Detroit - The Accord. Honda's best-selling model in North America. And now, 30 years after its inception, Honda welcomes the eighth-generation of its legendary vehicle. For the first time ever, an Accord concept car made its stunning debut at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. In the evolution of the automobile, the Accord Coupe Concept's unveiling gives us an exciting sneak peek at the styling of the next-generation Accord. Without losing its signature of graceful simplicity, the Accord Concept Car pledges top-line design, sleek style and a dash of confident vitality.

Source: Honda USA

From some angles this car looks very good...hard to blieve one can say that about an Accord. From other however it looks awkward, however that may be the result of bad camera work on Honda's part.

The front looks like a Mitsu; I don't like it. The rear is fine.

Looks much better than the current model.

I like it. Now how much would the production car change if this is a concept?

I'm so glad they went that direction with the headlights and not like the Fit. Those look they drew influence from the Stream.

This is supposedly just a design concept. I hope they don't dumb it down too much for the production model. At least with the coupe, it should be sporty like this.

Shots from the show are available here, as well as more full size photo studio shots here.

I remember the Civic concept looking very futuristic and even somewhat stylish, and becoming something very hideous in production.

Let's hope the same does not happen to the Accord. Not because it will negatively alter sales, but because I know that high sales in spite of poor design will keep the image freshly ingrained in my skull.

I remember the Civic concept looking very futuristic and even somewhat stylish, and becoming something very hideous in production.

Let's hope the same does not happen to the Accord. Not because it will negatively alter sales, but because I know that high sales in spite of poor design will keep the image freshly ingrained in my skull.

Looks pretty close to me. Bodes well for the Accord.

Looks really nice, more like a sports car than an Accord.

Looks better then the current model but it's still kind-of boring. I'm sure it will sell well though. At least Honda seems to be devoted to building cars that do more then take you from point A to point B.

Pretty unattractive to these eyes. I actually like the current Accord coupe better. Want to know why? Its a largish coupe, not some wannabe sports car.

Looks good. Hopefully the production coupe and sedan will look as good.

Looks pretty close to me. Bodes well for the Accord.

Hmm... touché.

Perhaps my perception of the vehicle had changed once they cleaned up the details and made it a single color.

Anyway, this is the first time I can actually say that I like the look of a Honda (Acura excluded).

Edited January 8, 200719 yr by aaaantoine

hmmm....pretty nice looking, definitely a great revolution for the Accord, as it would seem. Honda is fast emerging as my favorite Japanese design company [Toyota sucks, and Nissan is overrated]. This car looks really classy and sporty at the same time, kind of exactly what the Monte Carlo should be, but you can't even mention that design in the same sentence with this one without wanting to cringe a little. The show photos are taking a long time to load, but what I can see, what is up with the front overhang, cockpiece anyone?, and the overall character is great, but it's still not my cup of tea, the face is not pretty enough. All that said, this is James Bond's car for the middle class, it will appeal immensely to the people the Accord coupe already appeals to.

Hmm... that's rather nice. It's graceful enough and not overly sporty. I particularly like the side body surfacing... very elegant.

They seem to be struggling a bit to figure out a family look for their front ends. To me thats the only weak part of the exterior of this car.

I like it. Much more risque than the Malibu IMO and a much better rear as well. Has a previous-gen 3er look to it, but brings up some clever ideas stylistically. Hard to say if that strong stance will make it to production.

A nice, forward-thinking design, all in all.

It has a lot of Nissan GT-R (Skyline) concept in it. And a lot of Mitsu in the nose.

I'm not a fan of the face, though it's better than the current one. The rear end would be better if it weren't so flat.

At first glance, it is quite shocking. However, once you see a few hundred of them on the road, the shock will wear off. The front end actually reminds me a lot of the old Accords from about 1990-1992.

To be quite honest, this is the first Honda that I can say I like and not feel ashamed of it. There's more emotional appeal in this car than any Honda (Acura TL and MDX excluded) produced. The rear-view has got a nice flow to it. I don't much care for the overhead front 3/4 view, though -- the lines there start making the car look a bit compressed. However, while handsome and sleek, I can't really say it brings that much originality to the table. At least I can actually say I like it.

Anyway . . .

Likes:

• First Honda that doesn't look like a mutant animal (Civic, CR-V) or a mish-mash of polygonal horror (recent Acura sedan concept). Design actually has a decent amount of emotional appeal. Curvaceous lines, good flow from ground-level angles, and I can look at it now without yawning. I hope Honda can make future models this nice.
• Prelude, anyone? That's the role the Accord coupe should have filled after Honda did the dishonor of killing it.
• Decent proportions for a front-drive car. (Front overhang is just a bit too much than I would like, though.)

Dislikes:

• Headlamps. Don't get me wrong -- the shape is nice -- but they look huge in certain angles (overhead front 3/4 view). Stop this trend, please. Address this by production time.

I'll give Honda credit here.

I like it a lot. The front looks like an evolution of Hondas from the early '90's. From the A-pillar back, it looks influenced by BMW.

I'm seeing a bit of that whole Lancer/S40/tC thing in the front (mixed with early 90's Honda, yes), and I'm seeing BMW 3 and 6 series coupe in the roofline. A little derivative, but not bad. I like it.

The first thing that crossed my mind when I saw it was how much the front end looks like the Scion tC. Overall the car looks pretty good, very clean and sleek, nothing too exciting though. I would still take the Altima coupe, which IMO, looks much better than the Accord concept.

Edited January 9, 200719 yr by REDO1GPGT

Looks like an angry Scion tC.

A+ for the greenhouse though, is this concept a hardtop?

even if it is NOT a hardtop the frameless glass is very elegant.

I wish the new CTS had frameless glass, like the pillarless

glass on Subaru Legacy sedans for instance. Those blackout

panels on the B-pillars of most modern cars look so tacky and

ugly to me... if you can't make a hardtop 4dr at least hide the

pillars behind tinted glass!

http://www.km77.com/marcas/subaru/legacy_02/med/02.jpg

HATE the front....

Love the rear though

Volvo meets Alpha in the front

G35 in the back

It's pretty sporty looking although not perfect in my eyes. The front overhang is kinda long and the lower air dam doesn't sit well with me with all those horizontal lines. I prefer a cleaner look, maybe size down that dam and make it a hole instead of a grille. Overall though, it is a much better design than the current Accord's roundedness.

I'm VERY glad that Honda is moving away from the last generation of triangular pull back headlamps. They're harking back to the early 90's Accord style which makes me happy since we have a 93 sedan along with my 02 coupe. Thin horizontal headlamps have always been better looking to me than those big ones Honda has been using lately. The Civic was the first to start going back to that and now the Accord follows suit. Good.

With the JDM Accord coming over as the TSX, I thought the days of US Honda's looking like Hondas were over since Acura then adopted that slim headlight look. I'm glad to see they didn't want to keep doing that, now I don't have to say Acuras look more like a styling evolution from Honda then Hondas do.

....and I haven't seen so many positive comments for a Honda on this board since I joined

Edited January 9, 200719 yr by big blue

I kind of agree with FlyBrian and Croc: on one hand the current Accord coupe is nice because it doesn't pretend to be a sports car like this concept may appear to be doing. However, if it has the performance to back up the looks this point is moot, IMO. Obviously it's not going to be a Ferrari but you guys catch my drift. This is also one Honda I'm not embarrassed to say looks good. After the dreadful CR-V I was afraid what Honda would come up with next. I will be really looking forward to seeing the production version, though with Honda its concepts are thinly disguised production cars.

Is a flat front the trend this year? Almost all cars I see have a flat frontend.

looks much more aggressive, overall i like it.

However, if it has the performance to back up the looks this point is moot, IMO.

The current Accord has the goods, I'm sure they will up it a little this year as well. I would like to see the 3.2L V6 in there with manual option. Hmmm, 0-60 in 5.5s...... (the current Accord sedan has hit 5.9s 0-60 with manual transmission). Of course an AWD option would be nice, I doubt they would do that.

Tiburon meets Scion! Not an offensive car but again no new ground broken here.

I wrote a collision estimate on an '05 Accord coupe yesterday with 15k miles (small door ding in the left quarter panel). The engine took forever, it seemed, to fire. That little tinny starter just kept turning and turning for about 10 seconds, then, finally, ignition. Seems chintzy compared to my truck. One flick of the key, the truck starts. No need to hold the key to keep the starter turning.

I wrote a collision estimate on an '05 Accord coupe yesterday with 15k miles (small door ding in the left quarter panel). The engine took forever, it seemed, to fire. That little tinny starter just kept turning and turning for about 10 seconds, then, finally, ignition. Seems chintzy compared to my truck. One flick of the key, the truck starts. No need to hold the key to keep the starter turning.

That's not normal, there's probably something wrong with the Accord.

***GASP!!!*** But... how could that be?

***GASP!!!*** But... how could that be?

I don't know. One bad experience with an Accord, that could very well have been caused by the owner, who you don't know how they treat their vehicles. What does this have to do with the new Accord coupe concept?

Pretty unattractive to these eyes.

LoL, anything Japanese is unattractive in your eyes.

Love the rear though

Am I sensing that you are finding a Japanese car attractive

The media's got you

Could you be a little less antagonistic?

I like it a lot... something of the front reminds me of the tC's nose though.

I don't know. One bad experience with an Accord, that could very well have been caused by the owner, who you don't know how they treat their vehicles. What does this have to do with the new Accord coupe concept?

That's what I was wondering.

Could you be a little less antagonistic?

Doubt it.

I find it far more attractive than the current design. It has an edgy appearance I appreciate.

Where the current car seems fat and bloated, this concept is much more dynamic. Much nicer than the Altima coupe, imo.

That is the first honda I've thought looks decent in years.

Wow, that is really nice lookin! GM better get revising that Malibu exterior.

Nope... I too agree that Honda & Toyota starters are often like on Korean cars: they feel

unsubstantial and weak... then again is that not the definition of an Accord?

I bet some goober with a pocket protector surmised that if the starter was 30% smaller

& made of balsawood they would improve the Accords fuel economy by 0.03619735 mpg.

---------------

T1GHT WH!P$ car club is in full effect!

Edited January 10, 200719 yr by Sixty8panther

I guess they're not showing the sedan at the show? Would have been nice to know where the Malibu and Aura stand in comparison to it.

Nope... I too agree that Honda & Toyota starters are often like on Korean cars: they feel

unsubstantial and weak... then again is that not the definition of an Accord?

I bet some goober with a pocket protector surmised that if the starter was 30% smaller

& made of balsawood they would improve the Accords fuel economy by 0.03619735 mpg.

---------------

T1GHT WH!P$ car club is in full effect!

Yes, too bad it's weak and doesn't have a 7 ton BOF architecture that gets 4 gallons per mile.

I thought Honda and BMW scrapped merger talks. What gives?

Maybe Chris Bangle flew to Cali on a favor?

Edited January 11, 200719 yr by LosAngeles