Few cars hit the market with the thunderclap the Honda Accord had back in 1976. The original three-door Accord was slightly larger than any previous Honda car and significantly more refined. It received nothing but glowing reviews in the press, and Honda showrooms were inundated with buyers — even though the dealers had nowhere near enough cars to meet demand. By the end of the year, the Honda Accord was the standard to which all other small cars had to be compared.
Since that quick start, the Honda Accord juggernaut has hardly slowed at all.
That first Honda Accord wasn't very big and, with just 68 horsepower on tap from its carbureted 1.6-liter four, it wasn't very powerful. But with either a slick-shifting five-speed manual or dorky two-speed "Hondamatic" automatic, it was a comfortable and economical cruiser. As production increased and the Accord line expanded (a more luxurious "LX" model for 1978 and a four-door sedan in 1979) sales went through the roof. By the beginning of the 1980s, the Honda Accord was one of the best-selling cars in America.
The Honda Accord has always been a simple, straightforward car. Through all the years of production it has always been built with a sturdy unibody structure with front-mounted engines mounted cross-wise and driving the front wheels. Even as it grew in size, the Honda Accord retained its engineering elegance.
And the Honda Accord was a bigger hit in America than Japan. So the second-generation Accord introduced for 1982 was optimized for American tastes and conditions: smooth, restrained and roomy enough for big Americans. As a product the Honda Accord was attuned for America and has been one of the top three best sellers in the country ever since.
The 1983 Honda Accord became the first Japanese-branded car built in America when production began at a new plant in Marysville, Ohio. Over the years the four-cylinder engines grew larger, a station wagon version came and went and V6 power plants were added to the line. But even though a hatchback isn't in the line any more, and it's nowhere near being a small car any more, the essence of the Honda Accord remains intact.
