Wait, why are you taking the bus? What happened to your minivan?
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— Britta, "Beginner Pottery" |
The Minivan is a compact suburban vehicle owned by the Bennet family. Shirley was the primary user of the vehicle and was seen driving to school in it. During Shirley's separation from Andre in her first year at school she reluctantly shared the van with her then ex-husband's girlfriend Mysti. Its first appearance was the Season One episode "Beginner Pottery". It was last seen in the Season Two episode "Mixology Certification". |
History[]
Season One[]
In the study group's first year at Greendale, Shirley normally drove to school in her family's minivan. On one day she was unable to use the vehicle and forced to get up early in the morning to take the bus. She told Britta that her then ex-husband Andre's girlfriend needed the van to get to her stripping job at a club an hour from the city. Britta was surprised she wasn't more upset over the situation but Shirley told her "kind people are always kind, not just when it's easy" ("Beginner Pottery"). At one point she temporarily quit the study group after Pierce disrespected her. During that time, she arrived at school in the morning and after exiting the minivan encountered Pierce who was driving his Mercedes. He honked at her to move out of the way while he parked his car ("The Art of Discourse").
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Season Two[]
In the study group's second year at Greendale, Shirley used her minivan to transport herself, Annie and Britta to "Flanahan's Hole" to celebrate Troy's 21st birthday. In the backseat, Annie, who was underage at the time, was admiring a fake ID from Texas Britta got her so she could join the party. While Shirley was driving she happily joined in when Annie started practising her southern accent. Jeff called Britta to let her know the bar they chose had gone out of business. He asked that she tell Shirley to go to 3rd and Water instead where The Ballroom was located. Shirley had a past association with that place and was reluctant to go back there. Despite her hesitance, Shirley drove the minivan to the location and did her best to keep her previous time as a barfly there a secret ("Mixology Certification").
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Trivia[]
The vehicle seen on the show was a 1991 Chrysler Plymouth minivan. Depending on the model it either a 2.5 liter four-cylinder, a Mitsubishi V6 or a new 3.3 liter Chrysler V6 engine. It also had all-wheel drive, a driver-side airbag, antilock brakes, and a four-speed automatic transmission.
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