I agree. Chrysler seems to be on top of their domestic rivals, and now seems to have surprassed GM's mechanical quality (as well as Fords). They need a product to grab a hold of the public and to make them realize that import may not be the only way to go.

But...as for me...the Intrepid could do 200mph and I'll still be buying Honda.

 

They state some pretty intersting things in this review, some I havent read before.

They state that the DX will be sub 15k, thats one heck of a friggin bargain, even though its the stipper model, i cant think of another car that that price range that matches its power or quality, not to mention its size. The perfect Kia/Hyundai beater if you ask me.

Also, they said its the same 6-Speed as in CL-S! So what the first thing that pops up in my head, LSD! Well, a sentence later they state its lacking the LSD. Man, if Honda kills off the CL next year, then taking the LSD of the Accord coupe is pointless. I guess their willing to give the CL one last shot....... maybe.

 

So the Camry IS slow..around corners anyways.

 

Okay i keep looking at pics of the new Accord hoping to find an angle where the car looks good, but I can't. The front is ugly, but not that bad. Where are the foglights by the way? The side would like nice if the car didn't have such fender gap and hubcaps. The rear which looks like it was sliced off is the worst thing.

The interior is still nice but i am not to happy with the steering wheel design, but it works. I think a gated shifter would have been nice.

 

I don't think Honda will ever make foglamps standard.... dealer installed accessory as always. The steeringwheel is a take on BMW. I thnk it adds to the sportiness Honda is trying to show.

 

I'm guessing that the new Accord's design will probably grow on people. I know I hated the Gen 6 Accord, especially the weird rear end on the sedan and the angly coupe body lines, at first.

As for a gated shifter, the Accord is still a family sedan, regardless of it's intentions. A button lock is almost a requirement for this segment. Plus, considering the amount of sh*t both Honda and Toyota have taken on their "confusing, Mercedes-like shift patterns" from critics, it's not exactly something they're eager to put on every car.

 

Is Honda taking preorders for the new Accord yet? And if so what are the numbers? The Accord sold roughly 420K Accords last year. The Altima which i expected to sell around 150-200k is expected to sell 250k. I don't know what Toyota sells a year.

I just finished reading Automobile mag's 50 hottest new cars of 2003 and the 350Z placed #1, G35 coupe placed 7th, and the new Accord placed 18th.

The also did a smallish review of the car and while they didnt bash the car (Edmunds) they made fun of it slightly. For example they made fun of the looks and handling.

My grandma is looking for a new car since her Buick park avenue is on its last leg. I told her Honda has a new Accord and Nissan has a new Altima. She first asked what is an Altima. I showed her pics of both cars, but covered up the Nissan and Honda symbols, and she said she like the Honda better because it looked way better then the Nissan.

I said what? She then pointed to the Altima and said " you see that Honda is nice looking........the other car looks like it is smiling." I told he which was which and she said "Oh"

 

Edmunds seems to really have fallen in love with their Longterm Altima, and I partially can't blame them (although the interior could be of higher quality).

However, I don't think they've had a serious test drive of the 2003 Accord yet, and they have no reason to be mocking it. Their credibility takes a hit when they do something so unprofessional like so.

 

I agree the rear isn't the selling point of the car, but then again the selling point of the car doesn't deal with styling alone. Plus, if you're going to mention ugly rear ends, you can't leave out the Maxima. And even the Altima's rear isn't too much different that John Tesh's. Anyway, I think it's the whole package the sells the Accord, and the Camry, for that matter. Where as with the Altima it has power and looks, the Accord has everything but (what many people think about the Altima) as "sporty" styling. The Accord or Camry leans neither way with the styling. If this is going to be completely opinionated, the Altima doesn't look that sporty to me. It looks cheap and unrefined. Most likely because it is cheap. Before you make a post to indirectly advocate for Nissan and their engines, you really ought to go to Nissan boards. People with the new 2.5's in the SE-R's and Altimas seem to have much trouble with those engines burning oil (among other things). It's acceptable in a few cars here and there (older Peugeots?), but this seems to be a major problem. Only a few cars here and there with that 2.5 engine do not have the problem. This could leave to shorten engine life. Why buy a used 2.5 Altima when the average buyer doesn't know about this problem? And what is with the 3.5 with it's low mileage? If it makes a lot of power while guzzling gas, how is it a good car to commute in? The "Future of the Accord" will be what it has been for years now: promising. For the same reasons the past few generations have been. How wise is it to post something awful about cars that the board is based upon? I respect your opinion, but my advice is this: if you want to post something bad about a new car, you don't post it where everybody else on the board will shoot it down. Maybe that's what you want though, attention.

 

Amen to that. I had a feeling Nissan would be having trouble with their 2.5 liter I-4's. They haven't pegged a great engine since the VQ.