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I was bouncing around the internet, reading some security blogs, when I found these :

Breach Analysis: Grizzly Bear Edition : http://www.flyingpenguin.com/?p=15609

Why Bears Prefer Minivans : http://www.flyingpenguin.com/?p=14957

"It reads as much like a study of human behavior by bears as a study of bear behavior by humans. "

That reminds me of my first and only confrontation with a bear. I am guessing at my age but prolly 10 or so, it was a few years before Minivans were popular on the market. My Dad "Always" had a van, and as soon as he got a new one he would build out a bed in the back. I think it started out as one thing but evolved into encouraging us to go to sleep while on road trips, because as the years went by the beds became more and more utilitarian and had less... ambiance(no shag carpeting).
We were on family trip to Tennessee(NHRA event) and went hiking up Chimney Rock. On the way back my uncle twisted his ankle not far from the parking area. Of course shortly after that we noticed that we were being shadowed by a bear. Luckily the bear didn't seem in too much of hurry and it seemed more like an escort than anything else. We made it to the van, my Uncle was clearly panicked, I remember the panel door sliding shut with the bear standing right there. We watched as the bear circled the van. Thats when my Uncle noticed that his window was still pushed out. He had been laying down across the seat nursing his ankle and began trying to kick the latch shut. With the bears nose shoved in the opening we could clearly hear the bear as he sniffed the air inside the van. Finally one of us reach over and shut the window and eventually the bear went away.
Those were good times!

I didn't realize bears had poor taste in cars.

Maybe because it looks like a giant hotdog?

gummo wrote:I didn't realize bears had poor taste in cars.

The Dodge Bearavan seems to be very popular with them.

Interesting. I'll remember this if I ever go to Yosemite with my current vehicle.

@Alston Neal That's just bad!
@Patrick L I guess we'll all have to rent Mini Coopers to off road in...

We rent a minivan twice a year to go out of state for shows and they always have food in them.
So there could be a food connection there.
The minivans and SUVs have the highest scores and also tend to have the most kids and we all know how neat and tidy kids are with food.
Station wagons ranked low cuz who even drives them anymore except Clark Griswold.

Clark: Ed, this is not the car I ordered. I distinctly ordered the Antarctic Blue Super Sports Wagon with C.B. and optional rally fun pack.

Car Salesman: You didn't order the Metallic Pea?

azbackpackr wrote:Clark: Ed, this is not the car I ordered. I distinctly ordered the Antarctic Blue Super Sports Wagon with C.B. and optional rally fun pack.

Car Salesman: You didn't order the Metallic Pea?

The minivan looks like a dumpster to a bear.

Considering I've never seen the floor of a minivan without at least one petrified Cheerio on it, I guess it all makes sense.

Minivan = Happy Meal for Bears

Like told someone today, it's like humans with clams, you peel open the hard outer shell looking for the soft delicacies inside ...

Kingsnake wrote "Like told someone today, it's like humans with clams, you peel open the hard outer shell looking for the soft delicacies inside ..." that's what polar bears think about igloos.