While we were in Japan last week for the Tokyo Motor Show, at least two American Honda officials expressed interest in bringing the automaker's Fit-based Freed MPV to the U.S. market. However, as we strolled the streets of Tokyo's Ginza district, another thought occurred to us when a JDM Odyssey passed by. Back in the Nineties, the original Odyssey was sold in Japan and the U.S. as Honda's first crack at a minivan. For the second generation, the Nippon and U.S.-market cars diverged as Honda realized American buyers wanted something larger, so the original model continued to evolve in Japan, eventually resulting in an all-new model for 2008.
During the time since Honda's original Odyssey departed American showrooms, the North American market has also evolved, with the crossover segment emerging as an increasingly sizable piece of the pie. Enter the 2010 Accord Crosstour. While most people have only seen photos of the new Crosstour to date, the lion's share of the public's reaction has been charitably categorizable as "less than favorable." To be fair, however, we won't know if Honda made the right call until the model's sales results begin to come in.
Lest we forget, in addition to the JDM Odyssey, Honda also offers a more traditional Accord Tourer (read: "wagon") available overseas, and it's a model that many commenters on both this website and Honda's own Crosstour Facebook page have noted and expressed a preference for. In the case of the Odyssey, the JDM vehicle has arguably become more like a CUV than a minivan, what with its four traditionally-hinged doors and a lower roof than past iterations. The front end styling draws directly on the FCX Clarity, another car-based design cue.
11-16-2009, 10:29 PM
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