does seem to be the case that the fancier the airplane the less people talk about their cars. The guy who camped in my row at Oshkosh next to his Pilatus PC-12 ($3.2 million six passenger single-engine turboprop) didn’t say “oh by the way let me tell you about my BMW and all of the cool Walmarts that I’ve been to in it”. And the people who are really into flying, e.g., flight instructors, don’t seem to care about their cars much.

So I guess I won’t be getting a new car this summer. The process is too painful and I think I might spend much of the summer either (a) out and about in the airplane, (b) over in Iceland, (c) down in Rio, Brasilia, and the Pantanal, or (d) all of the above.

Avoid Westborough Toyota. They’re a bunch of lying cocksuckers.

No, he doesn’t have to buy a Bimmer. He just has to drop the words “my airplane” for the ladies to know that he’s playing in a whole different league where cars are no longer icons.

Seriously though, minivans are useful, but nobody would drive them unless the manufacturer slap a Pilot body on an Odyssey or a Rendevous name plate on a Venture. It’s still the same van, but all of a sudden, they are cool.

This just off of Reuters:
“…male BMW drivers had the most sex”.

Yet another reason to by a beemer.

From http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=5263599

Impress the ladies with a minivan? Are you nuts!

Mercedes M-series or BMW X series Phillip!

Take a look at the Mazda MPV:
it has the fold-away third seat, opening passenger windows,
and it’s somewhat smaller (and faintly more car-like) than the
Sienna or Odyssey.

Phil, how are you gonna get a wife at this rate ?
Chicks dig cars.
Keep the old van for the pooches and get a BMWer.

Kelly Blue Book (corrected link)
http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.ncb?kbb.MA;141078;MA017&02138;van;;d&337;Toyota;2004%20Sienna&M36M19A12&&&&