Honda Accord has achieved considerable success, especially in the
United States, where it was the best-selling
Japanese car for fifteen years (1982–97), topping its class in sales in 1991 and 2001, with around ten million
vehicles sold. Numerous road tests, past and present, rate the
Accord as one of the world's most reliable
vehicles.
 |
| Honda Accord 1996 |
Since its debut,
Honda has offered several different
car body styles and versions of the
Accord, and often
vehicles marketed under the
Accord nameplate concurrently in different regions differ quite substantially. It debuted in 1976 as a compact hatchback, though this style only lasted through 1981, as the line-up was expanded to include a
sedan,
coupé, and
wagon.
 |
| Honda Accord First Generation (1976) |
By the
Accord's sixth generation in the 1990s, it evolved into an intermediate
vehicle, with one basic platform but with different bodies and proportions to increase its competitiveness against its rivals in different international markets. For the current generation of the
Accord released for the North American market in 2008,
Honda has again chosen to move the model further up-scale and increase its size. This pushed the
Accord sedan from the upper limit of what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines as a mid-size
car to just above the lower limit of a full-size
car, with the coupe still rated as a
mid-size car.
