Dan Trent writes from the Honda Accord launch in Austria:
First Citroen, now Honda: it seems no car manufacturer can resist the temptation to state its number one goal as beating the German competition. And while it’s impossible to avoid the Teutonic stranglehold on the Accord’s market sector it seems a pity proud firms like Honda feel it necessary to say things like the new car has ‘involving chassis dynamics benchmarked against BMW 3 Series.’
Why? If I want a car that rides like a 3 Series … I’ll buy a 3 Series. And if I choose a Honda – and all the engineering pedigree that represents – I want it to drive like a Honda, not a wannabe BMW. But the design team behind the Accord are blatant in their attempts to ape the European competition, saying ‘when a premium German brand has a full model change they always retain consistency. They apply an evolutionary approach – not revolutionary.’ They then go on to say ‘it is important for Honda to develop a stronger brand image.’ Exactly! But not by trying to out German the Germans.
Still, for my money, and despite the claims, Honda has actually managed to make the Accord more distinctive, and more distinctively Japanese with it, albeit with a slight transatlantic twist. Which comes as no surprise, given that the US market is a very important one for the Accord. It’s not what you’d call pretty, but it definitely has more presence than the outgoing model. Honda should be proud to be making Hondas, and the Accord is certainly a worthy contender.
Dan
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