A Case of the Blues

This is dedicated to the dad with the awesome Dark Blue TRD Tundra at my son's preschool who is helping me keep the dream alive.

Three weeks ago, my son started preschool. I have long lamented my youthful expectations of adventure and glory, as so many of us often do, but the first day of preschool was particularly biting. The picture I took of the parking lot doesn't truly capture the breadth of mourning that I feel.

The photo only shows a small section of the lot. There were at least 30 vehicles in total, but not one car. It was my suburban nightmare come true.

Minivans, crossovers, and SUVs make up such a tremendous section of the automotive marketplace that sometimes it's a wonder sedans and coupes still exist. I understand the practicality, especially if you're transporting a large family, and the safety, comfort, and convenience features on so many models are truly bespoke. As I've mentioned in the past, I practically grew up in the backseat of a Plymouth Voyager, and my inner car nerd turned out just fine.

But he is still is so disappointed.

I have fond memories of rocking out with my mom to AC/DC, Aerosmith, and The Clash despite her tame, domestic veneer. The Voyager never stopped us. And I admit it - even I drive an SUV. It's a Nissan Xterra, and I tell myself that it's a four-wheel-drive truck so that I can sleep at night, but I'm still guilty. At least it's bright blue. I don't envy the designers and marketers who have to continually come up with new names for beige, black, white, and the 50 shades of gray and silver in between.

Hopefully this is just a phase that we go through for a decade or two while our children are young. I'm actually looking forward to the midlife crisis that I'll inevitably hit with all of the other young dads in our enclave so that we can add a little bit of style and color to the streets again.

Thanks for sticking with me through this uncharacteristic rant. Now I need to go out to my bright blue four-wheel-drive off-road beast and vacuum up the Cheerios from around the child-seat.

-Trey Fennell

2013 Toyota Tundra Coco #51 Black & Red