nj
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Well darn. I really love what Honda has done here, but I can't let my bias get ahead of me. It has to be said- this is definitely more evolutionary (like the civic). And unfortunately, that's what EVERYONE else is picking up on over at MotorTrend, Car and Driver, AutoBlog, etc...
The comments don't look good folks. Unfortunately, this hasn't knocked the socks of anyone in the enthusiast crowd outside TOV. And that's what it sort of needed to do. People are fed up with the conservative design. Maybe this is just the far extreme voicing its opinion, but probably not.
I can definitely understand why Honda wouldn't go too radical with the new Accord, but if this shows anything it's that Honda has fallen deeper into the rut with Toyota. Sales over passion.
I think there's time for redemption when we get the first test drives (and maybe a more radical hybrid design) but I don't think this has moved the needle for many in the automotive communities elsewhere.
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DCR
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Just hope that Consumer Reports hates it, and it will sell in record numbers.
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iutodd
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nj wrote:
Well darn. I really love what Honda has done here, but I can't let my bias get ahead of me. It has to be said- this is definitely more evolutionary (like the civic). And unfortunately, that's what EVERYONE else is picking up on over at MotorTrend, Car and Driver, AutoBlog, etc...
The comments don't look good folks. Unfortunately, this hasn't knocked the socks of anyone in the enthusiast crowd outside TOV. And that's what it sort of needed to do. People are fed up with the conservative design. Maybe this is just the far extreme voicing its opinion, but probably not.
I can definitely understand why Honda wouldn't go too radical with the new Accord, but if this shows anything it's that Honda has fallen deeper into the rut with Toyota. Sales over passion.
I think there's time for redemption when we get the first test drives (and maybe a more radical hybrid design) but I don't think this has moved the needle for many in the automotive communities elsewhere.
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We heard the same things about the Civic from the same websites. And the Civic is the best selling compact car in the country.
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dominik331
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Honda hardly gets a good reaction for anything on those sites, so not concerned about what they saying.
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Waldo
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This "public reception" may be phony.
It's pretty well known that the DNC and GOP hires paid shills to fill up the comment sections of political news articles with negative crap about the opposition candidate. Such professional shills have dozens of login names.
It would not surprise me if consumer products companies do the same thing. Or at least in the case of cars, it may be an unofficial activity of fanboys from a competing brand. Too many of the negative statements have the same tone and style.
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JDMImport
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Waldo wrote:
This "public reception" may be phony.
It's pretty well known that the DNC and GOP hires paid shills to fill up the comment sections of political news articles with negative crap about the opposition candidate. Such professional shills have dozens of login names.
It would not surprise me if consumer products companies do the same thing. Or at least in the case of cars, it may be an unofficial activity of fanboys from a competing brand. Too many of the negative statements have the same tone and style.
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That is complete hog wash....
Automotive news cites are usually frequented by enthusiasts of every brand. Here on TOV it is the Honda loyalist, for the most part, which is why the general reception is positive. When you go no a non denominational cite, like autoblog, Edmunds, CR or any of the others, you get people that are fans of many cars and to be honest, Honda styling is really pretty poor compared to the rest. Only Honda loyalists see it for what it is. On the flip side, you see comments praising the Fusion, Mazda6, Sonata, Optima for their styling from virtually everyone, including members on TOV.
It's not the conspiracy you think it is. Honda sells to a market that is not considered to be enthusiastic. They are older generation buyers that are loyal to the brand, and Honda designed the new Accord to represent that group and maintain sales. It's as simple as that.....
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CivicB18
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iutodd wrote:
nj wrote:
Well darn. I really love what Honda has done here, but I can't let my bias get ahead of me. It has to be said- this is definitely more evolutionary (like the civic). And unfortunately, that's what EVERYONE else is picking up on over at MotorTrend, Car and Driver, AutoBlog, etc...
The comments don't look good folks. Unfortunately, this hasn't knocked the socks of anyone in the enthusiast crowd outside TOV. And that's what it sort of needed to do. People are fed up with the conservative design. Maybe this is just the far extreme voicing its opinion, but probably not.
I can definitely understand why Honda wouldn't go too radical with the new Accord, but if this shows anything it's that Honda has fallen deeper into the rut with Toyota. Sales over passion.
I think there's time for redemption when we get the first test drives (and maybe a more radical hybrid design) but I don't think this has moved the needle for many in the automotive communities elsewhere.
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We heard the same things about the Civic from the same websites. And the Civic is the best selling compact car in the country.
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The Civic may be the best selling car in its class but it's not the best car in its class. Now if Honda would have nailed both of those they would have had an all around winner. Hopefully the intensive MMC will up the ante significantly in terms of material selection, drivetrains, styling and overall driving dynamics.
~Patrick
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Cory
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I'm one of the people that posted over on Motor Trend.
I'm a big Honda fan and was eagerly anticipating this new Accord. The spy shots and the concept (though not truly an Accord) shown in Beijing hinted at something really revolutionary and special (even though it was said to be an evolutionary design). I'm honestly let down a LOT by the "Is that the new one?" exterior styling of the 2013 Accord.While basically every other automaker is pushing the envelope of styling (Sonata, Optima, 6, Malibu, Fusion) Honda has decided to keep things pretty much the same.I'm really hoping that the 2013 will look better in person - Honda PR photos are always horrible - but since the overall shape looks the same I'm not highly optimistic.
I do REALLY like the interior however. Honda made some big changes and the Accord interior looks (who knows about the materials at this point) like it would be at home in a BMW. Really nicely done.
I wonder how it will perform. That will be key.
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S600=Dream
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Problem with making cars that "push the envelope" when it comes to styling.
Yeah, it looks like a jagged turd in 2012.
I have a feeling we're going to be saying the same thing about the current Sonata and Optima with their "edgy" styling in about 6 years.
Accords are always subtle and understated. It's a strength.
Case in point, here's an Accord from that same year.
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starbai
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If people will buy that god awful redesign of the camry... new body, on same shit platform as last gen and make it a best seller... certainly folks will buy this new accord.
As much as I hate to admit it, as I get older (and having been visiting this site for a decade now) --- I start to understand that the enthusiasts that make up these sites aren't the car buying public... I mean how many of us 'enthusiasts' would consider buying an Accord these days anyway the way they have grown and blown up in size...
Ultimately this will pay the bills, and I think in a pretty conservative yet nice way... while we all sit and wait in hope for them to throw us enthusiasts a bone with something other than half ass attempts of sporty cars. (read: CRZ)
side note, i'm almost glad they're not going to bring the S2000 back anytime soon. If they did I can just picture than ruining that perfectly balanced amazing machine's reputation with some bullshit hybrid tech the way they are sacrilegiously disgracing the upcoming NSX.
nj wrote:
Well darn. I really love what Honda has done here, but I can't let my bias get ahead of me. It has to be said- this is definitely more evolutionary (like the civic). And unfortunately, that's what EVERYONE else is picking up on over at MotorTrend, Car and Driver, AutoBlog, etc...
The comments don't look good folks. Unfortunately, this hasn't knocked the socks of anyone in the enthusiast crowd outside TOV. And that's what it sort of needed to do. People are fed up with the conservative design. Maybe this is just the far extreme voicing its opinion, but probably not.
I can definitely understand why Honda wouldn't go too radical with the new Accord, but if this shows anything it's that Honda has fallen deeper into the rut with Toyota. Sales over passion.
I think there's time for redemption when we get the first test drives (and maybe a more radical hybrid design) but I don't think this has moved the needle for many in the automotive communities elsewhere.
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iutodd
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CivicB18 wrote:
iutodd wrote:
We heard the same things about the Civic from the same websites. And the Civic is the best selling compact car in the country.
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The Civic may be the best selling car in its class but it's not the best car in its class. Now if Honda would have nailed both of those they would have had an all around winner. Hopefully the intensive MMC will up the ante significantly in terms of material selection, drivetrains, styling and overall driving dynamics.
~Patrick
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Opinion. Honda will take sales over comparo wins every day of the week. So will every other automaker.
Of course Honda wants the Accord and the Civic to be a critical success but we have seen a LOT of examples over the past 18 months of cars that have not done well critically (Jetta, Civic, Explorer (particularly with Consumer Reports)) that are selling extremely well. So...does it matter if a car is critically successful? Certainly it doesn't hurt but most of the critical reviews I read (in the major mags) seem to be geared specifically towards enthusiasts and not towards the vast majority of buyers. There is nothing inherently wrong with this (and in fact it makes sense as car enthusiasts are the ones who buy the magazines) but it can paint a skewed critical picture. Especially when you look at the bread and butter classes of cars: compact and midsize sedans, and CUVs. Critical success is more important for cars like the Si, the S2000 and the upcoming NSX and RLX because performance (and styling, though that is entirely subjective, i.e. - the Sonata being horribly ugly and every critic salivating over it) really does matter with those cars. Honda really does need to improve the Si, the 2.4L ILX (and all of their hybrids) because lack of critical success in those niche markets seems to carry more weight - Honda hasn't really seemed to understand that over the past however many years. Really it's partially because their niche vehicles have failed critically (TSX Sportwagon notwithstanding) that critics have been so hard on their bread and butter vehicles. Obviously Honda has responded to these criticisms (unprecedented MMC for the Civic after 18 months) but everybody seems to be waiting for a home run - I happen to think the Accord will be just that.
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starbai
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iutodd wrote:
CivicB18 wrote:
iutodd wrote:
We heard the same things about the Civic from the same websites. And the Civic is the best selling compact car in the country.
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The Civic may be the best selling car in its class but it's not the best car in its class. Now if Honda would have nailed both of those they would have had an all around winner. Hopefully the intensive MMC will up the ante significantly in terms of material selection, drivetrains, styling and overall driving dynamics.
~Patrick
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Opinion. Honda will take sales over comparo wins every day of the week. So will every other automaker.
Of course Honda wants the Accord and the Civic to be a critical success but we have seen a LOT of examples over the past 18 months of cars that have not done well critically (Jetta, Civic, Explorer (particularly with Consumer Reports)) that are selling extremely well. So...does it matter if a car is critically successful? Certainly it doesn't hurt but most of the critical reviews I read (in the major mags) seem to be geared specifically towards enthusiasts and not towards the vast majority of buyers. There is nothing inherently wrong with this (and in fact it makes sense as car enthusiasts are the ones who buy the magazines) but it can paint a skewed critical picture. Especially when you look at the bread and butter classes of cars: compact and midsize sedans, and CUVs. Critical success is more important for cars like the Si, the S2000 and the upcoming NSX and RLX because performance (and styling, though that is entirely subjective, i.e. - the Sonata being horribly ugly and every critic salivating over it) really does matter with those cars. Honda really does need to improve the Si, the 2.4L ILX (and all of their hybrids) because lack of critical success in those niche markets seems to carry more weight - Honda hasn't really seemed to understand that over the past however many years. Really it's partially because their niche vehicles have failed critically (TSX Sportwagon notwithstanding) that critics have been so hard on their bread and butter vehicles. Obviously Honda has responded to these criticisms (unprecedented MMC for the Civic after 18 months) but everybody seems to be waiting for a home run - I happen to think the Accord will be just that.
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Just to be sure I'm following you right... you mean a home run in sales? Not necessarily a homerun in an A1, top rate, first class product like we were all used to prior to the 7th gen.
If so I agree. I just want the old honda back, that made good looking cars that were fun to drive.
And truth is we dont know if this one is or not yet... so opinion will be reserved for now.
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onetyme_sam
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at s600
not trying to insult in anyway but lets be fair, honda has its fair shares of "pusing the envelope" design.
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starbai
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onetyme_sam wrote:
at s600
not trying to insult in anyway but lets be fair, honda has its fair shares of "pusing the envelope" design.
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i guess thats true... but with what exactly? The Element? the ZDX? The CrossTour? The Beak on the pre MMC 4th gen TL?
If thats what they can come up with when they push the envelope I guess its best for them to stay conservative!
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njiome
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The Accord has been on C&D's 10 Best more than any other model, including the venerable BMW 3 Series. How is that not a good reaction? It is also their benchmark for the midsize segment.
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tgo63
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I think this is the step in the right direction. The shrinking of the exterior dimensions, first in a long time, is the right move. I also suport evolutionary redesign. I'm big Mazda fun but it irks me when , in some cases, redesign hardly reminds previous model. When I saw first photos of Sonata my fist impression was a positive one but now I do not like Sonata's shape one bit.
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ClementZ
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Those sites are frequented by enthusiasts. Honda wasn't going for enthusiasts when they redesigned the Accord. So the bashing on those sites is a bit baseless, especially when most of them wouldn't even bother buying a car from the class.
The only thing that would please them, is if the Accord shrunk to Civic size, got Hyundai styling, became RWD, and boasted 350+HP.
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saitamahonda
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Simple rule of thumb:
Resale and Value.
Revolutionary design kills re-sale value of the outgoing models.
Evolutionary design links the model's lineage in a consistent and familial( or familiar) way. People who say "I liked the old one better" will buy a pre-owned or outgoing now that they can compare. Put the two side by side and you can't mistake it for an Accord, yet it looks more refined in every way.
Those publications have writers who are not going to buy the car anyway, and yet they don't complain about BMW and Audi's bland styling being evolutionary. Then again, those writers are either european descent or Korean, and NEVER Japanese. Few see and appreciate the subtleties and thought that goes into Japanese products, so to each his own- beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I for one am super impressed with the 2013 model. It pretty much has resolved ALL the issues I had with the 8th gen:
- hood line doesn't meet grille, the 2 inch plastic surround between bonnet and bumper is finally gone
- LED/Projector Headlights
- turn signal mirrors
- LED tails (though somewhat irked that the top half looks like a Genesis' pre-MMC tails, but can be fixed with smoked vinyl or red vinyl).
- horizontal bar fog lights! finally someone gets it!
- that grille is sexy, as are the headlights with minimal amber reflector
- understated elegance, both humble and sporty
This sedan is more handsome and stately than I thought it would be and all along I thought this generation would actually have a better looking coupe than the sedan.
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njiome
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I don't get this comment. The Accord has been on Car and Drivers' 10 Best list more often than any other make, including the venerable BMW 3 Series. And the Accord is their benchmark for all other mid-sized sedans.
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starbai
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ClementZ wrote:
Those sites are frequented by enthusiasts. Honda wasn't going for enthusiasts when they redesigned the Accord. So the bashing on those sites is a bit baseless, especially when most of them wouldn't even bother buying a car from the class.
The only thing that would please them, is if the Accord shrunk to Civic size, got Hyundai styling, became RWD, and boasted 350+HP.
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I'd buy it in a heartbeat!!!lol
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