First look: Honda concept helps sharpens Accord look
BY NEIL MCDONALD | 9th Jan 2007
The Accord is Honda's best-selling model in North America and the debut of the car at the Detroit motor show marks the first time that an Accord concept vehicle has ever been shown at a major car show.
Visually the coupe concept conveys a powerful stance through its long bonnet, deeply sculpted lower body and fastback roofline.
A six-sided grille and projector headlamps that recess deep into the front fenders contribute to an unmistakable and aggressive front treatment.
Quad exhausts are integrated into the rear diffuser to further convey performance and style beyond any Accord to date.
Honda's senior vice president of American Honda, John Mendel, confirmed that the concept "demonstrates the styling direction for the upcoming, eighth-generation Accord".
Specific details were scares but the car will feature a more powerful and lower-emissions i-VTEC V6 engine that will provide better economy with the incorporation of Honda's next-generation variable cylinder management (VCM) technology.
Honda leads the US industry with the highest Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rating for North America.
As part of Honda’s "Safety for Everyone" initiative, all next-generation Accord models will include the company’s advanced compatibility engineering (ACE) body structure.
ACE incorporates a front-end frame structure that helps absorb and disperse crash energy over a large area in a frontal impact. It also makes the vehicle more crash compatible in frontal impacts with vehicles of differing ride heights.
The current generations of the Odyssey, Civic and CR-V all have the ACE structure.
Together, the ACE-equipped vehicles represent more than 50 per cent of all 2007 Honda vehicles sold on a sales-weighted basis.
With the addition of the next-generation Accord to the lineup of vehicles with ACE, more than 75 per cent will be equipped with the technology on a sales-weighted basis after it goes on sale.