Manly Minivans.  Forget all you know about minivans -- friendly non-descript curvilinear boats-on-wheels. Welcome the new muscle-vans -- the whole new minivan line Chrysler is launching, according to Newsweek, that's meant to recapture the excitement of baby boomers whose toddlers have grown up and who now want style and flair and (yes) macho personality in their vehicles again. Now, minivans will be tailored not just for moms with kids, but for guys -- real guys -- with lots of big chrome grills, standard MP3 players and digital dashboards that can do everything from display family photos to navigate guys to their favorite football stadiums.

Chrysler's main competitors, Toyota and Honda, haven't yet joined Chrysler in "manning up." But they're watching. And if Chrysler's approach proves right, they'll dive in. Next thing we know, each new minivan will come equipped standard with automatically refillable beer kegs, his and her bowling balls, and permanently pre-programmed Blue Oyster Cult on the 16-speaker stereo system.