By: Jeffrey Ross
Autotropolis.com
Since the Honda Accord first went on sale in the U.S. as a compact car in 1976, the car has continued to grow both in popularity and in size.
After stepping up to midsize status in 1985, the Accord was constantly at or near the top spot for best selling car in America.
When the eighth generation Honda Accord launches as a 2008 model, the car will once again move up in size. While the Accord coupe will continue to be classified a compact, the Accord sedan will be the largest of the model ever and carry an EPA classification of a full-size car. Note: The qualification for full-size car is having an interior passenger and cargo volume greater than 120 cubic feet.
In addition to being the largest Accord ever, the 2008 model will also be the most powerful. The new 3.5-liter V6 will direct its 273 horsepower to the front wheels via either a five-speed automatic or six-speed manual (coupe only) transmission.
There will be no hybrid model for the new Accord, but eventually Honda will launch a diesel engine for the sedan. Initially, the only engine options will be two variants each of the 2.4-liter four cylinder and 3.5-liter V6. The 2.4-liter will get an estimated 21 mpg city and 31 mpg highway. The V6 fuel economy starts at 17 city/25 highway and tops out at 19 city/29 highway depending on models and equipment.
The Accord coupe looks almost identical to the coupe concept that debuted at the 2007 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in January. The overall look of the concept survived intact, but the front fascia and headlights are different as are the rear fascia, taillights and decklid.
With its sharp, chiseled lines, both the sedan and coupe give the new Accord a unique and aggressive look. The two share many design elements but no sheet metal.
Inisde, the most noticeable difference between the coupe and sedan models is the steering wheels. While the sedan has a steering wheel and instrument cluster very similar to Pontiac’s upcoming G8, the coupe has a sportier looking design. Both feature cruise control and radio control buttons for easy driver access.
Speaking of similarities with other cars, it’s hard to ignore the familiarity between the Accord sedan and the BMW 5-series – not a bad thing per se considering the latter is among the best luxury performance vehicles on the market with a starting MSRP that is $13,000 more than the current highest-priced Accord. No prices have been announced yet for the 2008 Accord models that will go on sale mid-September.
Main competition for the Accord sedan should come from the Toyota Camry, Ford Taurus, Saturn Aura and Chevrolet Mailbu. The Accord coupe should fare well against the Pontiac G6 coupe and Nissan Altima coupe