The , also known as the in Japan and China for certain generations, is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, best known for its four-door sedan variant, which has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States since 1989. Worldwide, over 19 million units of the car have been sold, making it one of the best-selling automobiles of all time. The Accord nameplate has been applied to a variety of vehicles worldwide, including coupes, station wagons, hatchbacks, and a Honda Crosstour crossover.
Overview
Since its initiation, Honda has offered several different car body styles and versions of the Accord, and often vehicles marketed under the Accord nameplate concurrently in different regions differ quite substantially. It debuted in 1976, as a compact hatchback, though this style only lasted through 1989, as the lineup was expanded to include a sedan, coupe, and wagon. By the sixth-generation Accord at the end of the 1990s, it evolved into an intermediate vehicle, with one basic platform but with different bodies and proportions to increase its competitiveness against its rivals in different international markets. For the eighth-generation Accord released for the North American market in 2007, Honda had again chosen to move the model further upscale and increase its size. This pushed the Accord sedan from the upper limit of what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines as a mid-size car to just above the lower limit of a full-size car, with the coupe still rated as a mid-size car. In 2012, the ninth-generation Accord sedan, with smaller exterior dimensions, was once again classified as a mid-size car at , falling just shy of the "Large Car" classification. However, the tenth-generation Accord sedan, with similar exterior dimensions, returned to full-size car status with its combined interior space of ; the coupe was discontinued in 2017.
In 1982, the Accord became the first car from a Japanese manufacturer to be produced in the United States when production commenced in Marysville, Ohio at Honda's Marysville Auto Plant. The Accord has achieved considerable success, especially in the United States, where it was the best-selling Japanese car for sixteen years (1982–97), topping its class in sales in 1991 and 2001, with around ten million vehicles sold. Numerous road tests, past and present, rate the Accord as one of the world's most reliable vehicles. The Accord has been on the Car and Driver 10Best list a record 38 times.
In 1989, the Accord was the first vehicle sold under an import brand to become the best-selling car in the United States. As of 2020, the Accord has sold more than 18 million units. In 2023, Honda announced that Accord production would be moved to the factory in Greensburg, Indiana, to make way for electric vehicle production at the Marysville, Ohio, plant.
Background
Honda, after establishing itself as a leading manufacturer of motorcycles during the 1950s, began production of cars in 1963. Honda introduced its N360 minicar, compliant with Kei car specifications for the Japanese market, for the 1967 model year. The car had a transverse-mounted front engine, front-wheel drive layout, which would be adopted for the later N600 (1969), H1300 (1970) and Civic (1972) models. Occupying a size niche between mini cars and compact sedans, the Civic offered a combination of economy and practicality with its space-efficient design that had immediate appeal. The Civic gave Honda their first market success competing with manufacturers of standard compact cars, which were the growth segment as sales of mini cars plateaued and waned in the early 1970s, and their first major success in the export market. Honda's CVCC engine technology, which had been under development since 1970, was added to the Civic in December 1973. It had the advantages of not requiring a catalytic converter or unleaded fuel to meet the emissions requirements of the 1970s and early 1980s.
After the well-received launch of the Civic, Honda started development of an upscale model. Honda's original concept for a larger, quieter, more powerful and comfortable car was a four-door sedan powered by a 2000 cc inline-six engine, designated Project 653. According to initial interpreted information, Project 653 was to be a V6 powered competitor to the Ford Mustang, however this was dismissed as a confused interpretation of the design concept. In order to manage development costs, leverage the technology of the Civic, and to adapt the production facilities to the new model, Honda changed their focus to building upon the Civic's successful formula in a larger package. With these new goals, the project was re-designated as Project 671. which suggests that work under Project 671 had been advancing in the months prior. However, one account of the timeline reports that mechanical engineering for Project 671 got underway in 1974. German manufacturer Opel unsuccessfully sued Honda, claiming that the name was too similar to their Rekord.
The Accord's final design, with an extended nose and extended coupe cabin with a sloping hatchback rear, was a logical derivation of the hatchback design of the Civic and provided ample leeway for the use of Civic-derived components. It showed similarity to the Volkswagen Scirocco, which had been introduced in January 1974, leading to speculation that the design was copied from the Scirocco. However, the Accord's design had been finalised months prior to the Scirocco's introduction.
| class = Compact car
| body_style =
| engine =
| transmission =
| wheelbase =
| length =
| width =
| height =
| weight =
| model_code = SJ/SM
The first-generation Honda Accord was launched on 7 May 1976, as a three-door hatchback with JIS (similar to SAE Gross), a wheelbase, and a weight of about . North American market cars claimed , while European and other export markets received a model without emissions control equipment; it claimed as well but according to the stricter DIN norm. It was a platform expansion of the earlier Honda Civic at long. The engine was a long-stroke derivative of the Civic's 1.2 and 1.5-liter engines. To comply with gradually tightening emission regulations enacted in Japan, the engine was fitted with Honda's CVCC technology.
The Accord sold well due to its moderate size and excellent fuel economy. It was one of the first Japanese sedans with features like cloth seats, a tachometer, intermittent wipers, and an AM/FM radio as standard equipment. In 1978 an LX version of the hatchback was added which came with air conditioning, a digital clock, and power steering. Until the Accord, and the closely related Prelude, power steering had not been available to cars under two litres. Japanese buyers were liable for slightly more annual road tax over the smaller Civic, which had a smaller engine.
On 14 October 1977 (a year later in the U.S. market), a four-door sedan was added to the lineup, and power went to when the EF1 engine was supplemented and in certain markets replaced by the an EK1 unit, producing with the GK-5 5-speed transaxle, or with the 2-speed Hondamatic. Technically, the sedan was not changed from the hatchback, and the wheelbase remained the same as well. This did result in a rather long rear overhang to fit a full-sized boot. The roof was a bit taller so as to provide more interior comfort, and the Accord Sedan was the first Honda in Japan to be offered with typically Japanese middle-class extras such as ornate hubcaps and lace seat covers.
In the U.S. market, the sedan was available in three colours: Livorno Beige with beige cloth interior, Silver with maroon cloth interior, or dark red with maroon cloth interior. In 1980 the optional two-speed semi-automatic "Hondamatic" transmission of previous years became a three-speed fully automatic gearbox (a four-speed automatic transaxle was not used in the Accord until the 1983 model year). The North American versions had slightly redesigned bumper trim. Other changes included new grilles and taillamps and remote mirrors added on the four-door (chrome) and the LX (black plastic) models. The CVCC badges were deleted, but the CVCC induction system remained. At the same time, California-specification engines received a four-port exhaust valve head and a catalytic converter. This version of the EK1 engine was equivalent to the 1981 49-state High Altitude engine, omitting the air jet controller device that helped maintain the proper mixture at higher altitudes (above 4000 feet). The horsepower increased from for 5-speed cars and for automatic cars with the two-port 49-state engine to , like the 1981-83 versions.
In North America, the 1981 model year only brought detail changes such as new fabrics and some new colour combinations. Livorno Beige (code No. Y-39) was replaced by Oslo Ivory (No. YR-43). Dark brown was discontinued, as was the bronze metallic. A bit later in 1981, and SE 4-door model was added for the first time, with Novillo leather seats and power windows. The paint colour was NH-77M Glacier Gray with a gray interior. Base model hatchbacks, along with the four-door, LX, and SE four-door, all received the same smaller black plastic remote mirror. The instrument cluster was revised with mostly pictograms which replaced the worded warning lights and gauge markings. The shifter was redesigned to have a stronger spring to prevent unintentional engagement of reverse, replacing the spring-loaded shift knob of the 1976 to 1980 model year cars. The shift lever was also shortened by a couple of inches, with a larger thread diameter, allowing usage of later Honda shift knobs, including the rectangular knob used on all 1986 and newer Accords.