The '80s Minivan: Better Than You Remember

Thirty-five years ago, America was minivan crazy. The era wouldn't last long, but it would leave behind weird and wonderful relics. [Esquire Sunday Reads]( [In Praise of the '80s Minivan]( [In Praise of the '80s Minivan]( You can trace the fall of the minivan to a single date: June 11, 1993. On that Friday in the early years of the Clinton administration Jurassic Park opened in theaters, smashing into the cultural consciousness like an exquisitely rendered meteor and leaving ripple effects that we feel to this day. Among them: the vehicles. Jeep Wranglers and Ford Explorers that audiences instantly fell in love with. Sales of SUVs, which had already been on an uptick, exploded after the film's release and, to this day, show no sign of stopping. (The SUV accounted for 50 percent of autos sold in the U.S. in 2020.) Virtually overnight, SUVs became the de facto family car, firmly supplanting the minivan, which had reigned since the mid 1980s, after it replaced the station wagon. This upheaval in the car market was bound to happen. The minivan, while enormously practical, was lame—a totem of domestication, a four-wheel stand-in for the suburbs. But, in the late '80s and early 1990s, minivan design was also barreling into some glorious and beautifully strange directions. With the end of the Cold War, a rapidly expanding economy, and a young president who played the sax and admitted to smoking weed (though not inhaling!), Americans were optimistic about the future. It showed in their minivan design. [Read the Full Story]( [MORE FROM ESQUIRE]( [Lionel Messi's Departure from Barcelona Is a Tragedy]( [Lionel Messi's Departure from Barcelona Is a Tragedy]( Growing up in Rosario, Argentina, Lionel Messi was the kid zigzagging around all the others on the playground, a natural phenomenon who grasped the physics of the game on a visceral level. He just understood how the ball, and he, and his teammates, and the defenders around him moved through space, all at once. He has a gift for touch and technique and continually drawing and redrawing mental maps of the field around him that simply cannot be taught, because he is not doing it all in any cognitive sense. It just happens, because it was meant to happen. The game moves slower for him. He gets an extra beat, and he's always a step ahead. The defender seems perpetually off-balance not just because of his pace and power and trickery and unpredictability, but because the marker is almost knocked off-rhythm, left playing catch up to the tantalizing improv of Messi's tune. There is a sense of such destiny while watching him play that it is a genuine shock to ever see him fail. [Read the Full Story](    [27 Coffee Table Books That Are as Cool and Stylish as You]( [27 Coffee Table Books That Are as Cool and Stylish as You]( What does your coffee table say about you? If it says, “I’m worthless at building IKEA furniture,” or, “I never remember to use a coaster,” you’re in trouble, and we can help. A cultured guy’s coffee table should be an expression of his interests, and the best way to telegraph that is through books. Whether you’re into music, architecture, or outer space, be proud of who you are, and let your coffee table do the talking. We’ve taken the liberty of rounding up some of our favorite reads from our own coffee tables, ranging from lavish, show-stopping books about fashion and interior design to unassuming gems about city life and hot sauce. [Read the Full Story]( [The Best Documentaries on Netflix Right Now]( [The Best Documentaries on Netflix Right Now]( The best of Netflix's docs provide essential perspectives on our strange world, inspire even the most true-crime-avert to dip their toe into the mysterious water, and explore complex issues that require your attention. Netflix’s documentaries are so widespread and influential that they have even reignited interest—and made developments—in some of the most high profile and criminal and murder cases of the last few decades. With over 36,000 hours of content on Netflix to choose from, it can be hard to decide what to dive into it. Is it a Tiger King or sports doc kind of night? To help you out, we've narrowed down the best documentaries, no matter if you’re looking to expand your mind or your true crime trivia knowledge. [Read the Full Story](    [Matt Damon’s 15 Best Movies, Ranked]( [Matt Damon’s 15 Best Movies, Ranked]( There are plenty of actors on Matt Damon’s lofty rung in the Tinseltown hierarchy who choose projects based on the size of the payday attached to them (see Affleck’s C.V. circa 1998-2004). But thanks to his range and intelligence, Damon has always seemed to put the work first. That not only makes him a Hollywood rarity, but also a capital-A Artist as well. With his latest movie now in theaters, the desperate-father drama Stillwater, it seemed as good a time as any to rank the quintessential professional’s Top 15 Performances. [Read the Full Story]( [The True Story of the Billionaire Boys Club]( [The True Story of the Billionaire Boys Club]( They were the sons of some of the most powerful families in California, never at a loss for money or kicks. Then they met Joe Hunt, who offered them the one thing they didn’t have: belief in themselves. They will pay for it forever. [Read the Full Story](  Follow Us       [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Notice/Notice At Collection](  esquire.com ©2021 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019   Â