On the first place and the first car to write about will be the Honda Accord.The Honda Accord is a series of compact, mid-size and full-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in a majority of automotive markets throughout the world.
In 1982, the Accord — which had always been manufactured[1] in Sayama, Japan — became the first Japanese car to be produced in the United States when production commenced in Marysville, Ohio at Honda's Marysville Auto Plant. In addition, the Accord is, or has been, produced in Nelson, New Zealand, Swindon, England, Guangzhou, China and Ayutthaya, Thailand. The Accord has achieved considerable success, especially in the United States, where it was the best-selling Japanese car for fifteen years (1982–97), topping its class in sales in 1991 and 2001, with around ten million vehicles sold.[2] Numerous road tests, past and present, rate the Accord as one of the world's most reliable vehicles.[3]
Since 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 1981, as the line-up was expanded to include a sedan, coupé, and wagon. By the Accord's sixth generation in 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 current generation of the Accord released for the North American market in 2008, Honda has again chosen to move the model further up-scale and increase its size.[4] 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,[5] with the coupe still rated as a mid-size car.
Seventh generation (2003–2007)The seventh generation of the Accord was launched in 2002 (2003 model year in North America),[13] and consists of two separate models; one for the Japanese and European markets, and the other for North America. However, both were in fact sold in many other markets, fueled by the popular Cog advertisement for the Accord.North America
Main article: Honda Accord (North America seventh generation)
2003-2004 Honda Accord (U.S.)
The North American Accord grew in size yet again, becoming a vastly different car than its Japanese and European counterpart. This generation was available in both coupe and sedan forms, while a hybrid model was introduced in 2005.[15] In 2006, it was significantly updated. This generation Accord was the first to use wheels with five lug nuts instead of the traditional four on 4-cylinder models. In 2003, Honda began to offer a more aggressive Accord Coupe, equipped with the 240 HP J30A4 2997cc V6 mated to a 6-speed manual transmission borrowed from the Acura CL Type S (without a limited slip differential). This coupe came with 17" wheels (that varied between the 03-05 and 06-07 models), strut tower bar, perforated leather seating, carbon fiber dash pieces, and an upgraded 180 watt stereo system. Because of the ability to maintain activation of the VTEC system all the way through hard acceleration, the Accord EX V6 6-speed ran from 0-60 MPH in just under 6 seconds, more than a second faster than the automatic version. In 2006, Honda offered this engine and transmission combination in the sedan, which only lasted through 2007.
This model was also sold in Japan as the Honda Inspire from 2005 to 2008. In China the model got the name Guangzhou-Honda Accord and was sold from 2003 up to December 2009.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has determined crash test ratings of Accord of different model years:
| Model year | Model | Type | Frontal driver rating | Frontal passenger rating | Side driver rating | Side passenger rating | 4x2 rollover |
|---|
| 2003 | Accord | 4dr |  | |  | | |
| 2005 | Accord | 4dr w/SAB | | | | | |
| 2005 | Accord | 2dr w/SAB | | | | | |
| 2007 | Accord | 4dr w/SAB | | | | | |
| 2007 | Accord | 2dr w/SAB | | | | | |
