Who bagged the bags?

Q: We bought a 2006 Impala from a private party a few months ago. We like it fine, but we read a horrifying report that thousands of Impalas were sold to the Enterprise rental car company without side-curtain air bags, and now those cars have been sold to people who think they have equipment they don't have. We've gone back to the guy we bought the car from to see if he bought it from Enterprise. He didn't, but he bought it from a used-car dealer. How can we figure out if the car has these or not?

A: Look at the car's interior roof between the side windows. If the word "Air bag" isn't embossed there, the car doesn't have side curtain air bags (but does have front-impact air bags, so you've got some protection).

What happened is, according to news reports, Enterprise Rent-A-Car ordered General Motors to "delete" the side-curtain air bags (which are not federally required) on 66,000 Impalas ordered in 2006-08 (saving about $175 per car.)

Buyers of those cars in the used market may or may not have assumed side-curtain air bags were part of the equipment. But we know for certain that Enterprise advertised hundreds of them for sale on its own Web site and stated that the air bags were part of the equipment. Enterprise has since said it will buy back those "incorrectly" advertised vehicles for $750 above the Kelley Blue Book Value. It will not, of course, buy back the thousands of others that landed at auctions or dealerships and then made their way to other folks.

GM apparently decided that selling "fleet" vehicles that are missing standard safety equipment from a model is not a good idea. And beginning with the 2009 orders no longer offered the option to fleet buyers of deleting the side air bags.

Q: Here's something I thought I'd moved past asking: Which minivan should I get? Our two children are now in their early teens and I'm no longer having to carpool scads of kids, but my parents are moving into a house next door to us. Although they intend to live independently, we have all agreed that driving is no longer in the equation for them. I know we'll be attending a lot of the kids' events as a family at night and on weekends, and many of the weekend activities we've done as a foursome will now be a sixsome. I don't know where to start on this whole minivan thing, but I do know that I've got a pretty fat budget, because dad is selling his almost new Lincoln, we're selling our almost new Saab, and dad has offered to make up the difference. What do you recommend?

A: My instant thought is the Volkswagen Routan, quite new to the minivan market. It's a seven-passenger vehicle that is plush, has wonderfully comfortably captain's chairs in the back, is easy-in/easy-out for the passengers that will be getting into the back and, frankly, looks great. It's got up-to-the-moment safety equipment and some appealing extras. It's pricey - around $33,000 to $36,000 - but since price seems to be the least of your concerns, I'd say it definitely would be one to consider.

Many regard the Chrysler Town & Country,as the gold-standard setter in the minivan market. It's mechanically equivalent to the Routan (which Chrysler builds for VW), is highly comfy, has a choice of fold-away or rear-swiveling bucket seats in the middle row and is filled with luxury-car features like wonderful lighting and excellent seats. I think, given the level of luxury you want, that you'll have to pass on the base "Plain-Jane" model and move into one of the higher priced packages ($31,000 to $38,000). The same holds true with the also excellent Toyota Sienna. You'll have to bypass the bare bones version and move into the XLE, which will run you $30,000-plus.