Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Houston, Texas USA
Posts: 994

Another victory for the Ody. This time in the latest issue of Motor Trend Magazine, August edition.

They pit the Ody against the Kia, Chrysler and Nissan minivans. Oddly, the Siena didn't even make the cut. Of course the Ody had a cake walk victory over the trio of competitors, but guess who came in second? The Kia!

Just a side note, I never realized that the Chrysler still had leaf springs and a live rear axle?!

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2005 Silver/Grey Touring N+R
PAX Lover

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Registered: Apr 2006
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 95

quote:

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Originally posted by Norb
I never realized that the Chrysler still had leaf springs and a live rear axle?!

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David

'05 Touring Sage/Olive NAV&RES
'89 Mercedes Benz 560SEC
'83 Mercedes 500SL euro spec
'69 Alfa Romeo GTV 1750
'65 Mustang red/white 289 stick

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Registered: Jun 2005
Location: King George VA
Posts: 779

I think he ment a beam axle in the rear vice indipendant suspension.... but I could be wrong....

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Keep it breezy,
KiteSquid


P.S. The wind is like air, only pushier.

Current rides:
'05 Ody EX-L Silver Pearl Metallic/Grey with dealer installed Towing Package. Self installed Splash Guards, Cross Bars, Cargo Net, Gutter Guard A/C Evaporator protector, aftermarket cargo box, cargo area mat (stolen from previous ride '99 Tahoe)
Door Stop Removal (SquidMod #1)
Off Road use only Headlights (my post is about half way down the page)
Want to install: Kleen Wheels, Window Visors, Sunroof Visor & Bug Deflector.

'07 Yamaha Royal Star Venture, Galaxy Blue/Raven
'06 Accord LX SE, Silver
'01 Ariens 1742 ZTR, Orange
'50 Harley-Davidson FL, Light Blue (For Sale but NOT cheep)

Previous rides:
'91 Nissan Sentra, Silver
'99 Chevrolet Tahoe, silver
'94 Harley-Davidson FLSTC, two tone red
'91 Chevrolet Caprice, white
'86 Chevrolet Corvette (150 HP of Nitrous Oxide), deep red
'81 Kawasaki KZ1100D, black
'79 Chevrolet Camero Berlinetta (over 550 HP when I sold it), Brick Red
USS McInerney (FFG-8), Haze Grey
USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) Plankowner, Haze Grey and underway
USS Mobile Bay (CG-53), Haze Grey
USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) , Haze Grey and underway, again....

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Registered: May 2006
Location: Wichita, KS
Posts: 56

Yeah and I was shocked as all getout when I read that.

Driving one, you'd never know it. That's one thing D-C got right, despite their "outdated" technology.

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Registered: Jul 2004
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 1662

quote:

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Just a side note, I never realized that the Chrysler still had leaf springs and a live rear axle?!

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2002 Odyssey EX FG
Honda hood deflector, mud guards, Zymöl, Honda ATF cooler, Amsoil EaO20 oil filter, Amsoil synthetic 5W20, Krown rustproofing, block heater (gets cc...cold in Canada in winter!)

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Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 1514

The solid beam and leaf springs has the advantage of being flat, no vertical members to encroach on passenger space. Coil springs have to be upright and will cut into the cabin. I think Chrysler has done an excellent job of getting decent handling (it's a minivan, after all, not a Mini Cooper) out of this arrangement. I would not consider it a strike against them. When I test drove the newer ones I was actually impressed with how well it did with such simple basic underpinnings.

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2003 SS LX

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