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"         Our frequent vacation drive up and down nearly the entire length of the Pacific Coast has come and gone once again. After 2500 miles on the round trip, my mind is agog with visions of sport-utility vehicles, semis, pickup trucks, minivans and, yes, even the occasional car, batting along Interstate 5. It fascinates me how minivans became so associated with soccer moms that most self-respecting, beef-eating American males won&amp;#039;t be seen driving them.   This year, my wife, Patty, and I, along with our golden retriever Lucy, elected to make the great drive in a Mazda MPV. Two reasons for this cropped up: First, we always seem to find a whole slew of stuff that needs to be moved from California to Washington; second, Lucy is more than 10 years old and hopping in and out of high-riding vehicles is more difficult for her now. So, the seemed perfect for the trek. It has plenty of space when you fold down the third-row seats, its ride height is very carlike, and it&amp;#039;s quite comfortable for 10- and 12-hour days on the road.   It always amuses me when I hear men disparage minivans as though they are to be driven only by women. I think so often of our friend , racing legend extraordinaire and a man to be taken seriously in every way. For the past several years Dan has been driving minivans and having a hell of a lot of fun doing it. He says he always orders his with as few trinkets or extras as possible to keep the weight down, but does get the good wheel/tire package.   &amp;quot;Some time ago I was driving up toward Mammoth Mountain ski area when a guy in a went by me. So I raced with him all the way to Mammoth and took him quite by surprise. I had a similar episode on the local toll road when a went by and I tucked in behind him and we had a lot of fun until I finally blew on by. If you keep the weight down, minivans are really a kick to drive.&amp;quot;   Another outstanding racing driver who has spent a lot of time in minivans is Rod Millen, rally champion, king of Pikes Peak and other series. &amp;quot;I spent a good 10 years driving minivans and I loved them for their &amp;#039;sleeper&amp;#039; aspect,&amp;quot; Millen says. &amp;quot;I had a Toyota Previa with all-wheel drive and a supercharger, and it was a lot of fun because I could go really fast and nobody ever noticed. And I think I still hold the record in competition with Jeff Zwart [R&amp;amp;amp;T Contributing Photographer] for getting from Newport Beach to Aspen, Colorado, the fastest \u2014 930 miles in less than 12 hours, most of that in the dead of night, of course.&amp;quot;   I learned many years ago that I&amp;#039;m no Dan Gurney or Rod Millen when it comes to driving anything, but going through the Siskiyou Mountains in Northern California and into Oregon, the Mazda MPV was a sure-footed delight, with predictable handling and great grip. And while I didn&amp;#039;t set any records, I did enjoy the fact that you can maintain relatively high speeds without drawing undue attention.   Cover story: Ford GT   This month&amp;#039;s cover is devoted to our complete instrumented of the Ford GT, the newest American supercar that will go on sale late next spring. The Ford GT is a honey of a car, as you&amp;#039;ll discover when you read Road Test Editor Patrick Hong&amp;#039;s report. And speaking of Dan Gurney, he kindly sat down with Engineering Editor Dennis Simanaitis to offer memories of his experiences in competition with the Ford GT40 models of the 1960s.   Dennis also put together a brief history of the racing program that led to four consecutive wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the men who made it happen. It&amp;#039;s a memorable period in American racing history and it&amp;#039;s good to revisit it. The introduction of the all-new Ford GT provides a great launching pad for looking back fondly.   Profiles in Speed   Elsewhere in this issue you will find the first in a new series of in-depth interviews with some of the world&amp;#039;s great racing drivers. Contributing Editor Leo Levine is the author of these features, and the first one focuses on Mario Andretti. The goal of these Profiles in Speed is to give all of us the opportunity to get to know these legendary drivers as human beings. We may know about their exploits, their victories, their great moments in the spotlight, of course, but in this series Leo is taking us with him into their homes or offices or garages and asking them to talk about the feelings, judgments, events and emotions that make them who they are. I&amp;#039;m certain you will find these stories enormously fascinating. And I dare say you&amp;#039;ll end up with a much greater appreciation of their accomplishments. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a9758/are-you-man-enough-for-a-minivan/>