I went recently to a Secretary Of State office in downtown Chicago to get my Real ID. Part of my thought process was that since I had all of the required documentation, and while this was still fresh in my brain, it made sense to just go ahead and do it. According to a little internet research, it appears as of this writing that a Real ID will be required for U.S. air travelers by May 3, 2023. (That’s a Wednesday, just so you know.) It feels great to have gotten this done far in advance of the deadline, versus my normal tendency to wait until the last minute, at which point the lines will probably be ridiculous. The Department of Motor Vehicles had me in and out of there in very quickly, efficiently, and courteously, and I was impressed. I ended up not even having to take that morning off from work to do this as I had originally planned.
Walking through Chicago’s Theatre District in the Loop to get to the DMV office in the lower level of the James R. Thompson Center always puts such a big smile on my face. I still remember what it felt like to have first arrived in this beautiful, historic city in my late twenties, with my spirits and confidence buoyed by having just gotten a promotion and a relocation package from my employer at the time. During my first year or so in Chicago, it felt almost like one extended vacation that was broken up by a Monday-through-Friday routine at the office. I had previously worked week-long stints in my company’s offices in other major U.S. cities, and being in Chicago felt almost like a continuation of that. Public art sprinkled throughout the downtown grid of almost perfectly parallel and perpendicular streets, like Alexander Calder’s “Flamingo” sculpture in the John C. Kluczynski Federal Plaza and Helmut Jahn’s “Monument With Standing Beast” (pictured above) in front of the Thompson Center, serve as happy touchstones.
I didn’t want to be caught without a Real ID once I had a hypothetical lineup of places to go and things to do, so getting one was essential to not having to worry about it anymore. I was already thinking about going to Arizona to visit friends when I passed our featured Kia Sedona near the James M. Nederlander Theatre (formerly the Oriental Theatre; pictured above). My friends don’t live in Sedona, but this minivan still made me think of them, as well as a lot of other things: seeing more of the United States, family vacations, and road trips. It also made me think of how utterly forgettable the styling of the first Sedona was. I used to think it reminded me of the slightly rounded, 1991 – ’95 edition of the minivans from Chrysler Corporation, but looking at it again, I see more than a little Ford Windstar in those rounded Dial deodorant soap-like curves and corners.
I’ve never been to Sedona before, but from what I’ve read and the pictures I’ve seen, its broad vistas of red rock formations and natural beauty look truly awe-inspiring and probably must be seen in person to be believed. A place like Sedona and its vivid and unique brand of North American nature appears on the surface to be one hundred eighty degrees from that of most places I’ve ever lived before, and for that reason, I think it deserves a spot on my to-see list. However, the aesthetic merits of Sedona-the-place and Sedona-the-minivan, especially in the latter’s initial 2002 – ’05 iteration, couldn’t be more diametrically opposed, to my eyes. It’s not that I think the first Kia minivan sold in the U.S. is ugly. It’s just not memorable. At all.
According to Consumer Guide, these early Sedonas packed a lot of value into their asking price when new, back in the days when content for the money was Kia’s main calling card. The Sedona’s strengths included good interior and cargo room, being about the same size as rival Toyota Sienna and slightly longer than the non-“Grand” Dodge Caravan. I would never have guessed this by looking at a Sedona, as its styling has always somehow suggested a much smaller vehicle than either of those other minivans, or any of its other intended competition.
Downsides included lackluster fuel economy and acceleration. The 195-horsepower, 3.5 liter V6 that powered both the standard LX model and the upmarket EX was EPA rated at 15/20 mpg with its five-speed automatic transmission, but managed only 15.6 mph in CG’s test. Even the 2004 Dodge Caravan equipped with the 215-hp 3.8L V6 was rated at 17/23 mpg, managed 17.1 mph, and could do 0-60 mph in a hair over 10 seconds. The Sedona took almost a full second more. This actually doesn’t seem like that big of a gap to me, but no one said the 3.8L-equipped Caravan was a paragon of acceleration. Whatever… these are family haulers that no one is taking to the track on weekends.
I feel like the owner of this Sedona did an admirable job of bringing a bit of vacation-like flair to his or her example with this exuberant, homemade paint job and copious use of stickers on the lift-up tailgate. I’m not saying it’s a roadgoing Picasso, with the styling of the brand-new Kia Sorento SUV behind it being genuinely attractive, by contrast. I can, however, appreciate the level of commitment on display in having made this Sedona look like something not manufactured by Kenmore, even if it still looks like it was styled by Fisher-Price.
I’m convinced that if you can’t look or act a fool just a little bit while on holiday, then you’re not doing it right. I’m not recommending doing bodily harm to yourself in acts of overindulgence, but rather that I’d encourage simply letting loose before the realities of adulthood start to beckon you back to your regularly scheduled programming. Whenever I do go on that first, major vacation this year (with my new Real ID), I’ll plan to make the most of it right up through the end. I may not make it to Sedona from Phoenix, with roughly 115 miles between those two cities, but whatever it is I do to relax, I’m going to do my best to make it memorable, like the celebratory paint job and graphics on this otherwise invisible Sedona.
Downtown, The Loop, Chicago, Illinois.
May 2022.
I would never have thought about this Sedona wearing vacation duds, but now that you have, it is totally right.
Your comment about being forgettable is right – I think I rented one of these once, but I don’t actually remember anything about it. I do remember seeing them around in small numbers, but very few of them are still around. In line with the forgettable thing, it seems to me that I may have seen one recently and thought of snapping some pictures for a CC, but the situation wasn’t right. Again, I don’t remember where or when, just some vague impression.
The only other thing I remember about these was reading that they weighed 5,000 pounds – which seemed like an awful lot to me for a minivan of its size. I wish I knew more about them, because I actually find them just a little appealing.
I wish I knew more about them now, too, given some of the comments – especially those that mention their weight. Of course, we all know I’m not the CC contributor for that job, but now I’m really curious…
I seem to recall they ran a full chassis – could account for the weight.
I used to sell Kias back in those days. The explanation of the weight was that it was designed for countries other than the US and in order to pass US crash testing it was reinforced significantly, which made them even heavier than their larger 2006 replacement. Even the wiring was for some reason heavy. The biggest problem with all that extra weight was that they didn’t upgrade the brakes at the same time. That generation could go through a set of brake pads in 15k miles or less. The road hugging weight made for a decent ride, but at the expense of acceleration, fuel mileage and brake replacement costs
The local Nissan/Kia dealer used one as a customer shuttle & I rode in it way back when. The driver was able to accelerate it with a full load plenty fast enough. I didn’t find anything wrong with it on the ride, would’ve looked at it if I wanted a minivan. Kudos to the owner for the decorating job!
I just now had the thought that maybe it belongs to one of the employees of Blick Art Supply store, which recently moved next to the Nederlander Theater! That would explain the source of all the paints…
Cool! My dad’s profession involved drawing maps in the days before computers could do things like that, at least, before they could do it routinely and cheaply. He had sets of Dick Blick pens & supplies. They were/are a big player in the art/drawing supplies space.
I absolutely love the Blick store. They have everything. Back when I was a more active in showcasing my photographic prints, they were a great source for frames, other presentation materials, and basic ideas I hadn’t considered before.
Last summer, I bought some acrylic paint to repair a midcentury sculpture I had bought at a sale, and it worked flawlessly. More than once I’ve been tempted to buy things there I didn’t actually need, but saw on my way out. Just a fun place to wander around.
So much work and skill went into things like what your dad used to do in the days before computers. Not to take anything at all away from computer programming and that skill set, which takes great work and training, but even things like animation before computers took so many hours. All of my beloved Looney Tunes cartoons probably took eons to complete from start to finish.
Ugh, yes. Real ID. I keep meaning to do as you did and go get mine before the deadline. I have a passport card, so I’m not afraid of being barred from getting on an airplane within a year, but it really just seems like something that I should just do and get it over with.
The problem is that in order to do that, I have to overcome my not-quite-irrational fear of traveling in-person to the RMV. Here in Massachusetts, obtaining a Real ID license is one of the few tasks that has not been moved to fully online. Which means that going to get one requires the full-blown RMV horror show where one gets to hang out with folks who cannot figure out how to do an online transaction (something the state’s website frankly does little to ameliorate) and/or who actually enjoy spending part of their day sitting in limbo.
Maybe though if Massachusetts put its RMV offices in interesting and uplifting places like Chicago’s Loop, it would be worth the trip. Suburban strip malls? Not so much.
Jeff, what I didn’t mention in this essay is that this was actually my second attempt at getting a Real ID. My first attempt was two years ago, in a strip mall outpost, when COVID was still huge here in Chicago.
I thought I had done my proper due diligence in researching the services available at that location. Had all my documentation. Waited literally hours in line on the sidewalk in front of all these storefronts as the lime crept slowly forward, as only so many people were allowed inside the DMV at one time.
It was only when I finally got to my turn that they I formed me that, nope. I could renew my drivers’ license thatday, but to get a Real ID, I would need to go downtown. You should have seen my expression in that photograph.
It’s mind-boggling that a Driver’s License can’t simply serve as a RealID, or rather that some states still haven’t been able to simply integrate the two as default since everyone has had at least one renewal since the program’s been in the works for over a decade it seems, no?
I’m pretty sure my college age daughter could get a RealID-enabled card for under $30 online from any state in the nation with whatever name, address, and most importantly to her, birthdate she chose…
You’ll likely see the whole program revamped again within two years of becoming mandatory… 🙂
I have lost count of the number of extensions granted since that law went into effect – I think we are something like fifteen years out from when it first started rolling out. They say there will no longer be extensions, but then the Government says a lot of things.
I recall the biggest demerit when new being that they were decried as being quite heavy by the press. I still see a decent amount of them around so perhaps that heaviness translated into durability, who knows, but this era is when Kia started to turn a bit of a corner that seriously accelerated with the next generation of the minivan. For a Chicago car of almost two decades of age that one looks remarkably well preserved.
It was free of dents and rust, as far as I could tell – no small feat for a twenty-year-old vehicle that may have been subjected to Chicago’s potholes and road salt in winter. I agree with you about its apparent level of preservation.
Sedona, AZ is a very beautiful place. Unfortunately, a few too many others thought so too, so it’s been over developed. But what else is new?
As to the Sedona by Kia, it was a decent first effort, and unlike other companies, they stuck with it, with the current Carnival.
Kia has certainly come a long way since the original Sedona. Those Carnival minivans actually look very nice…however most people will probably walk right past them to the Telluride section of the Kia dealer.
Sedona is a very memorable place, albeit as you said overcrowded. As a teenager I went on multiple trips there with my family in our aging almost 200K miler ’89 Caravan. It was very exciting leaving Sedona up Oak Creek canyon, with the van stalling out on multiple tight curves next to steep drop-offs.
A recent article in the WSJ says that minivans are coming back. They cited substantial jumps in demand from both Toyota (the market leader) and Kia, which has more than doubled sales of the new Carnival (in a shortened production year) from the 3d gen Sedona. That is a jump substantially higher than when they switched from the older 2nd gen van to the 3rd in 2015.
Got the “real ID” here in Az a few years ago. Before the cutoff date was extended. The DMV in N Phoenix is an example of how to do it. You call, get an appointment, walk in, get called up to the counter, and it is SOP from there. in and out in 10 minutes at most. Let us know when you are in town. Lots of CCs in and around Phoenix and a lot of car shows. Some great indoor museum garages as well. (Indoor is important in the hot Summers.)
Thank you! Yes – when I was in greater Phoenix last July, it was something like 100 degrees outside before noon on some of those days, and while I’m not complaining, indoors attractions would definitely be the way to go.
And having appointments is definitely the way to go. In fact, when I was discussing the Real ID thing before deciding to just go and do it, at least one person I spoke with though that we had to make appointments in Illinois. Thank goodness for the internet before I tried to go that route.
The current REAL ID deadline, May 3, 2023, is just shy of the 18th anniversary of Congress passing REAL ID, and 15 years beyond the original compliance deadline Congress set in the law. Things move very slowly in bureaucracyland.
And the date being extended would surprise no one.
Real ID: I got this as part of my driver license renewal in Wyoming last summer. No special process needed, a star in the top right corner.
Minivans: May 27 issue of WSJ has an article extolling the virtues of minivans (to include Sedona). Basic gist of story: can carry lots of stuff and cheaper than SUV. People like them.
Sedona paint: This could be the minivan version of the Braniff DC-8 “Flying Colors” by Alexander Calder in the early 1970s (N1805 tail number).
Thanks for pointing out the WSJ article – I just went back and read it.
It’s interesting how the minivan’s virtues are seemingly making it more popular again, just when Kia decided to go to great lengths not to call its new Carnival a minivan. If that popularity continues, I wonder if next year’s Carnival will be called… a minivan?
+1 – thanks for referencing that WSJ article, which I will have to check out. I drafted this thing weeks ago, so that was purely coincidental. The logic makes sense to me that for those who don’t need an SUV, especially with prices of both vehicles and gasoline being bonkers right now.
I like the incongruity of eye-popping homemade art painted on one of the most conservatively-styled vehicles imaginable. As if someone’s saying “Nobody’s going to confuse me with a boring suburbanite…”
As a Sedona owner (though a later 2018 model), and a boring suburbanite myself, I feel it’s safe to say that Sedonas are versatile and economical cars – great for hauling stuff, comfortable, and well-built. Just a little lacking on the excitement side of things.
And regarding Real ID, I’ve briefly thought about jumping through the extra hoops to get one, but I’m not quite sure if I’ll ever fly again, so it hardly seems worth the effort for me. I agree with Jim above that it’s mind-boggling that Driver’s Licenses can’t just serve as a Real ID anyway… just one of those frustrating things, I suppose.
Eric, metaphor in your first paragraph made me laugh. I’m neither a suburbanite nor a dad, but I wonder if either was the case, if I would be that dude at the street festival sporting a mohawk with my Dockers and three kids in tow. The suburban spouse hopefully wouldn’t allow this.
This generation KIA Sedona has roots in Mazda-inspired design of the late 1980s. KIA began manufacturing Mazda products earlier in the decade, and you can see the styling lines popular with Mazda during this time, with these first generation Sedona. You can see the similar stylings of the early KIA and Mazda in these vehicles.
And in the MPV
and the Sportage
Huh, good eye. Never noticed that before.
And the last one is the extended-body “Grand Wagon”, right?
I had almost forgotten that Kia was responsible for the Festiva! And then Kia started selling cars in the U.S. in the ’90s under their own marque. That’s right… The Sephia sedan and Sportage. Thanks for that reminder of how far Kia has come.
Someone saw the potential of that first-gen Sedona as a canvas for artistic whimsy! Those splashes of color are well done, with an eye toward accentuating the simple, clean lines. Genuinely talented artists also know when to stop; unfortunately, the impresario behind this work didn’t stop before painting the happy face on the hood.
I drove a first-gen Sedona rental around Colorado’s Front Range reviewing commercial real estate sites for two days back when these were new. The Sedona labored up the many hills and seemed a little breathless in the Mile High City, but then, it bore out-of-state plates so it may not have been tuned for high altitudes. My impression was that the Sedona was surprisingly well-finished inside but lacked sufficient third-row legroom for adults and was better suited to families with small children.
William, I kind of like that the happy face is on the hood, in contrast to many angry-looking “faces” on modern vehicles! 🙂
mike 0 C in AUS
We have 2 3.5 v6 2012 eight seater grand carnivals an a stinger GT in the family all very quick off the mark and very reliable, they have come a long way since the first Kia Carnival which had a 2.5 V6 .
Very cool. And I’m glad you brought up the Stinger. I saw one in traffic just the other day (first one in a while), and those legitimately cool machines are more evidence of just how far Kia has come since the early days.
Rather unfortunately, all of this gen sold in Oz must’ve thought they were on a holiday, as they surely let themselves go, and with gay abandon at that.
They abandoned fluids, oils, headgaskets, and then engines entire: they partied hard and died young. Perhaps by way of warning of their wanton ways, they should all have been painted like their Chicago relative. (In truth, most minivans are dull outside and tend to look more like this one on the insides, after several kid-destroyed years of attack, with many of the stain-colours of origins best not examined closely, but I digress).
Ironically enough, buyers of the time would all be well-old enough to recall the many and varied BMC and BL disasters inflicted upon our roads in the ’60’s and ’70’s, yet still the more reproductive ones queued up to snaffle a bargain Carnival (as it was called), as it was much cheaper than the Japanese alternatives. It is ironic, because they did not know – in truth, could not know – that the shadow of those earlier times was long, and this little bus was engined in Korea by a licence-built Rover 2.5 V6. Consistent with their English forebears endeavours in the far colonies, this engine proved ruinously bad.
I am not exaggerating when I say that every single one of them expired, and some, more than once. Used, they were – and still are, for the remaining few – unsaleable and untradeable.
This meant that folk with more kids than money – the link is not likely unconnected – now had large garden ornaments where the Previa they should have bought should have sat. There couldn’t be a worse introduction for a then-new brand – a rightly-angry swathe of suburbia.
However, there is a sunny side to this disaster. Kia knuckled down and honoured warranties, and did so even after the law required. They then spent large money sponsoring things like the Australian (tennis) Open, a world-level event of great interest to locals. They sponsored Aussie rules football teams: in short, they persisted and persisted in making themselves friends. I imagine the first decade of their presence here involved a lot of red ink, but it has paid off. They are a big seller here now, and for their doing of the right thing in the first place, let alone the sheer stoicism after that, they deserve that success.
In fact, the Carnival has now long been the best-seller people mover in the country.
This is an excellent example of how spending a little extra money on the front-end (as a consumer) can pay big dividends in the long run. It also goes to show how persistence can pay off, as Kia appears to have eventually gotten it right.