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2014 Honda Odyssey revamp only costs an extra $150*

Honda has released pricing on its 2014 Odyssey. Buyers can take home the revamped minivan for $28,825 (excluding an $830 destination fee). That price marks a $150 increase over the 2013 model, but that extra Benjamin and a half buys you a whole slate of updates. Those include a new six-speed automatic transmission in all trims, revised exterior styling and a few tweaks to the instrument cluster and dash controls. Honda's familiar 3.5-liter V6 engine provides 248 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque, and the new gearbox helps the van return 19 miles per gallon city and 28 mpg highway.
Of course, those who opt for the top-shelf $44,450* Touring Elite trim will get to play with the new HondaVac vacuum cleaner system. The handheld vac is built into the van's rear cargo area and recharges using the onboard 12-volt electrical system. The little vacuum features a removable debris canister as well as a replaceable filter bag and can run for eight minutes between charges. Check out the full press release below for more information.

Honda issues bizarre non-recall on Odyssey over badge placement

Without looking under the hood or at a vehicle history report, one of the easiest way to tell if a car has had body work done is to check the location and placement of the exterior badges. A crooked, misplaced or missing badge can be a telltale sign that there has been some sort of body or paint work. For this reason, Honda is suggesting that some owners of the 2014 Odyssey take their vans into the dealership for a little rebadging.
The topic was brought to light after Consumer Reports received a notice from Honda saying that the "Odyssey" badge on its test vehicle was incorrectly installed at the factory. The badge is supposed to go on the driver's side of the liftgate (as shown above), but the customer vehicles had it placed on the passenger side of the car. Not a huge deal unless an owner is trying to sell the vehicle and the improperly installed badge leads potential owners into believing the vehicle may have been damaged in some way. Here's what Honda said in its letter:
On some 2013 Odyssey vehicles, the Odyssey emblem was incorrectly installed on the passenger's side of the rear tailgate. The emblem should be installed on the drivers' side of the rear tailgate. American Honda Motor Company highly recommends that you participate in this Product Update. The placement of the emblem may indicate that the vehicle has had repairs performed that are consistent with it being in a crash. This could affect the resale value of the vehicle.

Honda settles class-action lawsuit over oil-burning V6s

Although we hadn't heard of this issue before, Automotive News reports that Honda has agreed to settle a massive class-action lawsuit brought against it for engine trouble potentially affecting nearly 1.6 million vehicles. The lawsuit includes Accord (2008-12), Odyssey (2008-13), Pilot (2009-13) and Crosstour (2010-13) models equipped with the 3.5-liter V6 with Variable Cylinder Management, which might experience engine misfire, excessive oil burning and premature spark plug fouling issues.
As part of the settlement, Honda will extend the powertrain warranty on these models for eight years (from time of purchase or lease) with no mileage limitation, and it will also reimburse customers who had to pay out-of-pocket expenses for related repairs such as spark plugs, pistons or, in some cases, apparently, an entirely new engine. (Of course, the repairs had to be related to certain trouble codes.) Lawyers will get no more than $800,000 from Honda and the guy who originally started the case, Vince Eagen, will get $1,000 for his "time and effort."
The final ruling on the matter will take place on March 21, 2014, and if you want to see if you're affected and what options you have in the settlement, check out this .pdf document with all the details.