INPUT ARTICLE: Article: These should provide the pros and cons of the models that interest you. Reviews can be found on websites and in magazines. Get an idea of their likes and dislikes before buying a minivan, as they may point out the factors that you never considered. For example, the vehicle might not handle very well uphill, or it might not feel as spacious as it looks. Listen for any odd sounds during the drive, and pay attention to how it handles turns and rough terrain.

SUMMARY: Read reviews written by automobile professionals and minivan owners before you buy. Ask friends and family members who own minivans about their vehicles. Test drive the minivan before you buy one. Try using the manufacturer's "Car Configurator" if you are looking to buy a new minivan.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: The vast majority of Styrofoam is produced because of packing purposes, padding and securing things for shipping. While it can be difficult to avoid receiving Styrofoam when you make a purchase, you can always cut down on your own use of Styrofoam when sending packages by avoiding the use of loose-fill packing "peanuts" and using other kinds of biodegradable packing materials.  Use newspaper, or other recyclable plastic materials to pad your packages. If it's not super-breakable, there's probably no need for Styrofoam. Using corn and soy-based packing materials is becoming more and more common. If you work for a business that regularly sells things that require packing protection, consider making the alternative to biodegradable alternatives to Styrofoam. A company called Ecovative has recently developed a mushroom-based product that can be grown to fit any space, much like Styrofoam, but with completely biodegradable materials. It's just as lightweight and customizable as Styrofoam, but with none of the environmental impact. When you're making consumer purchases, try your best to only purchase things packaged in and made from post-consumer recycled materials. It can be difficult to know if something you buy will contain styrofoam included in the packing materials, but if you're buying with an eye for companies that make recycling and reusing a priority, you can be fairly certain that the packaging won't include any. Take-out boxes are tough to get rid of and almost impossible to recycle. If you're a foodie, get in the habit of avoiding those Styrofoam take-out boxes and instead asking for the kitchen to wrap up your leftovers in aluminum foil so you can take it home. You can also simply eat there if you have the time. The restaurant will likely use formal(kind of) plates, bowls, and other eating tools and containers, but if you don't have the time, use aluminum foil. If you make regular coffee-stops throughout your week, try to invest in a reusable coffee mug that you can travel with, instead of collecting "to-go" cups at home and not being able to easily recycle them. Egg cartons are the other big offender when it comes to non-recyclable Styrofoam materials. How best to approach these Styrofoam traps? Avoid them entirely. Only buy eggs from recycled paper cartons, or other recyclable materials. If you end up with lots of Styrofoam containers, you can reuse the cartons if you buy eggs in bulk, or donate egg cartons at the farmers’ market, or to farmers with lots of chickens who'll need to hold their eggs.
Summary: Use biodegradable packing materials. Purchase post-consumer recycled materials. Ask for aluminum foil at a restaurant, instead of a take-out box. Use a reusable coffee mug. Buy eggs in recycled paper cartons.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: You'll need to find a long serial number, usually 17 digits, marked somewhere on your car or truck. It may be in one of several locations. You can read the wikihow article on how to Find Your VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) or look in the common locations listed below.  Look on the dash at the base of the windshield on the driver's side for a small plaque. Look for a sticker on the driver's door. A VIN may also be found in the front of the engine block, easily visible once you open the hood. On most newer vehicles, some body parts such as fenders and hoods also have the VIN on them for identification and matching parts to the vehicle. Open the driver-side door, and look at the where the side view mirror would be located if the door were shut. Older cars may have VINs found elsewhere, such as on the steering column, radiator support bracket, or the left-side inner wheel arch. You can find websites that can decode the VIN of most manufacturers automatically. Try VIN Decoder.net if you're looking for detailed, quickly accessible information.  You can try to find a VIN lookup on your car manufacturer's web site, but it's not guaranteed to have one. If your vehicle was manufactured before 1980, it might have a nonstandard VIN. If free lookup websites don't work, try a paid service such as CARFAX, AutoCheck, or VinAudit. These should give you a little information for free, but a full VIN decoding will cost money. Specialized VIN websites and VIN lookup services exist to see whether your vehicle was involved in an accident, fire, or other damaging situation. You cannot decode this information from a VIN yourself, since the VIN for a vehicle never changes. These services just take advantage of the fact that police and other organizations use the unique VIN to describe a car in accident reports.  First, try the free service at The National Insurance Crime Bureau website. If you cannot get information for free online, you may need to pay for a Vehicle History Report. This should be included in the VIN report services described earlier, such as VinAudit's. Follow the methods below instead if you want to have fun decoding it yourself, or if your vehicle was made by an unusual manufacturer not decodable by a website. Finding out where and when your car was made should be easy, while the other methods may take extra effort. These codes are fully standardized in North America. Elsewhere in the world, most major manufacturers follow the same standards, but they may use the 9th and 10th characters for different purposes. In North America, the 9th must be used as "checking code" to confirm the VIN is real, and the 10th must be used to indicate the year the car was made.

SUMMARY:
Locate the VIN on your car to start the decoding process. Find detailed information quickly by entering the entire VIN online. Use a service to check whether your vehicle has a history of damage. Use the other methods to decode it yourself.