Back when I first became interested in cars, the second-generation Honda Accord was one of the hottest products on the market. People liked it because it was thoughtfully designed, well-assembled, agile, and compact. What it was not: fast or roomy. Owners looked down on Detroit iron as unnecessarily large and wasteful.
For 2008, Honda has introduced an eighth generation Accord. And it’s huge, a little larger even than Acura’s RL flagship. Compared to the 1983 Honda Accord, the 2008 has nearly 14 inches more wheelbase, over 20 inches more length (for a total of 194.1!), nearly eight inches more width, and four inches more height. Curb weight is up by over 1,000 pounds for the four-cylinder, and by over 1,400 for the V6. The latter weighs over 3,600 pounds. These are all HUGE differences. Even today’s Civic is significantly larger than that old Accord. More pointedly, the Accord is now much larger and heavier than most of Detroit’s midsizers were back in 1983.
Engine output has grown even faster than the car’s size. Back in 1983, the sole engine was a 1.7-liter four good for just 75 horsepower. For 2008, engines range from a 177-horsepower 2.4-liter four to a 268-horsepower 3.5-liter V6. The latter is nearly four times as powerful as the 1983’s engine.
Back in 1983, Honda loyalists saw Detroit’s V6s and V8s as unnecessarily large and powerful. Now we have an Accord that seems to confirm that Detroit was right all along: bigger and more powerful is better.
Is this as large and powerful as the Accord will get? Or can we expect a two-ton, 200-inch-long Honda sedan in the future? Even the size of the 2008 boggles my mind, since I still vividly recall the compact, finely detailed 1983 car.
“Compared to the 2003 Honda Accord, the 2008 has nearly 14 inches more wheelbase, over 20 inches more length (for a total of 194.1!), nearly eight inches more width, and four inches more height.”
I think you mean “Compared to the 1983 Honda Accord”, right?
Ouch. Fixed that.
Bigger may not always be better, but in some instances it may be necessary. It is true that today’s cars have put on poundage due to increasing size (and that size is to a large degree due to the increasing size of American drivers.)
I was VERY comfortable driving my 1984 Honda Accord back then…but it was very stripped down in terms of creature comforts, and frankly, not the epitome of reliability that one might like to fondly recall.
I am unfortunately older and larger in 2007, and would be cramped and uncomfortable in that 1984 Accord now. Nor would it meet my expectations for performance, safety, reliability, space, and creature comforts at this point in my life.
Even more important, though, is what is really driving the size and weight of today’s cars; all the little acronyms:
SEFI/TDI/FSI/VVT/VVL/SMG/CRD/SRS/ABS/ASR/EDL/ESP/
EBD/AFS/TPMS..etc, etc.
All these tiny three and four letter acronyms add significant performance or safety or both. They also add the hidden costs of weight, and decreased fuel efficiency. When you add the complex engineering and crush space required to meet today’s safety “expectations”–is it any wonder that the average midsize sedan is pushing 3400-3600 pounds?
We may not have seen huge increases in fuel economy in comparable cars in the intervening 23-24 years, but the sheer fact that we have added so many devices to our vehicles (which consume energy and add weight and size,) yet still see these vehicles maintaining MPG ratings in the mid 20’s to low 30’s is extraordinary.
I really think we are living in the “golden age” of the internal combustion automobile. But the costs of fuel and resources will dictate future vehicles requiring even greater packaging efficiency while maintaining the performance, safety, and internal size requirements of the average American family.
Engineering loves a challenge! I can’t wait to see what’s next…
Cars have gotten bigger as we have gotten bigger and as we have begun to expect more features and safety. You could have just as easily written about the latest Civic. That thing is wider than my 1997 900 S which I remember was part of a mid-sized road test comparison in 1994 or 1995.
I still think there’s a market for a simple vehicle that remains light and fun to drive and has few luxuries besides pwr windows/locks, a basic stereo. I would think of it as a Lotus Elise-like lower midsize sedan. Maybe it would be like a Loremo with out the wacky canopy entry and larger in size and weight.
Atul
I wonder, depending of the economic context, when the next-gen Accord released for 2013-14 will be even more bigger, close to the former B-body Caprice/Impala? Sometimes I’m tempted to said then Honda practice the old twist of “Do As I said, Not as I do” like Michael Moore and Barbara Straisand but I think it can be a little bit too far to comparate