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You have to keep in mind that the Accord sedan is not a sports car. It's a family sedan that happens to be sporty. People buy it because of the safety, reliability, and economy it offers then get surprised by how well it handles the highway. Same goes for the Camry. Fact remains that the "sportier" family sedans don't sell any where near the number of units that the Camry and Accord do. And Toyota has the Celica, Corolla, and upcoming Scion brand to market to younger buyers while Honda has the S2000, RSX, TSX, and Civic. Up until the Z, Nissan had to make the Altima appeal to younger buyers because they had nothing else. Same goes for Mazda. As nice as the Miata is, not everyone can live with a 2 seater with minimal trunk room.
i can't figure out why you think the latest accord is so different than previous versions? it actually looks better than the previous two in my opinion. and it would look even better if they put a better hiny on it!
and i don't think it's an old fogey car by any stretch of the imagination. where i live i see just as many 20-30 somethings driving accords as i do older folks...
Honda says accord buyers are ~50 right (i don't know what they say exactly). That means most of the people who drive accords are around 50 right? Well, it can get a little more complicated than that. One thing that's not so easy to figure out is how many of these 50 somthing year olds own the title to their son/daughter's car. I know when I was in high school, a lot of kids got their parents to buy them accords. In college, the same thing happens. Now that I'm in my early 20's i know of some people who get their parent's name on the car to get a lower interest rate. How would honda know who's actually driving the car? Answer: they don't, they just know who signed the papers.
Quick question: then what kind of $20k cars do 20 something year olds buy anyway?
On Toyota they only take chances on styling on niche models. Personally I thought the last couple generation of Camry's were way better looking then the current one. Everybody Toyota fan seems to like the 92-96 Camry model as their favorite.
About the 3 Series most I have seen younger people driving them. They're mostly for the 30-50 year olds though.
On Toyota again it seems like they design great cars when you least expect them too. I didn't see the current RAV4 and Celica designs coming. Then when you expect Toyota to do something good like the current Camry where I thought the styling declined they bomb on you. Toyota fans also love the 92-96 SC430. Some car enhusiasts call it the best looking Japanese Car of All time.
Also on Scion, I saw the new BBX I'm "Nay" on that. I saw a couple letters in "Motor Trend" about the BBX and the 2 letters were from young people both of them wanted either a compact car or a sports car for 20k
Some argue the 90-93 Accord was the best. I definitely can see that argument too. Soft-touch, bullet-proof, and yet again it exuded quality.
While there are some hints of cost-cutting in the new Accord and Camry they both remain true to what made the previous versions so great. They are as reliable as anything out there, safe, get good MPG, comfortable for a family of 4, and the Camry has retained it's entry-luxury feel while the Accord has retained it's sporty feel. They both offer more content than before at the expense of soft-touch materials all over.
speaking of amusing there's an extended Camry commercial that shows the car power sliding, doing 180s, etc. that's hilarious if you've ever driven one of those Buick clones. I took out an 02 Camry SE and I left thinking I had just piloted a La-z-boy on wheels. What a claptrap that car is.
As for the Camry, it actually posted the best numbers a similar, if not the same, comparison test mentioned above. It may float over bumps but for some reason it can corner better than any of them. Strange. Besides, that's a cool commercial. Much better than the Mazda 6 spinning through the dirt.
Being one, I can answer that. We buy Mustangs, Sunfires, Civics, Golfs, Eclipses, pick-ups, Neons, and so forth. Generally compact cars with good trunk room, good prices, and ok style.
I don't think Honda's in danger of becoming a Cadillac anytime soon. Cadillac never had a S2000, Civic Si, TSX or NSX. They only had a Catera that was reputed to "zig." Jury's still out on that one....
The big difference between cars like the Accord and the "sporty" cars like a Passat is size, IMO. It's too often lost that these "premium" family sedans get much of their agility from their relatively compact dimensions. I don't know about others, but most people I know don't care to trade room for sport. They'd rather have room and, when they are able to afford it, have room AND sport. That's why the Accord sells so darn well--it provides what's arguably the more important part of the equation. Ditto for a good cross-section of domestic sedans. That's also what makes cars like the G35 sedan so special, in my opinion. It provides size AND sport at an affordable price. The Altima and Accord both seem to strike nice balances as well. VWs and Mazdas sacrifice the former for the latter.
This raises the fascinating question of how the new Ford sedan (Based off the Mazda 6) will fare from a handling perspective. Unless it's a roomy sedan, it's sales will be dismal by Taurus standards. So, assume it'll be a solid mid-size. What are the implications for its handling? I can't wait to find out....
I was actually hoping that somebody would post something like this. I am 21 and I'm gonna buy probably an accord coupe. When I was first looking at cars, I tried to look for something ~20k that was young, had power (preferably a v6), and was roomy for the driver (I'm 6'1" w/ a longish torso). Couldn't really find much that matched those criteria. I don't think choosing an accord over all the "young" cars listed is an "old person's" decision. I think SUV's are played out, so my choices came down to an accord or WRX. Accord's reliability, features, and value won out.
Thanks for the post though
Thanks for the post though"
Um, is someone disagreeing with you? The Accord coupe falls into the bucket that I mentioned, particularly the I4 variety. It's compact, sporty looking, reliable and not too expensive. It also has a decent amount of room in spite of its compactness.
I think the Accord's interior compliments the exterior and vice versa. While the exterior is not cutting edge or trend-setting it is likely to still look fresh when the other models start showing their age. I added fog lights, body-side moldings, chrome exhaust finisher, mud guards, black fender wheel trim, and the rear spoiler to my Accord. The result was VERY, VERY nice. It just didn't look like the same car when I picked it up from the dealer after having the adds put on nor does it look boy-racer. It fits me. I am 23 with a decent job, a house, and retirement savings. I have enough to spend on a nice car but I don't want any unnecessary expenditures. I have better things to worry about. That's where the Accord sets itself apart .. it's almost as sporty as the Mazda6, almost as quiet as the Camry, and it's one of the most reliable cars built.
Thanks, this is my first post by the way!
The Camry and Accord have the 3 R's on lock.
Plus I have a thing for the Camry SE.
so bang for the buck really isn't what you're looking for. You want banal for the buck. BTW, buy a 2-3 year old Camry (say an old style 2001 or the newer 2002) for 50-70% of its original sticker. It's just as reliable, is just as refined and it will give you more bang for your buck as you'll get the same car for less money and with the majority of the car's depreciation done with.
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0212_mercaccord/ind- ex.html
BTW, buying a new car if one is concerned about resale value is sorta funny. You're gonna lose 10-20% in the first year alone. By year 3 you're down 40-50%. If the same model is available used it's a better idea to just slip into a 2 or 3 year old model and let some other poor sucker take that huge depreciation hit. Cars take their biggest hits in depreciation the first few years and then after 100k miles. Buy a used one (especially Japanese) with 30-40k miles on it and you're good for 4-5 years without major concerns and resale won't plummet as it did the first few years. Cars are a cruddy investment, new cars are the worst. The only way to offset the horrible depreciation on a new car is to keep it for 6-7 years. That won't solve the issue but it will help.
For instance, you can buy a loaded 03 Accord coupe v6 EX with navi for 25k (pre-TTL) so figure 27.5 out the door. By 06 that Accord's gonna be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 14-16k. 4k a year to drive it, essentially. From that point you usually only take a 2k hit a year.
I bought a 99 accord ex v-6 for $24,000. It is now worth $13,000, so I have gotten a great car for only about $229/ month if I were to sell it now. By comparison, a used car is almost always a bit of a crap shoot .. and I don't like buying the older technology to be honest.
By the time most people have gotten off the used car lot, most people have been completely abused by the high dealer markup, higher interest charges for used, and a warranty that doesn't cover very much.
I have owned two Hondas, and have been happy with them. However, I am going to trade this coupe in for a Solara come September .. . Man that is one hot looking car! Honda needs to get some better styling .. the couple is a disappointment, at least to my eyes.
That depends on your state. In CA that isn't so. You get charged sales tax, THEN the value of the trade-in is subtracted. And TTL is added to the cost of any used car you buy too, so it's a given that the cost of a car is 10% higher than the final agreed upon number.
BTW, people trade in cars? Talk about taking a bath. Why would you throw away 2k minimum? Makes no sense unless the car is literally about to fall apart and the dealer offered you 2k sight unseen. Check the value of your car for trade-in and for private party sale. It's a huge difference because the dealers rape people on trade-ins.
Additionally, because dealers rake people over the coals on trade-ins there is substantially more wiggle room in negotiating a price. also, most makes now offer a certified pre-owned program providing you with a warranty that extends far beyond the car's original. That's assuming you buy from a stealership. With the CPO a stealership isn't such a horrendous deal, without CPO, you're far better off getting your mechanic to look at a perspective used car and paying a normal citizen for the vehicle. He'll get more than he would on trade-in, you get a better deal and everybody leaves happy.
I'm still undecided on the Accord coupe v6 mostly because of the cost of mods I'll incur post-purchase. Plus I've gotta wait for used ones to start popping up. Looking at used v. new, I've seen a few Infiniti g35s go for the high 20s and they come with Infiniti's obscenely generous CPO program. Honda's CPO seems okay but like the basic Honda warranty, it seems to be a tad skimpy.
1) Honda dealer gave me full "private party" price for a 99 Honda Accord trade in November. Learning point: one could get maximum trade-in on a brand that the dealer is selling.
2) Otherwise, trade-in is rock-bottom
3) Worst trade-in scenario: trading mainstream brand (like Honda) for a luxury brand (like Lexus or even Acura) because dealer carries only Lexus-up vehicles to maintain brand prestige. Luxury car dealer will always quote the Kelly wholesale price without even inspecting the "pedestrian" car. This is probably the case too for Hyundai-for-Honda trades, etc.
i'd have to disagree, i think the new coupe looks much swoopier than the old one. the old one looked too much like the sedan. imo, the new coupe is an improvment over the old one.
thus far living in san diego I see mostly teenage boys and old men driving the 03 accord coupe. of course in san diego, the civic, integra, accord coupes and IS300 are pretty much exclusively driven by teenage to college-age boys.
girls around here gravitate toward the bmw 3 series, jettas and suvs.
I guess I am one of the older drivers you folks are talking about (although my daughter also has an Accord (2000) Coupe. The lease was up on my Lexus ES300 this year and, after looking at a number of cars, I went with the Coupe. I am very happy with it. I don't think its an age thing, but certain drivers are attracted to certain types of cars, young or old. I have always liked sporty, powerful coupes, beginning with my dad's 65 Buick Riviera, a Chrysler 300, a 72 Pontiac Grand Prix, and other cars, but have recently had a series of sedans. It's nice to get back into a coupe, and the Accord is, IMO, good looking, fast, and very smooth, with lots of amenities.
P.S. Please feel free to ask more questions about 6 speed.
Test drove several cars last weekend and the 6-speed coupe was the best. Very good tall 6th gear about 30 miles per 1000 rpm; should easialy obtain EPA estimate of 30 mpg.
Drove a Mazda6S. It was good but the 5 spped is geared low and it was $25K without NAV and some other Honda standard items.
Has there been any talk from Honda that in the new 2004 model they would change the hinge type.
Also is there an email address that I would be able to send my question to.
Thank you for any input to this question.
Since I am in the process of narrowing my selection down I will have more questions after this.
But I am a little concerned about driving a brand new car on the freeway, while it's still in it's break in period. Our speed limits are 75 out here on the interstates. I don't know how good it is on the engine to drive 450 miles at 80 mph in the first 1000 miles. There are other non interstate routes (which are more scenic, anyway), where the speeds would be less. Paying the extra $400 for shipping might be worth it, if there's a chance of damaging the engine. Does anybody know what the break in guidelines are?
Good Luck,
MidCow