A glimmer of reason in the automotive world
- Thread starter iveofione
- Start date
Possibly due to liability because of change (decrease) in handling, and potential rollover risk increase?
Banned user
Steelhead
I became a minivan fan while living overseas. Going over the bumpy Chinese roads that led to the factories in which I worked, the longer wheelbase really helped smooth things out. I came back home and bought a 2004 Honda Odyssey, which I liked so much, I bought another 2004 Honda Odyssey I found recently with absurdly low mileage. Now I own TWO Silver 2004 Honda Odyssey EX-L's. My daughter drives one and has adorned it so it's not difficult to tell them apart. She calls it her Hot Rodyssey.
I have been seriously thinking about using a late model Sienna or Odyssey as a platform for a small camper van set up - something I could disassemble so the van could also be used for its original purpose.
I have been seriously thinking about using a late model Sienna or Odyssey as a platform for a small camper van set up - something I could disassemble so the van could also be used for its original purpose.
Most said “ugly as sin”. I say, I really miss mine and wish Honda would bring them back. Removable or stowable back seats, suicide doors you could open and spray out the back with a hose. AWD, incredibly roomy cab. Fit two bikes nicely and was perfect for fishing gear, wet waders, etc. multiple ways to sleep in it. Wish they’d bring it back in a configuration that would allow me to tow my 17 foot boat or a small camper. Not holding my breath though.
We had a Plymouth Voyager minivan for many years...which we used on countless outdoor adventures. Only FWD, but with good tires that little beast could handle some tough conditions. Very versatile and comfortable vehicle.
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A good friend had one of these with a 2 person sleeping platform installed on his Element, and created his own interior layout.
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One of the most intelligent automotive designs in history. Still widely sought after and lamented today. If they could make one 15% bigger with a modern engine and transmission it would be a huge seller in today's market. They were years ahead of their time.
Rob Allen
Life of the Party
Hmmmm.... wait your turn
Realist and devil’s advocate here—the interiors sucked, the seats were cheap crap and god forbid you have to ride in the back seat, because it’s as bad as sitting over the axel in a 12 passenger E350 van.
Otherwise, it’s the platonic form of a utility vehicle. Or something.
No, I do like them. But I am all too familiar with them—from friends who’ve owned them and so I have spent time in them.
Interiors sucked compared to what in 2009? A Mercedes? A Beemer? Sure, it was a $22,000 Honda! Utilitarian, I’d agree with that. I’m also 100% fine with that. I don’t need a rolling Lazyboy to get me to my next fishing destination or the grocery store. Maybe because I grew up in a family with modest means, luxury, or even comfort was not something I really care about in a vehicle. Getting us from place A to B was priority #1. Without my dad having to mechanic us home multiple times a week. Functionality is what appeals to me in a vehicle. I don’t want the bells and whistles. They break, drive my insurance premiums up and I find most of them useless. Don’t care if I actually feel and hear the road. I make a lot of sleep deprived trips to my favorite coho spots at 4 am. Rolling in luxury on a heated chase lounge to my favorite spots probably is not a good idea anyway! My wife and I put 250k+ on our Element. We drove it across the country multiple times. We moved in it multiple times. From CT to CO and from CO to WA. I fished and camped from it in New England, Montana, Colorado and Washington.
I lugged mountain bikes clogged with mud and waders and boots clogged with all kinds of horrid shit in the back and all I ever did maintenance wise was oil changes, brake pads and new tires. Man I miss that vehicle. Really, not a SUV. More like a small pickup with the cab open to the bed with a cap you could put a second row of seats in.
All that said, I rode in the back only a few times. Yeah, not the most comfortable ride out there but again, I rode in the back of a lot of shitty vehicles growing up so it did not register on the uncomfy scale to me. In fact, downright luxurious compared wooden benches of the 1970’s era fire trap VW van we owned, the same era VW bugs, or the the jump seats in the pickup.
I get it though. Would I buy it if I had kids to lug around…maybe…”suck it up Jr., daddy need a fishing vehicle AND the ability to haul you around, so unless you want to ride in the back of dad’s pickup unbuckled like I did when I was your age, stop whining you spoiled…”.
Okay, so maybe there is a reason I did not have kids
.I get it. Not everyone’s cup of tea. I loved it though.
I did a long college road trip in an element and spent plenty of time in the back seats. Never had a problem. But I was young and full of booze. Great memories in that vehicle, though. My buddy finally traded it in after the fourth catalytic converter theft.Interiors sucked compared to what in 2009? A Mercedes? A Beemer? Sure, it was a $22,000 Honda! Utilitarian, I’d agree with that. I’m also 100% fine with that. I don’t need a rolling Lazyboy to get me to my next fishing destination or the grocery store. Maybe because I grew up in a family with modest means, luxury, or even comfort was not something I really care about in a vehicle. Getting us from place A to B was priority #1. Without my dad having to mechanic us home multiple times a week. Functionality is what appeals to me in a vehicle. I don’t want the bells and whistles. They break, drive my insurance premiums up and I find most of them useless. Don’t care if I actually feel and hear the road. I make a lot of sleep deprived trips to my favorite coho spots at 4 am. Rolling in luxury on a heated chase lounge to my favorite spots probably is not a good idea anyway! My wife and I put 250k+ on our Element. We drove it across the country multiple times. We moved in it multiple times. From CT to CO and from CO to WA. I fished and camped from it in New England, Montana, Colorado and Washington.
I lugged mountain bikes clogged with mud and waders and boots clogged with all kinds of horrid shit in the back and all I ever did maintenance wise was oil changes, brake pads and new tires. Man I miss that vehicle. Really, not a SUV. More like a small pickup with the cab open to the bed with a cap you could put a second row of seats in.
All that said, I rode in the back only a few times. Yeah, not the most comfortable ride out there but again, I rode in the back of a lot of shitty vehicles growing up so it did not register on the uncomfy scale to me. In fact, downright luxurious compared wooden benches of the 1970’s era fire trap VW van we owned, the same era VW bugs, or the the jump seats in the pickup.
I get it though. Would I buy it if I had kids to lug around…maybe…”suck it up Jr., daddy need a fishing vehicle AND the ability to haul you around, so unless you want to ride in the back of dad’s pickup unbuckled like I did when I was your age, stop whining you spoiled…”.
Okay, so maybe there is a reason I did not have kids
I get it. Not everyone’s cup of tea. I loved it though.
I love your passion for the Element. Along with 90s hip hop. They just go together. Plenty of room for an amp, subwoofer and some 6x9s in there. Seriously though, I do like them. I wonder what they would be if they hadn’t discontinued them so soon, and kept updating the platform. I think they’d be better, because there was still room for improvement. They rode much more poorly than our family Buick Century’s (a series of used ones because that’s how silver spoon I was), and I will have to tell you all some time about all the stuff you can do in a Buick Century. People think they need suspension lifts and AWD and big knobby tires to go in the woods, sheyiiiit….Interiors sucked compared to what in 2009? A Mercedes? A Beemer? Sure, it was a $22,000 Honda! Utilitarian, I’d agree with that. I’m also 100% fine with that. I don’t need a rolling Lazyboy to get me to my next fishing destination or the grocery store. Maybe because I grew up in a family with modest means, luxury, or even comfort was not something I really care about in a vehicle. Getting us from place A to B was priority #1. Without my dad having to mechanic us home multiple times a week. Functionality is what appeals to me in a vehicle. I don’t want the bells and whistles. They break, drive my insurance premiums up and I find most of them useless. Don’t care if I actually feel and hear the road. I make a lot of sleep deprived trips to my favorite coho spots at 4 am. Rolling in luxury on a heated chase lounge to my favorite spots probably is not a good idea anyway! My wife and I put 250k+ on our Element. We drove it across the country multiple times. We moved in it multiple times. From CT to CO and from CO to WA. I fished and camped from it in New England, Montana, Colorado and Washington.
I lugged mountain bikes clogged with mud and waders and boots clogged with all kinds of horrid shit in the back and all I ever did maintenance wise was oil changes, brake pads and new tires. Man I miss that vehicle. Really, not a SUV. More like a small pickup with the cab open to the bed with a cap you could put a second row of seats in.
All that said, I rode in the back only a few times. Yeah, not the most comfortable ride out there but again, I rode in the back of a lot of shitty vehicles growing up so it did not register on the uncomfy scale to me. In fact, downright luxurious compared wooden benches of the 1970’s era fire trap VW van we owned, the same era VW bugs, or the the jump seats in the pickup.
I get it though. Would I buy it if I had kids to lug around…maybe…”suck it up Jr., daddy need a fishing vehicle AND the ability to haul you around, so unless you want to ride in the back of dad’s pickup unbuckled like I did when I was your age, stop whining you spoiled…”.
Okay, so maybe there is a reason I did not have kids
I get it. Not everyone’s cup of tea. I loved it though.
The standards for such a road trip are low indeed. Speaking from experience here. I’ll see your back of an Element and raise you to the bed of a Mazda B2200 with a camper top…sleeping back there on the road going cross country and up to Alaska…getting pulled over and surprising the cops…more than once. Yes, great memories! That shit wouldn’t fly today.
Can you imagine the sound in the back of a cavernous Element if you turned it into a slab. Can’t believe I never thought of that…
If I remember correctly, Honda targetted sales to the young drivers. But it was really popular with grandparents that had grand babies.
Maybe that affected sales.
Back in the first decade of 2000, Honda was not making comfortable seats. My only complaint about my 2006 Ridgeline.
Maybe that affected sales.
Back in the first decade of 2000, Honda was not making comfortable seats. My only complaint about my 2006 Ridgeline.
77 a couple months ago ,can't remember 54 .The only thing that I really need to get going in the morning is my fused ankle ,and it doesn't take much , a bit of walking ,and I'm good . I think I feel better now as far as how the body feels than I did in my working days. 44 years in the steel industry I handled a lot of steel as a machine operator, before being a manager . I am actually pretty lucky not to have back, shoulder or any other problems related to a lot of heavy work over my lifetime . The ankle is related to a motorcycle accident , nothing do with my work , maybe other than spending those 44 years on concrete a good part of the time. No complaints here .
I’d be very careful mentioning things like that in public at our ages. The Big Jinx could be hovering close by and drop what’s called a Life Turd close by but we still need to, like Steve Miller sang…Keep on keeping on.