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tailgate to help provide rigidity to the vehicle. (This is a borrowing from the 2016 Honda Pilot.) Overall, they calculate a 44 percent improvement in torsional rigidity compared with the previous-gener- ation vehicle. And as welding has been noted, it should be pointed out that in assembly there are 147.6-feet of structural adhesives (applied at the roof edges, around the moonroof opening, in the front floor and cowl area, in the A- and B-pillars, around the front suspension upper mounts, and elsewhere) applied prior to welding; this helps increase the overall stiffness of the body structure by some 3.5 percent. Speaking of assembly—the vehicle is produced at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in the city of Lincoln—there is a first for the Odyssey being performed in the plant: acoustic spray foam is being shot into 14 locations (e.g., bases of the A-, B-, C-, and D-pillars, tops of the C- and D-pillars, base of the windshield frame) and acoustic tape and foam stoppers are being deployed; this is being done while the vehicle is still a body-in-white. The objective, of course, is to minimize noise entering the cabin. They calculate that these measures result in a 55-percent reduction in body leaks, which means reduced cabin noise. STRUCTURALLY SOUND One of the reasons why there is the extensive use of the high-strength steels is to help provide occupant protection, which is particularly germane in the case of a minivan, espe- cially one that senior product planner Dan Tiet describes as a minivan that is focused on people. Like all Hondas in recent history, the Odyssey uses the Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, the second generation ACE, which is orchestrated to distribute crash energy in frontal collisions, to ameliorate the consequences of small front overlap collisions and to help keep vehicles involved in a collision from over- or under-riding the other. In addition, the Odyssey, picking up, again, from the Pilot, uses a "3-Bone" structure under the front floor: there are three load pathways created to channel energy around the passenger cabin. One bone moves the energy directly underneath the cabin while the other two channel it through the left and right side frames. Located under the front floor of the new Odyssey is a variation of the "3-Bone" structure first used in the Pilot that improves impact load management, directing energy around the passenger cabin in the event of a frontal collision. The structure creates three different load pathways, or "back- bones," that channel collision energy. One channels colli- sion forces from the front of the vehicle directly underneath the passenger cabin; the other two channel collision forces 30 The first-generation Odyssey ('95-'98) had rear swinging doors, like an Accord. Since the second, ('99 to '04), they slide. This is gen five. COVER STORY