Honda's New Odyssey Tries to Revive the Distressed Minivan Segment
TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK -- Is the world waiting for an all-new 2011 Honda Odyssey minivan? Despite declining category sales (largely a result of the "soccer mom" stigma), Honda is determined to "redefine the minivan segment" with its fourth-generation design. The new feature-laden version was designed in the U.S. and at least for now will only be sold here. In many ways, it's aimed at the hearts and minds of the American family. But Gen X and Y are now buying cars, and Honda is convinced it can make them "cool" again. After all, overwhelming logic argues for their practicality as people haulers.
Through November of last year, Honda was marginally the minivan leader, with more than 91,000 Alabama-built Odysseys sold in the U.S. (compared to 82,103 for the Dodge Caravan, and 76,093 for the Chrysler Town & Country). None of these are huge numbers, and Honda's Odyssey sales were down 29 percent compared to the same period in 2008.
It's not surprising that sales will decline as models age (the current model debuted in 2005), but minivans have in general been suffering so badly that some automakers, including Ford and GM, gave up on them entirely. Then-GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said in 2006, "Our new crossovers -- Acadia, Outlook and Enclave -- with their three rows of seats and economical V-6 engines, can meet the same customer needs, minus the 'Soccer Mom' stigma."
Right now, the Odyssey is trading the sales lead month to month with the Town & Country, but the new Odyssey will likely vault it into the lead. Honda's sales overall are up 1.5 percent so far this year.
According to Steve Center, a Honda vice president of marketing, Gen X and Y families are now surpassing Baby Boomers as car buyers. The minivan was a big hit on the back end of the Boom (with Gen X and Y in the back seat), but then the SUV (followed by the crossover) swamped it. The van remained considerably better at moving the modern American family, but people didn't want to hear that â€" several Honda execs in White Plains told me their own spouses are in the "rejector" category. My teenage kids, despite loving the rear-seat entertainment, wouldn't want to be seen in a minivan, either.
Chief Engineer Art St. Cyr divided the car-buying public into "adopter types" who are minivan loyalists, "rejectors" who won't consider them, and "hesitators" who are wavering. "That's the segment to capture," he said. Honda's strategy is to associate the minivan with "quantity time' with family and friends. They can all ride together! Honda's new slogan: "The best family car in the world."
Toyota has tried to make the competing Sienna cool with a campaign featuring a hip young family that embraces their minivan. Honda showed a forthcoming commercial associating its Odyssey (and a young, ex-rocker dad) with the band Judas Priest and an iconic Marshall amp. That's a different approach to hip. Here's the ad:
The Odyssey itself is certainly impressive, with a huge range of features spread across many different models, from bare-bones LX ($27,800) to incredibly loaded Touring Elite ($43,250). That's a lot of money for a minivan, but the Touring models have far too many features to list here, including a new six-speed transmission. All vans get a 3.5-liter V-6, with 248 horsepower and 250 foot pounds of torque. The Touring models have marginally better fuel economy because of that six-speed box, 19 in the city and a very good 28 on the highway. With zero to 60 times of 8.8 seconds and sharpened steering, it handled like a smaller vehicle through the leafy byways of Westchester.
The Odyssey looks like a minivan, but Honda has added a somewhat peculiar love-it-or-hate-it "lightning bolt" beltline molding. People will see it either as adding character or making it look like the van was hit from behind. I thought it was a bit of both. "Minivans are big, utilitarian boxy vehicles," St. Cyr said. "We wanted to give it 100-meter styling, so you could recognize it from across a crowded parking lot." That, they achieved, but it's only going to stand out from the side.
There are a huge number of new and practical features on the new Odyssey, from a new trash bag holder to no less than 15 cupholders ("is that really enough?" a wag asked) and "magic" seats that adjust for three child seats, and make it easy to get to the third row (which has an admirable amount of legroom). The cold storage cupboard was a nice touch, and my kids might be persuaded to change their minds about minivans when they see the split-screen rear-seat video that would allow them to watch two programs simultaneously.
Giving up on minivans would have been the easier decision, but instead Honda is betting it can break through with a better one. The van is fine, but the marketing has to work if hearts and minds are to be won. "Minivan sales have bottomed out," said Center. "Families are going to come back to them." But he sounded more hopeful than convinced.
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Photo: Honda