Mr Buckshot
April 9th, 2008, 10:40 PM
Just for kicks, my dad and I drove to the Honda showroom today to test drive the new generation of the awesome Honda Odyssey minivan. No, we won't be buying one because we have no more use for large cars, but it still brought back memories.
Back in 2001, within a few weeks of arrival in America, my dad purchased the previous-generation (current-gen at the time) Honda Odyssey. It wasn't that great of a car, especially when it came to the gas pump. But it'll always have a special place in my heart for these reasons:
1. It was the first left-hand-drive car we actually owned. Ok, I used to live in Shanghai for part of my childhood (mostly spent in Singapore), but cars in mainland China were so expensive that our vehicle was a right-hand-drive model imported from Hong Kong. My dad had owned a left-hand-drive car before when he studied at Stanford, but this was the first time the whole family got to own and use a left-hand-drive vehicle.
2. First time we had an in-dash GPS navigation system of any kind. Being unfamiliar with the roads of California, my dad checked off this option on the list almost immediately. The DVD-based system was shit by today's standards, but it worked well back then with its touch screen and effective route guidance. Our current vehicle now uses a hard drive for the GPS, and my dad has even acquired a cell phone with built-in GPS.
3. Today, the Honda Odyssey is still the largest car I've ever had in my own house. The reason why we bought a minivan in 2001 was because we never actually bought a house (rent, rent, rent...) so we moved around quite a lot. I tell you, with the third-row bench seat folded down and the second-row seats detached, the car turned into a moving truck with more than enough cargo room (we managed to stuff in 3 dismantled bed frames, one dismantled dining table, and 4 chairs and a folding mattress)..
4. It was the last car we owned that had cloth seats. My dad's real reason for preferring leather seating was not because of comfort or class (cloth is actually more comfortable in many cases), but because cloth seats caught dust very easy. If any of you have cloth seats in your cars, try slapping the seat every once in a while and watch the dust fly.
In 2004, before moving to Canada, my dad replaced the van with an Infiniti FX35 crossover SUV, which was imported into Canada (after a headache-inducing 8 days of Canadian tests and paperwork), and then sold almost 3 years later.
So while test-driving the new model, I noticed a number of improvements. The fuel economy was improved (well, the Honda salesman said it, that is) over the version I used to own. The GPS is far more advanced with voice recognition and is linked to a rearview camera for safer reverse parking. My mom didn't dare to drive this car back in the States because of the poor rearward visibility. I wonder if she'll change her mind now...not to mention that the front/rear bumpers have sonar sensors to detect any objects (or kids) in the blind spots. A rear-seat DVD entertainment system is now an available option (it wasn't in my version). And the rearview mirror is much larger (it was way too small on my version).
So, long live the Honda Odyssey, the first car I ever had in America and also the largest car I ever owned.
The model I had:
http://www.edmunds.com/media/editorial/carmudgeon/01.honda.odyssey.500.jpg
The current model my dad test-drove today:
http://www.automedia.com/NewCarBuyersGuide/photos/2006/Honda/Odyssey/Minivan_Van/2006_Honda_Odyssey_ext_1.jpg
I hope Honda comes up with a manual override for the electric sliding doors, though. They moved way too slowly - sometimes I wished they could just slam shut since the car's safety system prevented the car from moving unless the doors were completely closed.
I wonder if Teekup's favorite Chrysler minivan can stand up to this...
Back in 2001, within a few weeks of arrival in America, my dad purchased the previous-generation (current-gen at the time) Honda Odyssey. It wasn't that great of a car, especially when it came to the gas pump. But it'll always have a special place in my heart for these reasons:
1. It was the first left-hand-drive car we actually owned. Ok, I used to live in Shanghai for part of my childhood (mostly spent in Singapore), but cars in mainland China were so expensive that our vehicle was a right-hand-drive model imported from Hong Kong. My dad had owned a left-hand-drive car before when he studied at Stanford, but this was the first time the whole family got to own and use a left-hand-drive vehicle.
2. First time we had an in-dash GPS navigation system of any kind. Being unfamiliar with the roads of California, my dad checked off this option on the list almost immediately. The DVD-based system was shit by today's standards, but it worked well back then with its touch screen and effective route guidance. Our current vehicle now uses a hard drive for the GPS, and my dad has even acquired a cell phone with built-in GPS.
3. Today, the Honda Odyssey is still the largest car I've ever had in my own house. The reason why we bought a minivan in 2001 was because we never actually bought a house (rent, rent, rent...) so we moved around quite a lot. I tell you, with the third-row bench seat folded down and the second-row seats detached, the car turned into a moving truck with more than enough cargo room (we managed to stuff in 3 dismantled bed frames, one dismantled dining table, and 4 chairs and a folding mattress)..
4. It was the last car we owned that had cloth seats. My dad's real reason for preferring leather seating was not because of comfort or class (cloth is actually more comfortable in many cases), but because cloth seats caught dust very easy. If any of you have cloth seats in your cars, try slapping the seat every once in a while and watch the dust fly.
In 2004, before moving to Canada, my dad replaced the van with an Infiniti FX35 crossover SUV, which was imported into Canada (after a headache-inducing 8 days of Canadian tests and paperwork), and then sold almost 3 years later.
So while test-driving the new model, I noticed a number of improvements. The fuel economy was improved (well, the Honda salesman said it, that is) over the version I used to own. The GPS is far more advanced with voice recognition and is linked to a rearview camera for safer reverse parking. My mom didn't dare to drive this car back in the States because of the poor rearward visibility. I wonder if she'll change her mind now...not to mention that the front/rear bumpers have sonar sensors to detect any objects (or kids) in the blind spots. A rear-seat DVD entertainment system is now an available option (it wasn't in my version). And the rearview mirror is much larger (it was way too small on my version).
So, long live the Honda Odyssey, the first car I ever had in America and also the largest car I ever owned.
The model I had:
http://www.edmunds.com/media/editorial/carmudgeon/01.honda.odyssey.500.jpg
The current model my dad test-drove today:
http://www.automedia.com/NewCarBuyersGuide/photos/2006/Honda/Odyssey/Minivan_Van/2006_Honda_Odyssey_ext_1.jpg
I hope Honda comes up with a manual override for the electric sliding doors, though. They moved way too slowly - sometimes I wished they could just slam shut since the car's safety system prevented the car from moving unless the doors were completely closed.
I wonder if Teekup's favorite Chrysler minivan can stand up to this...