[QUOTE=payne171;205277] My other thought is that those who think winter tires are plenty must live in the 'burbs.
The 'burbs I live in are called the Rocky Mountains and I've been told that people come here to ski on snow. I drive to work before the roads are plowed in the morning. I do this in a 2007 Yaris hatch back [5" ground clearance] with a set of snow tires for the winter. I have plowed snow on some winter mornings and have yet to be stuck in three winters.
I have managed to spin out into the ditch once at slow speed in 8" of snow and simple put the car in 1st gear and drove back onto the road with no fuss or bother. Most recently I drove over the Highwood Pass in a snow storm with about 4" of snow on the road and the only other vehical I saw in over an hour of driving was a 4x4 Pickup with a camper. But no SUV's. In fact if you want to see a SUV in the winter around here, all you have to do is look in the ditch, and thier they are stuck!
As for minivans I am happey to see Toyota is going to market a prius hybrid minivan. In fact I have always thought that a aero minivan could be very good on fuel. One of my planed ecomodded projects is on a Ford aerostar minivan, but if the Toyota is good enough on fuel and not out of my price range I may buy one.