Q: We have a two-year-old and another kid on the way—should we cave and get a minivan?

For those with kids, there’s no vehicle that is more practical, comfortable and versatile than a good modern minivan. There’s also no other type of vehicle with such a fun’s-over-it’s-parenting-time stigma—as evidenced by how you phrased the question. If you’re pondering minivan life, bear this in mind: Market research shows minivan owners tend to be more self-confident than their SUV brethren. Plus, as that old Chrysler minivan commercial highlighted, is there any clearer automotive proof of a man’s potent virility than a minivan loaded with kids?

Q: My car is paid off, but it’s more than three years old, and the wear and tear is starting to show already. Should I sell and get something new?

It’s financial idiocy to trade in your car that soon after it has been paid off. You paid higher monthly bills than you would have by leasing, and the trade-in equity would now be put on another quickly depreciating asset that would keep the cycle of car payments going. Enjoy what you have.

Q: Will a day come when we see nothing but gas-electric hybrid cars on the roads?

No. And not because the number of gas-electric hybrid vehicles isn’t going to increase, but because there’ll be other eco-friendly options on the road as well. At this year’s Michelin Challenge Bibendum—a sort of environmental Olympics where all types of sustainable mobility research projects from universities, carmakers and other companies gather to compare technologies and notes on what’s next—the general consensus was that the future will hold a variety of cleaner technologies (more hybrid-power vehicles, clean diesels, ethanol, natural gas-ready engines), not only gas-electric hybrids.

Q: How do I prepare my car for the winter?

Send your car to an auto technician that you can trust, and don’t skimp on what needs replacing. Winter tires are a great investment.
All-season tires are not as good in the winter, especially the ones that are more than three years old: The rubber wears down considerably, so the channels for the tire to compact into are much smaller, making it more likely that no rubber will actually contact the road. It only takes one unfortunate second of slip-sliding into something (or someone) to make you wish you had prepared. Plus, the extended life this investment will give your other tires means that you’re paying peanuts for a whole lot of extra safety.