In a 2005 interview with CNNMoney.com, Peter Horbury, the British-born Ford designer who oversees the look of Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles, decried the un-American, emasculated appearance of minivans.

"The American history of horse-drawn vehicles would have people sitting up high and holding the reigns," he said, describing the emotional draw of high-riding SUVs. "whereas the minivan has this sort of donky-cart look."

Sour grapes, perhaps, since Ford's minivans have been no match for those of Honda, Toyota and, the soccer mom of all minivans, Chrysler. So now Ford is replacing its minivans with something similar to the Ford Fairlane concept vehicle, shown here. The name, taken from Henry Ford's private estate, may not stay. What will certainly stay are the pronounced hood and truck-ish vertical lines.

Hopefully, this time, making it look like a truck will work in the vehicle's favor by at least making it look less like what it really is. That is, basically, a minivan.
-PVD