The 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite will be making its debut at the 2013 New York International Auto Show, setting the new ‘ultimate family vehicle’ standard. Refreshed for 2014, the Odyssey Touring Elite provides safety upgrades, sharpened exterior styling and a revised interior with new features and tech.
Noting unusual for an annual update, but there’s one new feature that caused us to sit up. The 2014 Odyssey Touring Elite will mark the debut of HondaVAC, the first-ever in-vehicle vacuum system. Developed in conjunction with industry-leader Shop-Vac, the system consists of a powerful vacuum, replaceable filter and canister bag, with nozzle accessories neatly integrated into a dedicated space in the rear cargo area’s wall.
Honda says that the HondaVAC’s 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. Families with young children (and the unavoidable mess they leave behind) will find this in-car vacuum very useful, we can imagine.
Vacuum aside, the US-made Odyssey comes with HondaLink featuring Aha Mobile interface. HondaLink, which debuted on the 2013 Honda Accord in America, enables owners to connect to cloud-based content.
The free HondaLink smartphone app uses the owner’s favorite online content to create live, personalised radio stations, gets you news feeds from Facebook and Twitter, and allows one to check out restaurant reviews or find the nearest Starbucks, for instance.
Also included for the soccer mum are driver assistive and visibility technologies such as an Expanded View Driver’s Mirror, Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW), although we’re predicting that none will be used as often as the HondaVAC.
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This is so stupid. What is Honda going to do next? A toilet hole in their cars so that we can urinate? Honda should be trying to lower their prices and making their cars safer instead of coming out with gimmicks that cost eventually will be past to the consumer.
There already exist such vehicles, they are call Campervan.
Yeah agreed. Silliest thing to put in. I can just purchase a handy vacuum cleaner and store anywhere. I think Honda really run out of ideas on what to invent.
Compared to our gorgeous JDM(and AP) Honda Odysseys, it’s really a hideous thing. The 3rd gen and ,to some extend, 4th gen JDM Odysseys are something that fellow Americans lust after. But than again, no American MPV (or minivan)are good looking, and they don’t have to be.
But that Vacuum cleaner, It is a stupid yet brilliant technology. I mean this car targeted at family with kids that are sure to spill Mr Potatoes all over the seats or dirty up the carpets whenever a trip to the beach, it’s rather ingenious, makes emergency cleaning-up so much easier for mums. This shows that Honda can still innovate…..in other areas.
Imagine they make a vacuum that sucks up barf… ;)
Barf protected seats will do. A Honda City comes with water-repellent seat, useful feature as I found out on the first day of delivery, spilled a bottle of Ice Lemon Tea. Is it Barf protected? I don’t know and do not want to find out, but useful if one is unfortunate enough to get a car-sick passenger a trip up Fraser’s hill.
True… it’s good to have that but dun like the experience to clean it up by hand.
Wow really think out of the box huh Honda!
And kimchis, being “follow tail dogs” will install the vacuum cleaner in their next Carnival and Starex
You need a vacuum cleaner to suck the sh*t out of your mouth.
Kadajawi says: “Honda should be trying to lower their prices”
that is gov tax you idiot.
Tengok banyak sangat TV3 la nih…..
Honda use ‘Gov Tax’ excuse to raise their vehicle prices. Full spec Honda City, a very small car, is close to RM100k. It’s not taxed that much coz it’s built in ASEAN country. Guess who’s got the largest pie?
This must be available only for US market…I don’t think it will come here..
I think it’s a very useful tool to have. With little kids in tow the mess will be a never ending problem. The sliding door of a MPV makes life easier for the whole family so that the elderly will have easy access and also to prevent little kids from banging the doors. Thus i prefer the latest version odyssey. It’s also bigger, and last I check ppl buy large mpv because its spacious and and it’s a true ppl carrier!
I wonder why they didn’t go for bagless vacuum system, case in point ; Dyson, far easier to maintain…
perfect vehicle for soccer mums.
I realized the third row seat got larger window, so less feeling like seating in a cage or cave.huhu..
We do not actually need a vaccum cleanert in a car,what we need is a good quality car whih less maintenance probably below 5 percent after 5 years!That will help a lot more users and car company itself.
Any spec? particularly for engine and transmission