[mediaman]

We own a '01 Messa Beige which has that tan interior color.

I would love to know how Honda decides on interior colors. My simple theory is that since Minivans are marketed as a family vehicle, then it means transporting kids are likely. Therefore, wouldn't it make sense that there is a choice of darker interiors i.e. Burgundy which does a great job of hiding dirt ? I know about interior colors like Burgundy because I've owned 2 Accords with Burgundy interiors and they've help up excellent. In fact, the Burgundy interior my 1993 Accord which I still own still looks factory fresh after all these years and a 4 year old kid.

All the Odysseys have light color interiors which seem to easily lend themselves to showing dirt and scuff marks. .... oh not to mention that the seat backs of the EX is fabric instead of Vinyl... the bottoms of my kids shoes are all over it.

Does anyone agree with my point of view ? Wonder what Honda thinks... well time to go fill out that survey from Honda about my new Minivan.. can U guess what my comments will be.

 

[nemogira]

Well I agree with you about their use of light colors. I actually wished for a black interior. But I also believe that Honda were consciously trying to stray away from the typical "family" minivan. I mean look how it turned out. There's no minivan that match it's car like handling and not many SUVs that can beat it's spacious interior. Minivans are not only for Soccer Moms anymore.

-nemogira



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2000 CCS EX-NAVI

 

[mediaman]

I read you my friend, but why compromise... if they had a combo out of the lot that had a darker interior, they would be providing the best of both worlds and have another star for the van.

It may handle like a car and I love that, but as a practical matter, most of us buy it to haul the family around, not necessarily for a driving experience.

 

[toyman]

I believe it would not be wise for Honda to make colors which they believe will be durable for family.

After all, they want to make a color that you would want (and like). I strongly believe people that buy Odyssey are intelligent and smart who want a degree of sport from their van. Otherwise, you would own a Windstar or Caravan (am I right?)



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****

Here to help

 

[nemogira]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by toyman:
I believe it would not be wise for Honda to make colors which they believe will be durable for family.

After all, they want to make a color that you would want (and like). I strongly believe people that buy Odyssey are intelligent and smart who want a degree of sport from their van. Otherwise, you would own a Windstar or Caravan (am I right?)

</font>

I think so!

-nemogira



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2000 CCS EX-NAVI

 

[sdp]

I agree w/ Toyman too. We chose GG because we thought that the fern interior would hide any grime the best of the interior colors. Our favorite Ody color was DEP, but we thought the beige interior was the worst choice for two little ones. Our opinion of course, others may think differently. Also, the medium grey seats and dark grey floor and dash of our 7 year old, 155K Accord are still holding up well.

 

[gfxguy]

When we ordered our DEP EX (any day now, any day), we weren't thinking in terms of kids (2 year old and one on the way).

Has anyone successfully scotchguarded their interior? I am planning on buying a couple of bottles of Vectra (a scotchguard like product, but supposedly a lot better) and using it first thing.

 

[pwg56]

I scotchguarded right away after I got my 01 DEP ODY. Easy to do and it works - small spills have wiped clean, and days after they happened!

 

[mrmiata]

FWIW, Scotchgard has been taken off the market in some countries because of the stuff it contains. Apparently it stays in the body for a *long* time.

http://www.stainsafe.com/ssafe/news.asp

http://ens.lycos.com/ens/may2000/2000L-05-17-06.html

http://www.sciam.com/2001/0301issue/0301scicit2.html

http://www.chemicalindustryarchives.org/dirtysecrets/scotchgard/8.asp

Just a heads up. I love the stuff, but I'm gonna do without now.

 

[b1trentel]

It all comes down to marketing. Dark colors would make the interior look much smaller (not good when your selling space).

 

[robr2]

stains and spills - I just try to keep after them. I didn't use Scotchguard due to the report. Everyone so often I go on "Resolve Patrol".

light vs dark interiors - we test drove a dark green Windstar with a dark gray interior and deep tint. We felt clautrophobic in it to the point that it was difficult to drive. We then drove red with tan and tint and it was much easier.

 

[gfxguy]

Well...vectra is not scotchguard, so I don't think I need to be worried. I have heard any reports about it, I've used it before, and I've heard from reliable sources that it works better than scotchguard.

This page also claims that Vectra doesn't contain the harmful chemicals of scotchguard, and what's more; it blocks the chemicals from being released from previously scotchguarded material.

Vectra Home Page.

No, I don't work for Vectra, just I feel better about my decision to use it, and I'm especially glad I didn't pay someone hundreds of dollars to scotchguard my dining room chairs!

 

[gbaxley]

Regarding Scotchguard fears (and a little off topic):

I don't work for 3M (former makers of Scotchguard), but I am a chemist. 3M pulled Scotchguard off of the market because the fluorocarbons in Scotchguard were found to be very persistent in nature (they last a very long time). There are no public reports (yet) of the types of molecules used in Scotchguard being toxic or hazardous to plants or animals. In fact, fluorcarbons are quite similar to Teflon. These compounds do not react with other chemicals, putting them rather low on the toxicity scale. If you have regularly used Scotchguard, don't panic (yet) over being exposed.

So why withdraw the product? There are other chemicals (PCB's, CFC's) that while in use also seemed to be non-toxic and non-hazardous but persistent in nature. Years later, ill effects were discovered. 3M has historically been one of the "better" chemical companies in terms of pollution etc. Plus, 3M has new products to replace Scotchguard that other manufacturers wont easily replicate.



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gbaxley
'01 TW EX