FJ Cruiser U

Pardon the obsession with a nascent vehicle (the Toyota FJ Cruiser, which was launched earlier this year) and the college search process, but I have to weigh in again.

You can read below about the search for the family minivan and how I see parallels between car shopping and college shopping. And, during the process, I found a vehicle that I fell in love with.

Alas, it's not to be, just yet -- the Toyota doesn't have family-friendly stuff like a DVD player. It's not practical. But it's so cool.

Where am I going with this? I shared emails with a student who came to U Sphere and is looking for the right school. The unheard of will not do. The off the beaten path is not something Mom and Dad will support (financially or otherwise). Names that I mentioned of the up-and-coming school will not work.

Whether Ivy or Near-Ivy is the only thing that this student will do is something that we'll have to sort out over time.

So the student can't get the FJ Cruiser out of his mind.

And neither can I.

This is despite the fact that a leading consumer publication that tested this vehichle ranked it nearest the bottom of its class. Among the comments that told me this is not right for me -- awful visibility (I'm bad at switching lanes), tough to get a car-seat in (I have three kids).

It's great if you take it off road -- I think I've been off-road once, by accident.

It's art, it's science, it's both -- the FJ Cruiser may eventually work out as another family vehicle, or the issues might get fixed in year two or year three.

And this particular kid may realize that there could be a perfect school -- or two or three -- out there that he's never heard of.