2018 Honda Odyssey Production Begins

Honda Manufacturing of Alabama (HMA) kicked off mass minivan production of the all-new lower, wider, and sleeker 2018 Honda Odyssey.

It’s just in time too, especially since the new Odyssey goes on sale this spring. Over 1,500 cheering and chanting plant employees were on hand to welcome the latest Honda minivan off the line.

“This is a celebration for our entire Honda team of associates who have been committed to bringing an all-new, high tech, family-friendly Odyssey to our customers,” said Jeff Tomko, president of HMA, in a statement.

“I congratulate all of our associates for their commitment to quality for this new vehicle, which ushers in a new level of features and functionality with the goal of creating new value for our customers.”

Aside from the Odyssey, the Honda Pilot, Ridgeline, and Acura MDX are all assembled at the Lincoln, Ala., plant. The V-6 engines under their hoods are also built there.

Honda’s 2018 minivan is available with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine that produces 280 hp — up 32 horses from the last model.

Source: Honda

The V-6 is mated to an all-new 10-speed automatic transmission for more refined performance says Honda. It’s locally sourced and is produced at the nearby Honda Precision Parts in Tallapoosa, Georgia.

Other goodies in the next generation minivan include reconfigurable Magic Slide Seats, CabinWatch and CabinTalk monitors to keep tabs on second and third row passengers, and a Cabin Control App to access system functions from your smart phone.

The latest Odyssey is the fourth generation of the popular minivan to be built in Alabama. Honda has been building Odysseys at the Lincoln plant since 2001. Over 4 million vehicles and V-6 engines to date according to our sources at Honda.

Pricing hasn’t been announced on the 2018 Odyssey, but is expected to start above $29,850, which was the price of last year’s base model.

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