A Honda Odyssey MPV, seen on a car market in Tai’an in Shandong Province in the summer of 2018. The people carrier was in a great shape for its years, painted in white with darkened windows and fitted with sporty period 5-spoke alloy wheels.
Hello there. Lady in yellow took a curious look at the foreigner checking out the old Honda.
The first generation Honda Odyssey (North America, RA1-5) was manufactured from 1994 until 1998. The RA1-5 was not officially produced in China, although there was some non-official CKD production. Official production of the Odyssey in China started with the second generation (International, RA6) at Guangzhou-Honda in 1999.
Considering trim, this particular car appears to be a US-market example that somehow ended up in China. It is remarkable preserved and it looks almost as if it was just a few years old instead on more than 20.
The interior was in a good shape too. The black plastics, never very pretty to begin with, looked slightly faded. The wood seemed good. Someone put a pair of boxer-shorts atop the dashboard, likely to get it dry after a wash. This was quite common on smaller Chinese car markets. Cars were used to dry all sorts of stuff, from blankets to shoes.
The first generation North American Honda was a seven-seat car with a 2/3/2 seat setup. Power came from a 2.3 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with an output of 135 hp and 206 Nm. The motor was mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission with a column-mounted shifter.
These older Honda Odyssey MPVs are rare birds in China, so seeing one is always a pleasure. Hopefully it is still around somewhere in Shandong today.
