Honda bringing Odyssey minivan concept to Chicago Auto Show

[Wired On Honda]

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Concept Cars, Minivan/Van, Tokyo Motor Show, Honda

2009 Honda SkyDeck Concept - click above for high-res image gallery

With apologies to Get Shorty and the 1995 Oldsmobile Sillhouette, the Honda Odyssey may well be the Cadillac of minivans. Honda's big, luxurious people hauler has been the hottest-selling minivan in the U.S. over the past two years, besting Chrysler and Toyota for the minivan sales title. With the success of the Odyssey over the past couple of years, it's almost hard to believe that Honda is already looking forward to a redesign, but the present model has been on the market since 2005 with only nominal tweaking, and there's a bold new Sienna to contend with from its crosstown rivals, too.

To that end, Honda has announced that they will unveil a new concept version of the Honda Odyssey at next month's Chicago Auto Show, showing what the engineering-focused company's fourth-generation minivan will look like. Honda promises that the next Odyssey "will further enhance its hallmark qualities of innovation, quality, safety and fun-to-drive character, while increasing its overall efficiency."

We may have already seen the first indication of what the next Odyssey will look like in the SkyDeck concept (above) from the Tokyo Motor Show last October. The six-seat MPV was all pimped out with a pie-in-the-sky interior, Lamborghini-style front doors and what is fast becoming standard-issue for concept vehicles, a hybrid drivetrain. Strip down the concept-ness and we're thinking the SkyDeck would make a very attractive Odyssey. However, we expect the Chicago showcar to significantly more toned-down than the JDM concept, and it will likely be a 'concept' in name only. Hit the jump to read Honda's very brief press release.


Gallery: Tokyo 2009: Honda Skydeck concept


[Source: Honda]Continue reading Honda bringing Odyssey minivan concept to Chicago Auto Show
Honda bringing Odyssey minivan concept to Chicago Auto Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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