[dkinne]

Some posters have charged that Honda is deliberately limiting production of ODY's so that they and their dealers can overcharge the public and make lots and lots of money.

The only conspiracy I can find is that Honda engineers have conspired to build a vastly superior product to their competition.
This conspiracy has been very successful because Honda has had trouble building enough product to meet growing demand.

Now Honda is conspiring to invest more money in manufacturing capacity to help meet demand. They have increased production in Canada. But, since the Ontario plant is also trying to meet demand for the popular and highly rated Acura MDX, the ODY production increase is still falling short of demand.

So, now Honda opens the new Lincoln, Alabama plant and continues to conspire to reach capacity of 120,000 new ODY's per year at a cost of about $500 million in new investment.

I think the government should look into this conspiracy. When they figure out what Honda is doing right, they can publish a full report that Ford, GM, Daimler, and the rest can use to help them conspire to build better automobiles too.

 

[MGians]

You are correct Sir, regarding Honda building a superior product. But, when I was wanting to buy my ody a year ago, there were none on the lot and the dealers were wanting 3K. over msrp for them. And down the block the Toyota dealer had every model of their Sienna's on the lot and were willing to deal. So are saying Honda is'nt capable of marketing the ody the same way. The less units built the higher the demand the higher the asking price. Honda knows they have a great thing going, We the consumer just have to deal with it, and it seems we are, we have no choise.

 

[mhellman]

I personally find it hard to believe that Honda hasn't been able to ramp up supply to meet demand after 3 years. Perhaps it was just poor planning on their part. Either way, it Sucks™.

 

[arare]

MGians, I remember that Honda sold more number of Ody than Sienna last year in US (may be wrong, but at least comparable number ... anyone confirm?). If so, what you saw was just the result of higher demand on Ody than Sienna.

I think this would change largely next year, not due to a new plant but due to new Sienna which is expected to have a larger size and magic seat.

 

[dkinne]

Just how quickly can a foreign company find a 1350 acre site, build a 1.7 million sqft. building complex, and hire 3000 skilled workers to build minivans and engines?

Answer: About three years.

 

[turnipgreen]

Just for grins, I'm from Alabama, and I know where Lincoln is. Not to say anything bad about Alabama or Lincoln, but Honda didn't choose that site because they had 3000 skilled workers there, it was because land would be cheap, Alabama would give great tax benefits, and there would be 3000 workers that could be found reasonably cheaply that would love to have the jobs. Given all that, and that Alabama at least has vast tracts of land in the middle of nowhere, and could probably find 3000 workers in these places to train, the only limit is how fast can you talk to the Governor to get your tax breaks and build the plant.

Still about 3 years more than likely.

 

[FW_in_OKC]

I believe that the overcharges are dealer created and not Honda's idea. If it was a Honda thing, then the MSRP nationwide would have been jacked up. From what I have read here in this forum indicates that it is a regional dealer overcharge policy. I was charged MSRP minus $500 because I initially reserved my Odyssey on the dealers web site.

 

[LHOdy]

Supply and demand. Honda also wants market share, or why would they have added so many new enhancements to the 2002 ODY. They are well aware of what Toyota is doing and that they have to keep on gaining market share. They have a corporate capacity problem. They have finite corporate resources to execute expansion. The new Pilot is going to eat up capacity, the new Civic hybrid will eat up capacity. Their new CRV is in demand and will eat up capacity. The Accord is still selling like hotcakes. When I talked to my salesman, he was frustrated at all of the new products coming out of Honda, as he cannot get the cars that he wants. I had to remind him that it was a good problem to have.

[This message has been edited by LHOdy (edited 01-10-2002).]

 

[mhellman]

Here's a quote from Edmunds in 1999:

"The Odyssey joins the Toyota Sienna as the second import minivan built exclusively in North America. Honda assembles the Odyssey in an all-new plant in Alliston, Ontario, just north of Toronto. The plant employs 600 people and uses many new manufacturing processes and technologies - some of which are still in the process of being patented. The plant uses some 200 North American suppliers, with 37 of those being Canada-based. Honda’s production capacity the first year - and sales goal - is 60,000 units. However, that figure could double with the addition of a second shift.

That 60,000-unit figure is more than double the Odyssey’s best sales year (about 28,000 in 1995). But unless we miss our guess, you’d better get in line early because those 60,000 are going to leave dealer showrooms in a big hurry"

So, to be fair, Honda has apparently sold WAY more Odyssey's than they originally projected. In fact, the ~126,000 they sell each year is right where Edmunds said it could be with a double shift. Still, even Edmunds suspected that Honda would not be able to meet demand. I wonder why Honda didn't see it coming.....or did they....bwahahahahaha

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by dkinne:
Just how quickly can a foreign company find a 1350 acre site, build a 1.7 million sqft. building complex, and hire 3000 skilled workers to build minivans and engines?

Answer: About three years.</font>

 

[Jerry O1]

It's fer sure a conspiracy! They know how weak the buying public is and are taking them for all they can. That's why they came up with a big, well equipped, better than the others soccerbus at a lower price than the competition. Did I say that? Maybe Yogi said it......

Jerry O.

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2001 Odyssey GG LX