The Brady Bunch

Your chosen form of birth control has either failed or is non-existent, and the number of little feet making the pitter-patter around your home sounds like the ROTC is holding training nearby. A single minivan won't lug the entire brood to Friendly's for Fribbles. Two basic choices remain for tooling around with the baseball team: full-sized SUV or full-sized van.

For basic nine-passenger transportation, Chevrolet offers the class-defining Suburban ($42,865) for 2012. For even more room, the turbodiesel Freightliner and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (the 2011 passenger versions of both brands start at $39,820) have four rows of seats, providing ample room for up to 12 passengers with uncompromised headroom.

Sam Says: When your clan and his clan come together, I've got more than a hunch you'll be needing a bigger vehicle. While the Suburban is roomy enough for the Bradys, including Alice, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter offers a bit more elbow space and that rugged and fuel-efficient turbodiesel six-cylinder. Price is a bit steeper than a Ford or Chevy van, but you get what you pay for... and there's plenty for the buck in the Sprinter. Mercedes-Benz would be my choice over the Freightliner because of the simple fact I wouldn't have to explain to the in-laws why I'm driving the family around in a "truck."

Weekend Warrior

Cars can get you away from home, but a truck can also help build that home. For years, weekend warriors bought full-sized pick-ups from the Big Three. In the era of $4.00 gas, it became more difficult to recommend gas guzzlers as daily commuters. Fortunately, the manufacturers of these American staples see that and are adapting.

The best of this current crop of new-generation full-sized trucks is the 2012 Ford F150 ($23,985) with its standard V6 engine--so good, in fact, it's the only one I'm listing in this category. The 3.7L engine generates 302 horsepower, allows for the use of E85 fuel, and returns 17 m.p.g. around town. An optional Ecoboost 3.5L V6 reduces fuel economy figures by one mile per gallon but raises horsepower by 20 percent to V8-like levels.

Ford expected this version of America's most popular vehicle to sell well, but they were stunned at just how well. Folks who need a pickup now see they can get V8 power without V8 fuel mileage. Same old pickup, just less gas.