Autofair has one listed on their web site

http://honda.autofair.com/index.cfm?...nventorySearch

for $26,360 -- which is msrp. Compare this to $3,000 discounts on all other v6 Accords

 

He was being sarcastic. Read my 'Wanna see somethin funny?' thread.

 

Damn the guy that wrote that article was bleeding bias so heavily it was almost overwhelming...

The V6 Accord is not quicker than the G35... heck, it's not even quicker than the V6 Altima or Maxima if they are equipped with manual transmissions like the Accord was.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a very fast car considering what class it's in... but the reviewer tried to make it sound like Honda now has the crown. I disagree.

Furthermore he praises the Accord's low road noise. WTH? I'm an absolute road noise freak. I actually own a decible meter that I bought strictly for the purpose of measuring road noise in various cars. My the new 03 Accord is about 0.5-0.7 dB quieter than the previous generation, which is a significant improvement... but it's still not all that quiet. The only car nosier is the Altima... everything else in that class with the exception of possibly the Grand Prix is quieter.

I have only ridden in 2 03 Accords to date and they also both had 1-2 very loud annoying rattles. Maybe it's just 1st year bugs like most cars have, but I hope it's not representative of a decline in quality for Honda.

Anyhow, I think this is a horrible review because he starts off bashing the Camry for being too quiet and floaty... yet then later on we go on to see him praise the Accord for being quiet, and later learn that the majority of the competition is able to outhandle the new Accord as well. Not to mention the Camry brakes very well. So the Camry is slower... true, but next year they're going to be fixing that when they release the new 3.3L V6 w/ 250+ horsepower.

Don't get me wrong... I love the new Accord. My g/f has a 99 EX that's pretty nice beside a rough idle and some interior quality issues (rattles). I even convinced a good friend of mine to buy one. But I just think this review basically decided before hand that he prefered the Accord, and then tried to write review around that hypothesis. A real car review should be written without any predetermined bias or winners, and let the stats and combined subjective opinions of several people find the true champion.

I think Motor Trend did a much better job of this with their recent review of the Camry, Accord, and Altima. And yes they came out with the Accord in first place... but if you look at their reasoning, it's much more objective and balanced.

 

You're in Bedford too? :eh:

 

where did you hear about the engine change (and that much hp for a camry?)

 

It was posted in N&R a few months ago jaje. You even posted in it. :slap: Do a search.

The changes come to the SE package.

 

Well it's been common knowledge really... I've seen mentions of it at Edmunds.com , in Motor Trend magazine, on several other car forums, and the if all of that wasn't proof enough, if you understand how Toyota works at all as a company, just look at the new 100% confirmed RX330 that was just released to the public this month.

The RX330 is built entirely on the ES300 (er, should I say ES330 in 2 more months, which is also common knowledge) platform which is built entirely on the Camry platform.

The RX300\330 is basically a Camry that's been lifted and given a whole bunch of toys, nicer interior trimmings (leather, wood, etc), and better anti-NHV (noise harshness and vibration) measures.

Granted the valve timing, compression, upper intake, and exhaust valving is improved on the RX300 so it puts out a bit more power than the V6 Camry... but none-the-less, it's still the same exact motor and tranny.

Logical deduction would also point to a 5-speed automatic also coming out at the same time since it will also be featured on the RX330 and ES330.

And I've also heard rumors of a 6-speed manual available on the SE model only, but haven't heard that from as valid of sources.

The V6's upgraded displacement and revamped engineering will be featured on all V6 models, not just the SE.

 

http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/Cont...l=969048871196

Six-speed Accord proves itself a gem

Takes on Acura CL and wins handily

LAURANCE YAP
PREVIEW

PHOENIX, ARIZ.—My initial reaction to fly all the way to Phoenix and drive the new six-speed Accord Coupe was, well, what's the point? We've already driven the Accord extensively in these pages. Agreed, the Accord Coupe EX V-6 six-speed is a variation on the theme we haven't driven before and it's the only one that's not yet on sale (though it will be April 1 at $33,600).

However, big 17-inch wheels and performance tires aside, it shares the Accord's familiar all-wishbone suspension, its quick and precise steering rack and its powerful, smooth and economical 240-horse, 3.0-litre V6. Does the new transmission really a new car make?

Surprisingly, the answer is a guarded "yes." Though the six-speed doesn't transform the front-drive, nose-heavy Accord into anything approaching a true sports-performance coupe in the 3 Series BMW idiom (for which it would need to be smaller, more densely packed and have its rear wheels, not its fronts, driven), the new transmission does take a very competent and luxurious two-door and elevate it to another, more serious plane.

It's an important extra that, interestingly enough, takes the fight to none other than Acura's $8,000-more-expensive 3.2CL Type S, previously the Honda stable's top front-drive performer.

I guess this shouldn't be too much of a surprise, as the current CL, which is due to be replaced in a year or so, is based on a lengthened and widened version of the previous-generation Accord platform, while the new Accord is, well, the new Accord, with all of the advances and refinements that you would expect of one of the world's most fastidious car companies.

From the most general impressions right down to the smallest details, the new Accord has the CL soundly thrashed.

Not least in the area of style, where the new coupe's pointy nose, convex-turning-to-concave surfaces and Mercedes-like bubble butt cut a definitively more distinctive (and to my eyes, more attractive) figure than the CL's rather anonymous, rectilinear lines.

With double spokes and bigger openings, the similarly-sized wheels (the tires are of a lower aspect ratio) better fill out their arches, the twin exhausts have a more finished, aftermarket look to them, and even details like the door handles and badges are simply more refined, more elegant, than the older car's.

What comes as a bigger surprise is that the Honda's interior is also the superior place to be. The new Accord's front seats are simply among the best in the business, with thick side bolsters and just-right lumbar support; the rears are more hospitable thanks to a taller roofline.

Shoulder and leg room are about the same, and the sunroof intrudes less into head space. The shapes are more modern and stylish, too, the Accord featuring a shield-shaped console with a big screen and instrument panel with electroluminescent lighting, which fades slowly in as you open the door. Beside it, the CL's graphics and shapes already feel a generation old.

Equipment levels are on par with the Acura, too, with a six-disc in-dash CD changer and premium sound system (though there are no Bose speakers), glass moonroof, leather upholstery, automatic dual-zone climate control (the Acura only has one zone), heated seats and the requisite array of power assists.

Material quality and build integrity are also a step up from the more expensive car, with many panel gaps now down to near-zero, and finishes that feel and look more expensive than those in many so-called luxury cars.

With about 200 cc less displacement and 20 fewer horses compared to the CL's V6, you would expect the Accord's VTEC motor — running on regular rather than premium fuel, remember — to feel less energetic, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Perhaps because it's hauling around less car, perhaps because of the Honda's excellent aerodynamic efficiency, the new coupe spears down the road with surprising vigour.

Ultimately, the Accord takes a bit of a hit in the handling department, mostly because it isn't fitted with the same expensive helical limited-slip differential that makes the CL such an involving drive. But when you're not pushing as hard as an auto journalist out to prove his point (ill-advised, especially when you're the journalist), you're not likely to feel much difference.

It's only in truly tight corners and with truly big doses of throttle that the front tires start to wash into an understeer that never manifests itself in the CL, the ride-biased Michelins squealing like little tortured pigs. (Non sequitur: have you ever seen a pig go around a muddy corner too fast? If not, you don't yet know the true meaning of understeer.)

High-g lateral moves are largely beside the point anyway because, despite what Honda would like you to believe, neither the CL Type S nor the new Accord Coupe are true performance machines; they're about cruising around in complete comfort, looking good while pampering yourself with all the latest toys, enjoying the occasional burst of VTEC joy and, most important, dusting uppity Civic Si coupes from stoplights.

Looked at this way, there's little, other than the slight entertainment advantage that helical diff might gain you around the occasional on-ramp romp, to justify the CL's extra cost, especially given that it's near the end of its life just as the fresher, faster, better-looking Accord is just at the beginning of its own.

Automotive ageism is a terrible thing. Less than a year ago I was singing the praises of that very CL which, until now, was the coolest front-drive coupe on the block. With the advent of this new Accord, though, I'm as bad as any other guy going through a quarter-life crisis, ready to trade up at a moment's notice to something younger, smaller, faster and better-looking.

Well, you know. The more things change...

 

Yeah if you look at the chassis and overall dynamics, the 03 Accord is arguably a nicer car than the 03 CL/TL... and almost certainly a better value.

Then again the 03 CL/TL is based off the 98-02 Accord. In 04 the CL/TL will be based off the 03+ Accord.

So it's just the steady progression of things... this is the inbetween year where the Accord has a big advantage.

BTW, are you sure that the '03 6-speed EX V6 Coupe isn't available to the public until after tommorow? I'm nearly positive that I've been seeing them for several months now. I know they are rare, but don't think they were completely unavailable? Not sure on that one though...

One good point I do think he made, though, is the 03 Accord's panel gaps and interior tolerances. It's a beautiful thing. My friend's 03 DX is night & day more tightly assembled than my g/f's 99 EX. Although this doesn't seem to get rid of any more rattles. I think lower gap tolerances might actually make some types of rattles MORE prone to happen since they have less room to move around before they start tapping the panels next to them

 

That's rather obvious, as it's been out since February. The guy who wrote it appears to be fairly uninformed or misinformed.