Manufacturers typically don’t try out drastic changes with their bread-and-butter car lines. Honda has taken risk aversion to a new level recently though. When the “all-new” Civic debuted, it didn’t look that way to most observers. Neither did the CR-V crossover. Both cars stayed remarkably the same; many people we’ve talked to can’t even spot the differences unless they are side-by-side.
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01-2013-honda-accord-coupe-concept-623x415.jpg [ 49.59 KiB | Viewed 651 times ]
Now it’s the Accords turn. A new generation of the Accord is coming, and the Coupe has been previewed at the North American International Auto Show. There has been some nice renderings we’ve seen showing what the car could look like. Apparently, those are all purely speculation, and the Accord will be following Honda’s recent offerings in keeping change to a minimum. At least for the coupe variant – we haven’t seen the sedan yet.
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02-2013-honda-accord-coupe-concept-623x415.jpg [ 45.53 KiB | Viewed 842 times ]
These recent introductions from Honda were developed during the industry’s sales collapse, and Honda cut back on research and development during that time. Man does it show versus the competition. The Honda Accord Coupe Concept (in name only; this is production-ready) doesn’t bring much new to the table. It sticks to the existing formula, going for tweaks around the edges.
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03-2013-honda-accord-coupe-concept-623x415.jpg [ 47.94 KiB | Viewed 569 times ]
Up front there are new headlights and a hideous-looking fog light setup. Out back, the taillights and lower rear fascia are redesigned. Save for the fog lights, which won’t make it to production (what were the guys at design thinking?) it definitely isn’t a bad looking design. That’s because fundamentally the current Accord Coupe is good looking, and they didn’t do anything radical to change that. It just isn’t very engaging, and the rest of the segment is becoming that way. Besides, we think the current Accord Coupe looks better, and that’s never a good sign for a new product.
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10-2013-honda-accord-coupe-concept-623x415.jpg [ 54.23 KiB | Viewed 571 times ]
Bigger news is under the hood, where the “Earth Dreams” 2.4-liter four-cylinder will debut. It features direct injection and produces 181 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque. Curiously, it will be paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) to improve fuel economy. The V-6 engine option will continue and see a bump in horsepower. The Accord Coupe will be one of the few remaining mid-size coupes on the market.
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11-2013-honda-accord-coupe-concept-623x415.jpg [ 48.4 KiB | Viewed 622 times ]
The Accord’s technology package will be significantly upgraded, featuring a LaneWatch for blind sopt monitoring along with Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Forward Crash Warning (FCW) systems. These technologies will help the Accord keep pace with the rest of the segment. In the press release, Honda mentions the 2013 Accord sedan will have a smaller footprint than the existing car. Hopefully that means we are in for more engaging design than the current sedan. Given what we’ve seen recently from Honda though, we wouldn’t hold our breath.
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13-2013-honda-accord-coupe-concept-623x415.jpg [ 45.5 KiB | Viewed 573 times ]
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:09 pm
