Grassroots Motorsports June 2005

"Odyssey vs. the World, Part 2

"A couple of years ago we drove an Odyssey around two of history's finest sports cars, a Porsche 356 and a Jaguar XKE. We figured the minivan had half a chance, but we didn't think it would set such dominant autocross times at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds.

"We figured that a new minivan warranted a new face-off, so we brought a 2005 Odyssey to last fall's Tire Rack SCCA Solo Championships and placed the club's Howard Duncan behind the wheel. As an SCCA home office employee, Howard is no longer eligible to take away trophies from club members, but his times are always right up there. His competition would come from J.R. James's 1969 Dodge Daytona, one of the most spectacular machines to come from the golden age of muscle cars.

"The action was captured by the "Sports Car Revolution" television crew will be shown in their Episode 11. We don't want to give away the cliffhanger ending, but Honda fans should be happy with the final lap times.


I recorded the show; they actually claim to have gotten better lap times with an '05 Odyssey than a '69 Charger Daytona.

Ain't technology grand?

(We actually have TWO Oddys, an '01 and an '05. If you need a big box with wheels, the Oddy is a fine big box with wheels!)

Back to the OP -- yeah, I'd take a Volvo with 100k rather than rent Chrysler van. I'm amazed anyone still buys domestic iron. But I'd also be sure to have a paid-up AAA membership and a charged cell phone!

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 169k mi, velour cloth seats, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, XC grill, Lidatek LE30, V-1, Mobil-1 since new. Goal: "Moonshot" (227,063 miles at it's perigee).