New York Auto Show: 2014 Honda Odyssey: Comments

[William Maley]

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By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

March 26, 2013

Honda has unveiled the refreshed 2014 Odyssey before the start of the New York Auto Show. The big news about the Odyssey is the introduction of an onboard vacuum system.

Standard on the the Odyssey Touring Elite trim, the HondaVac is comprised of an electric motor, replaceable filter, canister bag, and vacuum attachments that are located in the rear cargo bulkhead. The system, developed jointly with ShopVac, can also run up to eight minutes when the Odyssey is turned off.

Aside from the new vacuum, the 2014 Odyssey has some minor changes. Outside, there is a new aluminum hood and fenders to pair with the revised front fascia and darker headlights. Honda has also made structural changes to make the vehicle safer in case of an accident. Stepping inside, there is a revised center stack, new trim pieces, push-button start, and HondaLink's cloud-based infotainment options.

The 2014 Odyssey arrives at dealers this summer.

Source: Honda

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected]or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Press Release is on Page 2

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2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite® Makes World Debut in New York with Host of Safety Upgrades and Innovations Including HondaVAC™, the First In-Car Vacuum

The segment's benchmark minivan cleans up with bevy of safety improvements, sleek new styling and intuitive, family-friendly technologies

NEW YORK

The 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite® is making its debut at the 2013 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), setting the new 'ultimate family vehicle' standard. Thoroughly refreshed for 2014, the Odyssey Touring Elite® provides core safety upgrades, sharpened exterior styling and a revised interior with a host of new features and technologies designed to make the segment's benchmark minivan even better.

Demonstrating trademark Honda innovation, the 2014 Odyssey Touring Elite® will also mark the debut of HondaVAC™, the first-ever in-vehicle vacuum system. Available exclusively in the Odyssey Touring Elite® trim, the all-new HondaVAC™ system is part of a thorough refresh of the Honda Odyssey for the 2014 model year, adding to its already class-leading fuel economy ratings and unmatched safety ratings. The 2014 Odyssey will go on sale at Honda dealerships nationwide this summer.

"The Odyssey is already the leader in its segment, and for 2014, Honda has made the modern family hauler even better," said Michael Accavitti, vice president of marketing operations at American Honda. "Honda is once again showcasing its reputation for innovation with HondaVAC, and its ability to provide true value to our customers."

The 2014 Honda Odyssey brings an array of improvements to Honda's minivan, including structural upgrades expected to help it achieve top marks in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) stringent new small-overlap frontal crash test, which is part of IIHS's new TOP SAFETY PICK+ protocol. The refreshed Odyssey Touring Elite® will also come equipped with advanced Honda driver assistive and visibility technologies such as an Expanded View Driver's Mirror, Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW).

The 2014 Odyssey features sleeker, more sophisticated exterior styling with a new, more deeply sculpted aluminum hood, new aluminum front fenders, a new bolder twin-bar grille, and a revised lower front fascia with integrated chrome-trimmed fog lights. New two-tone mirror housings, darker-finish projector-beam headlight housings, LED taillight bars and new badging add to the 2014 Odyssey's premium look.

Inside the 2014 Odyssey, new finishes brighten the cabin and an all-new center stack showcases a host of new features. Additional standard technology on the Odyssey Touring Elite® brings new levels of ease and connectivity to owners, including keyless Smart Entry with Push Button Start, HD Radio®, an SMS text messaging function, and HondaLink™ featuring Aha™ Mobile interface. HondaLink™, which debuted on the 2013 Honda Accord, enables Odyssey owners to connect quickly and easily to a wealth of cloud-based content. The free HondaLink™ smartphone app uses the owner's favorite online content to create live, personalized radio stations, allowing drivers to put away their phones and hear updates and news feeds from Facebook and Twitter, as well as check out restaurant reviews or find the closest coffee shop.

Standard on the 2014 Odyssey Touring Elite®, the all-new HondaVAC™ was developed in conjunction with industry-leader Shop-Vac®, and is composed of a powerful vacuum, replaceable filter and canister bag, with nozzle accessories neatly integrated into a dedicated space on the driver's side bulkhead of the rear cargo area. HondaVAC™ makes quick cleanups a snap no matter the location, offering powerful cleaning suction and an integrated hose and cleaning attachments that reach into every corner of the Odyssey's cabin. The HondaVAC™ system's powerful electric motor never needs an outlet or recharging, can operate continuously when the engine is running, and will continue to operate for up to eight minutes when the vehicle is turned off for additional family duties.

Already one of the most lauded vehicles in its segment, the current 2013 Odyssey has earned IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK and NHTSA 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score crash safety ratings. The Honda Odyssey is an AutoPacific Ideal Vehicle Award winner, an ALG Residual Value award winner, recipient of the Best Family Cars of 2012 designation from both Parents Magazine/Edmunds.com and Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com, and a Best Cars for Families award winner from U.S. News and World Report. The Odyssey represents Honda's robust product development capabilities in North America with its design, engineering and assembly all taking place in the U.S., using domestically and globally sourced parts. Currently, 95 percent of all Hondas sold in the U.S., are built in North America.

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[G. David Felt]

WOW

From the front it looks like a car on Steroids, the side and back still has that traditional minivan look, the front dash is a cut up mess and over all unless you love mini vans, I see nothing pleasing here. The only COOL Feature is the built in Vacuum. Course wonder how often that will break and be asked to be fixed under warranty.

Still a market for these beasts, but I will pass.

[Intrepidation]

As someone who cleans his cars regularly, that vacuum idea is awesome.

[regfootball]

love the vacuum option in concept, but usually those small vacs are worthless.

[daves87rs]

As someone who cleans his cars regularly, that vacuum idea is awesome.

+1

Van looks fine to me...as about as good as a van can get, anyways...

[ponchoman49]

As they say you can't fix ugly!