Spy photos of the 2008 Honda Accord just keep on coming. This time it looks like the V6 sedan given the dual exhaust pipes poking out from the rear fascia. The rest of the car has the same conservative shape as the other prototypes we've seen lately. What we can see of the interior shows nothing particularly ground breaking although the nav screen does appear to take up a considerable amount of real estate in the middle of the dash...
As some have said before it looks as if Honda targeted the 5 series for exterior design. Certainly not a bad thing as the car has to remain fairly conservative to cater to a broad audience. Smart move Honda but give us a bit more substance in the process.
The interior pic leaves me a bit curious, and the nav is no longer "intergrated" into the dash. So far I like the current Accord interior better as its much cleaner.
Seems like an improvement over the last Accords. But still Honda sticks with the boxy front end, which is very clunky looking to me - same ugly, Lego-style that is on the Excrement and the Ridgeline. I don't see the appeal. The back end is a downright clumsy mess. But the back end of the current Accords is a dreadful bore (well, the current Accord in general is probably one of the most boring sedans on the road right now) so anything is an improvement. All in all, a strange mix of curves and clumsy angles. I'm not sure where McHonda is going with this. Guess anythings better than the Acura version.
THis is most definitely not an improvement over the current car, this car is very much 5 series based but without any of the details that make the 5 series look expensive. The front end of this car looks hopelessly boring as do the wheel designs. This notion that the car "has" to be boring to maintain high sales is bogus, look at the Altima for proof. Same applies to the new Malibu, they didnt dumb it down just because its supposed to be a mainstream car.
I'm a bit surprised at the differing reactions between this and the coupe given that the styling language doesn't really differ dramatically. The coupe doesn't do much for me, and the sedan does even less. I agree that it looks like a 5-series rear end grafted on to a Sonata front, and as a package it strikes me a way too conservative. Hopefully Honda will offer the manual with V6 option and a shiftable automatic to at least make the car a good drive.
The devil is in the details—and as of yet, we haven't seen the details, as they are masked. So how anyone can give a definitive evaluation on the styling is beyond me. ...And besides, one man's poison is another's passion.
I'm starting to think that when all the masking tape comes off it will actually look rather nice. Honda is cleverly using tape that is the colour of the paint, thus throwing us off as it makes the shape look permanent.
After the last redesign of the Civic, I was surely expecting a better looking Accord than this. We'll see how the car magazines rate the car compared to others in its class. I had planned to get a '08 Accord.
BTW, my 2003 Accord's rotors have aways been fine.
I gotta say, it looks better than my 2006 Accord on the outside. I like the more squared off flanks as opposed to the angular look of the current model.
The real deal will be the driving dynamics. Can Honda maintain the same balance that is perfect for me (fun but still comfortable enough)? I hope so.
The Fusion was too hard...
The Camry was too soft...
But the Accord was JUST RIGHT. I hope it stays that way.
Good grief, the car in the picture has like 10 rolls of plastic tape on the rear end. How can you even tell what it looks like in order to make such a judgment?
Wait until you see the rear end without all the tape before making such an assessment. Perhaps then your opinion will have some credibility.
I dont know how many times Ive said this. Its NOT....the rotors that are the culprit its the pad material. Honda uses this (crappy) material for its quietness and low dust abilities. All you have to do is swap out the pads for something more of your tastes, drive the car about 500 miles to wipe off the old pad material from the rotors and you have much better braking and heat dissapation. Ive performed this on my wifes 05 Odyssey and my 03 CL-S and it worked wonders. Our other 2 vehicles have aftermarket braking components.
Come on people, how much more tape has to be removed for you guys to see what the car looks like? While this isnt the 100% production car we can get a VERY good idea of what the car looks like. Removing the tape from the grille and rear end isnt going to turn this into a new car. If you like what you see more power to you, but I think most agree this is a rather dull redesign. Honda execs were saying they upped the styling quotient due to the competitiveness of this segment but I just dont see it. Very boxy and bland and anyone who claims they cant "see" the car due to the tape isnt being honest.
I've been in the design field for well over 30 years. I know that details can make or break designs. I see no problems here with the basic body shape, but I want to see it fully uncovered before I say deal or no deal.
Actually, I see a lot of Audi A6 in the rear end, fairly bulbous but still tasteful. As has been said before, though, we'll see how the car looks when it has no tape.
As far as the interior goes, I'm sure we'll see more pics shortly.
"anyone who claims they cant "see" the car due to the tape isnt being honest."
I disagree completely... sure, you can discern the basic shape, but you absolutely can't see the details necessary to get the full impact of the design. Especially in the rear, since the taillights are almost completely hidden and they have a huge impact on the overall appearance there. rsholland is absolutely right about the details. Just because some of us don't feel that we can make a final call on the design based on these disguised test units doesn't make us dishonest.
And I agree with rsholland that I see no problems with the basic body shape. It may not be revolutionary, but it certainly evokes positive comparisons to many successful designs (5-series, previous and current gen Altima, current Passat, Audi) much more than to cars like the Sonata, IMO.
Actually the front looks fine, but the back look like a old Altima or Audi. Overall it looks better than the new Camry and the Altima. I was hoping for a enlarged Civic outside but without the Civic instrument inside.
I think this one is the second best looking Accord after the 1986 design. I also like the current Civic outside and the Odyssey in and out designs.
Tape or no tape, there are a lot if creases and bumps coming together in the rear of this car. Like plastic surgery, it'll be intersting to see how all those nips and tucks look when the bandages come off.
Digital speedo FTL? A digital speedometer makes worlds more sense than a digital one. Much more ergonomic, esp. given the large range of speed they have to cram in today's analog speedos.
disclaimer: I'm not saying you haven't, I'm just asking. And I'm not saying it is better, but being objective. Have you ever driven the new Civic? I have, and though it was just a test drive, I didn't find anything inherently wrong with the twin tier cluster. I realized within a minute after merging onto the highway, that checking my speed was much less of a "chore" for my eyes because it is so close to the windshield. The only possible negative I see with it is I think the tach is further away, or it just appears that way because the speedo is that much closer. Not good for watching your redline :-)
Even if everyone else hates it, I like it. True, it's not a BMW 5 Series. It's a Honda Accord! Way better than the previous versions since 2000 (IMO). Looks classy, somewhat aggressive, but yet conservative. Ok, boring for most people, but why does *every* car have to be progressive? There are actually many people out here who like this kind of low-key yet updated design. Sure beats the ugly/odd Camry design w/the bulbous nose and bangle rear-end. And it just looks "better quality" than the Altima (even though that is a nice car, no doubt). It is evident that Honda took design cues from other cars, but yet it still somehow looks like an Accord. I'm not seeing much Sonata in this like others. I just looked at it, and there are some vague similarities, but not much ... I don't get it.
As some have said before it looks as if Honda targeted the 5 series for exterior design. Certainly not a bad thing as the car has to remain fairly conservative to cater to a broad audience. Smart move Honda but give us a bit more substance in the process.
The interior pic leaves me a bit curious, and the nav is no longer "intergrated" into the dash. So far I like the current Accord interior better as its much cleaner.
The angle of the center stack looks unusually flat. Anyone else think so?
Interior looks MDX inspired.
I think people will miss the simple touch-screen interface if they take that away.
The front end looks more like the Hyundai Sonata which surprises me that Honda did this to the Accord.
Seems like an improvement over the last Accords. But still Honda sticks with the boxy front end, which is very clunky looking to me - same ugly, Lego-style that is on the Excrement and the Ridgeline. I don't see the appeal. The back end is a downright clumsy mess. But the back end of the current Accords is a dreadful bore (well, the current Accord in general is probably one of the most boring sedans on the road right now) so anything is an improvement. All in all, a strange mix of curves and clumsy angles. I'm not sure where McHonda is going with this. Guess anythings better than the Acura version.
THis is most definitely not an improvement over the current car, this car is very much 5 series based but without any of the details that make the 5 series look expensive. The front end of this car looks hopelessly boring as do the wheel designs. This notion that the car "has" to be boring to maintain high sales is bogus, look at the Altima for proof. Same applies to the new Malibu, they didnt dumb it down just because its supposed to be a mainstream car.
I'm a bit surprised at the differing reactions between this and the coupe given that the styling language doesn't really differ dramatically. The coupe doesn't do much for me, and the sedan does even less. I agree that it looks like a 5-series rear end grafted on to a Sonata front, and as a package it strikes me a way too conservative. Hopefully Honda will offer the manual with V6 option and a shiftable automatic to at least make the car a good drive.
The devil is in the details—and as of yet, we haven't seen the details, as they are masked. So how anyone can give a definitive evaluation on the styling is beyond me. ...And besides, one man's poison is another's passion.
Sorry for all the clichés, but they seemed to fit.
I'm starting to think that when all the masking tape comes off it will actually look rather nice. Honda is cleverly using tape that is the colour of the paint, thus throwing us off as it makes the shape look permanent.
What's the betting that this thing will warp it's rotors in under 15,000 miles?
After the last redesign of the Civic, I was surely expecting a better looking Accord than this. We'll see how the car magazines rate the car compared to others in its class. I had planned to get a '08 Accord.
BTW, my 2003 Accord's rotors have aways been fine.
Last I checked, there seem to be many Accords out there with good rotors and over 15,000 miles...
I gotta say, it looks better than my 2006 Accord on the outside. I like the more squared off flanks as opposed to the angular look of the current model.
The real deal will be the driving dynamics. Can Honda maintain the same balance that is perfect for me (fun but still comfortable enough)? I hope so.
The Fusion was too hard...
The Camry was too soft...
But the Accord was JUST RIGHT. I hope it stays that way.
"The back end is a downright clumsy mess."
Good grief, the car in the picture has like 10 rolls of plastic tape on the rear end. How can you even tell what it looks like in order to make such a judgment?
Wait until you see the rear end without all the tape before making such an assessment. Perhaps then your opinion will have some credibility.
I dont know how many times Ive said this. Its NOT....the rotors that are the culprit its the pad material. Honda uses this (crappy) material for its quietness and low dust abilities. All you have to do is swap out the pads for something more of your tastes, drive the car about 500 miles to wipe off the old pad material from the rotors and you have much better braking and heat dissapation. Ive performed this on my wifes 05 Odyssey and my 03 CL-S and it worked wonders. Our other 2 vehicles have aftermarket braking components.
I'm glad the interior doesn't have that stupid two-tier instrument cluster that the Civic has.
I think it looks very upscale and upstages the competition. What do you think the " black box" is on the dash?
Come on people, how much more tape has to be removed for you guys to see what the car looks like? While this isnt the 100% production car we can get a VERY good idea of what the car looks like. Removing the tape from the grille and rear end isnt going to turn this into a new car. If you like what you see more power to you, but I think most agree this is a rather dull redesign. Honda execs were saying they upped the styling quotient due to the competitiveness of this segment but I just dont see it. Very boxy and bland and anyone who claims they cant "see" the car due to the tape isnt being honest.
1487
I've been in the design field for well over 30 years. I know that details can make or break designs. I see no problems here with the basic body shape, but I want to see it fully uncovered before I say deal or no deal.
Actually, I see a lot of Audi A6 in the rear end, fairly bulbous but still tasteful. As has been said before, though, we'll see how the car looks when it has no tape.
As far as the interior goes, I'm sure we'll see more pics shortly.
"anyone who claims they cant "see" the car due to the tape isnt being honest."
I disagree completely... sure, you can discern the basic shape, but you absolutely can't see the details necessary to get the full impact of the design. Especially in the rear, since the taillights are almost completely hidden and they have a huge impact on the overall appearance there. rsholland is absolutely right about the details. Just because some of us don't feel that we can make a final call on the design based on these disguised test units doesn't make us dishonest.
And I agree with rsholland that I see no problems with the basic body shape. It may not be revolutionary, but it certainly evokes positive comparisons to many successful designs (5-series, previous and current gen Altima, current Passat, Audi) much more than to cars like the Sonata, IMO.
Actually the front looks fine, but the back look like a old Altima or Audi. Overall it looks better than the new Camry and the Altima. I was hoping for a enlarged Civic outside but without the Civic instrument inside.
I think this one is the second best looking Accord after the 1986 design. I also like the current Civic outside and the Odyssey in and out designs.
Tape or no tape, there are a lot if creases and bumps coming together in the rear of this car. Like plastic surgery, it'll be intersting to see how all those nips and tucks look when the bandages come off.
All I can say for now is thank goodness they didn't copy the Civic's hideous interior design. Two-tiered instrument cluster and digital speedo FTL.
Digital speedo FTL? A digital speedometer makes worlds more sense than a digital one. Much more ergonomic, esp. given the large range of speed they have to cram in today's analog speedos.
disclaimer: I'm not saying you haven't, I'm just asking. And I'm not saying it is better, but being objective. Have you ever driven the new Civic? I have, and though it was just a test drive, I didn't find anything inherently wrong with the twin tier cluster. I realized within a minute after merging onto the highway, that checking my speed was much less of a "chore" for my eyes because it is so close to the windshield. The only possible negative I see with it is I think the tach is further away, or it just appears that way because the speedo is that much closer. Not good for watching your redline :-)
Even if everyone else hates it, I like it. True, it's not a BMW 5 Series. It's a Honda Accord! Way better than the previous versions since 2000 (IMO). Looks classy, somewhat aggressive, but yet conservative. Ok, boring for most people, but why does *every* car have to be progressive? There are actually many people out here who like this kind of low-key yet updated design. Sure beats the ugly/odd Camry design w/the bulbous nose and bangle rear-end. And it just looks "better quality" than the Altima (even though that is a nice car, no doubt). It is evident that Honda took design cues from other cars, but yet it still somehow looks like an Accord. I'm not seeing much Sonata in this like others. I just looked at it, and there are some vague similarities, but not much ... I don't get it.