The Reads' car is lavender on the exterior and has round headlamps, a gray grille, rectangular taillights, a single exhaust system, and it has a straight-4 engine; although in the books, the car was white. The car's interior is tan and features cloth seats, including front bucket seats and a rear bench seat; a center console mounted automatic transmission gear shift and parking brake, an aftermarket AM/FM stereo with cassette player, and manual windows; although some goofs have the interior colored differently and that the front seat can be sometimes shown as a bench seat. The cargo compartment is very small and the family usually carries some luggage on the roof, including boats, sleeping bags, floats, and etc.; and despite loading things on the roof, the car does not have a roof rack.