I am of the opinion that the sales lag of the Accord are not principally due to its styling, but because of the strong emergence of the Altima, Sonata, and Mazda 6 in recent years. There are only so many midsized sedan buyers to go around, and one company's gain is another's loss.

The Altima and the 6 are much more likely to take sales away from the Accord, rather than the Camry, because the Accord, Altima and 6 compete for buyers who are looking for a little better sport and handling in their mundane sedan.

These are midsized practical family haulers... people are not looking to make some sort of styling statement with these cars, especially when you see about a 100 other people driving the same car as you every day.

I'm not saying that the Accord styling can't use some help, it can, but I think competitors are more of an issue here. And with the new Sonata getting rave reviews and recognition, things aren't going to get any easier.

 

I personally never liked the current gen Accord. I think it looks hidious front and back. I also feel the same for the coupe as well. I've seen a few with the factory bodykit and still did nothing for me. I will go and say that the interior is one of the best in class though(it has a TL like design).

So maybe the pictures that I posted a few months back were indeed the restyled Accord that some didnt believe was it. Time will tell, but if I am right and this is the restyled model, it doesnt look much better. Actually I think it looks worse.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...t=Honda+Accord

 

well i truely hope honda makes some changes to the outside. i think its one of the uglier cars on the road today. that being said, i just bought a new accord 2 weeks ago. i knew they were going to make some changes too. its just that the dealers were giving big discounts on them and i needed a new daily driver. if it wasnt a honda, i wouldnt have bought it. i just needed something i knew would be dependable and reliable. i put about 150,000 miles on my last 2 hondas without one problem (original clutches too). brakes, tires and oil changes, thats it!
btw, i bought my parents a camry a year ago and the quality is not what it used to be (at least on theirs) it has lots more rattles than the hondas. and its been in the shop 3 times to finally fix a wind noise problem.

 

I agree it is not a good-looking car, but congragulations on your purchase. You are not alone....it ranks right behind the Camry for top spot in mid-size car sales.
The standard break-in rules for most cars apply here...except for one thing. Honda usually puts in a special break-in oil at the factory they want left in for at least 3000 miles, so my usual recommendation of an oil change at 1000-1500 miles to get the shavings and impurities out does not apply.

 

I'm with you and Mike - the interior is great in the Accord - one of the best for the money.

M.

 

i must be the only guy here that actually likes the exterior of the coupe! hehe

 

Accord should obtain the new Odyssey front end look. Remember the fourth and fifth generation Accord, they have silver framed grille along with a very sharp agressive rectangular/almost trapezoidal headlights. They are super popular and even today you could easily see them on street. But the sixth and seventh(the current one) start to have no more silver grille. If somehow Accord imitate Odyssey's front, probably it would look better and beat Camry. I say 85% of car buyers care about the look of the cars very very much. If your car looks good to most people, it sells a lot.

 

I can remember when you couldn't touch a new Accord for anywhere near list...especally during the 1980's when there were quotas on Japanese cars. Even today, If you got a big discount, you did quite well......most Hondas still sell at best for only small discounts and some...like the Odyssey...for list or more.

Was this truly a new Accord with no significant miles on it or was it a demonstrator? Demos usually go for big price cuts...for obvious reasons.

 

And a second slower then the lower hp rating manual one. Mid 15s vs mid 14s vs mid 16s (hybrid, 6m 240hp V6 and 160 hp 4cyl.)

And engine redesign? I wonder what their new hp target for the V6 is... 260 hp? maybe even 270 hp using same engine as the TL? and perhaps a 200 hp 4 cyl? Imagine ten years ago if someone told you the accord would have camaro hp numbers and outperform the then mustang GT?

ALthough I ussually welcome a hp increase... blindly... this case id welcome it but with a caveat, there is noting worse then driving a relatively high powered car that handles like ***. It takes all the would be joy from having that hp and turns into a frustation perfect exampe is a Nissan Altima SE, or any V6 equipped altima that is not a SER. In this case id keep the V6 rating at 240 hp for all normal V6 accords with a emphasis with a good compromise of decent handling and good ride comfort kinda like the current accord.

What I would do instead is reserve the higher power V6 model for the Accord Type R this car would be sorta of a niche car designed to go head to head against other midsize sport sedans or maybe even sport coupes like the Chevrolet Impala and monte carlo SS (303 hp) Pontiac GTP (260hp) and GXP (303Hp) Nissan Altima SER (260Hp) And the coupe type r could even but heads with the 2006 Eclipse GT (263 Hp). Itd have a sport tuned suspension with emphasis of better handling at expense of some comfort. And perhaps Id even put a reverse staggered wheel setup to cope with understeer and attempt to minimize torque steer although id keep it fwd. To get here id use the 3.2 Liter sohc V6 from the Acura TL and have it hp rated from 265-270 hp. Id have a emphasis on a sporty interior rather then a luxorios interior so as to not steal sales from the Acura TL, and Id consider eventually either having a awd option on the TL or perhaps eventually fine tune that 3.2L or maybe even use the RLs 3.5 liter so there is a little bit of gap between the Accord and the TL.

I wonder if the 4 cylinder will resort to using the 200 hp version from the TSX?

 

brand new 2005 accord lx with 9 miles on the odometer for 16,800 + TTL.
my friend got a brand new v6 accord ex with leather for 22,500 in atlanta too. these prices were pretty consistent among severall dealers here. plus they had 1.9% financing.

 

The rear end is actually pretty good, still doesn't like the front which looks the same as the sedan, but overall not bad.

 

Accords in most big cities go for invoice or less, making it an unbeatable value.

Ugly styling or no, the mags seem to really like the Accord. It has won every single comparo that it has taken a part of.

I'm curious that the Honda people think that the Accord needs a power boost. Perhaps they got wind that the 2007 Camry will have the 3.5 GR engine. Wonder if that means that the Accord will get a displacement boost to 3.2 (like the TL). I doubt they'll go all out for the 3.5 in the RL though.

 

Yes...16-8 is a deal, even for a 4-cylinder Accord. Congragulations.
I've got probably either a new AWD IS250 or an Outback in my near-future plans......with a small chance of something else.

 

some pics
http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=362191

 

So that pic of the mystery car posted here a while ago is the new Accord afterall ? Judging from those pics, still don't like it, but the butt is better than the current one.
The Accord's from late 80's & early 90's are still the best looking IMHO.