Honda Accord 2009 News

Only a fraction of the 1.2 million cars on Australia roads with airbags that can spray shrapnel have been fixed, new figures show.

The Honda Accord Hybrid sedan marks a turning point for the Japanese company; it's the company's first all-new hybrid system in 16 years.Toyota has sold almost 10 times as many hybrid cars as Honda globally but the company hopes to close that gap with a series of all-new petrol-electric cars.The Honda Accord Hybrid has lithium-ion battery technology (for longer petrol-free driving range) and two electric motors (mounted back to back) which are connected to an Atkinson cycle engine (similar to that used by Toyota) for new levels of fuel efficiency.Unlike earlier Honda hybrids, the new setup will allow the car to use electric power alone up to cruising speeds, when conditions are ideal, before switching to petrol.The Accord Hybrid sips just 4.2L/100kmEarlier Honda hybrids used the electric motor only to boost the petrol engine once it was already on the move.Based on overseas fuel economy figures, the Accord Hybrid sips just 4.2L/100km, making it more frugal than the Toyota Camry Hybrid.Honda is yet to release pricing but it is expected to start from less than $40,000.As with the top-end versions of the current Accord, the Hybrid will be available with a blind-zone camera, which shows in the central display screen an image of the left side of the car in turns or when changing lanes.Meanwhile, the Honda NSX will be powered by a twin-turbo V6 matched to another version of the company's new hybrid technology (including a lithium-ion battery), and a nine-speed twin-clutch automatic. Power and performance figures are yet to be released.Honda Australia is yet to confirm its allocation of NSX supercars, which are due to go into production in the US (rather than Japan) this year."We are still aiming for 2016, hopefully some time in the middle of 2016," says Honda Australia director Stephen Collins. And the price? "I can honestly say thatI have no idea where it will end up," Collins says.In the US, the NSX is tipped to cost about $150,000 plus taxes and delivery charges. But it will probably exceed $200,000 here.The original NSX went on sale in Australia in 1991 for $160,000, rising to $220,000 in 1995 then $256,000 when it was discontinued in 2005. About 160 examples were sold here from a global production run of 18,685.Honda Australia says that only a handful of its national network of 107 dealers will sell and service the NSX.

First pictures of the new Accord from the USA show a car that's got a punchier front end and surprising curves and sculpting on the sides. The four-door sedan is a major departure from the boring looks of the previous car, which looked more suitable for Homer Simpson than Ralph Lauren. Honda has again readied the four-door family Accord alongside a wedgier coupe, although the two-door is not coming to Australia. The new Accord is a definite for 2013 and will continue Honda Australia's two-car policy, running alongside the smaller and more driver-friendly Accord Euro. It will get updated engines, with more efficiency promised for both the four-cylinder and V6. Details of the Accord plan are coming together, but Honda Australia is being deliberately evasive on the details - especially on prices and the model lineup - because the cars are still a fair way into the future. It is trying, unsuccessfully, to build some suspense despite the level of detail that's already available from the USA. "We will launch the Accord in Australia in mid-2013 with the same engine line-up as we currently have," confirms Honda spokesperson, Melissa Cross. "Regards images of the U.S. model, there will be some styling similarities between this car and the car we launch here. There will be no Accord coupe in Australia, this car is designed specifically for the U.S market." Although she will not reveal any timing for the next Accord Euro, she does confirm a continuation of the two-car attack. "We will be selling both the Accord and Accord Euro in Australia," Cross says. And what about the design, which is such a major departure from the Toyota Camry-style blandoid efforts of the past? "Design for the Accord is a collaboration between all the major markets that sell the vehicle. This is coordinated through and by Honda R&D at Tochigi," says Cross. She is not discussing mechanical details, but the new Accord points - on the design front - to an even more adventurous Accord Euro and a boost for efficiency and comfort. The overall dimensions have shrunk slightly but the cabin dimensions are largely unchanged. In the USA, the 2.4-litre four gets direct fuel injection and a continuously-variable transmission, the V6 has also been tweaked, and the hybrid attack will become all-wheel drive with a 2-litre four. Carsguide drove the hybrid prototype in Japan last year and it feeds conventional petrol power through the nose, with electric drive to the rear wheels.  Honda says the production plug-in will run for 23k kilometres on its batteries alone. On the safety front, the new Accord gets lane-departure warning as well as a front-collision alert system that uses stereo cameras in the windscreen similar to the Eyesight system already available from Subaru in Australia.  

Heralded by the sleekly styled coupe concept that was revealed at Detroit motor show in January, the new Accord design has been streamlined and updated, and now sits closer to the Accord Euro standard in a more premium look. Honda says the sedan will have a slightly more compact exterior with improved packaging meaning no loss of interior space. The Japanese carmaker is also talking about better engines, with the current 3.5-litre V6 revised to offer better performance and economy – helped by a deactiviation system that shuts down some cylinders when under light load – paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. For overseas markets, the base model 2.4 litre four-cylinder engine has been ditched in favour of a new  2.4-litre direct-injection one, mated to a new fuel miser continuously-variable transmission (CVT) that Honda claims will offer class-leading economy. The sedan range overseas will get a new all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid electric-petrol version that can toggle between three modes: electric, hybrid and petrol only. Honda says the plug-in will get up to 23km range in electric-only mode, relying on a 120kW motor and 6kWh lithium-ion battery with a recharge time claimed to be less than 90 minutes on domestic voltage. In hybrid mode the electric system is joined by the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, which takes over full duties at high speeds. New technology includes lane departure and front collision warning systems with monitoring from a windscreen-mounted camera. The sedan will arrive here early next year, with local specification and prices revealed closer to launch.  

In the absence of exciting new product, leaner and meaner sub-$30,000 pricing on the Honda Accord and price cuts to the City light car are the latest salvos fired by the Japanese car maker to turn around its sales figures. Honda's "aggressive" new Accord pricing aims to further improve the model's value for money, according to director and general manager Stephen Collins. "This new pricing on the Accord range is further evidence of Honda Australia's commitment to provide our customers with outstanding product at value for money pricing. "We are sure our customers will agree the Accord now offers one of the best-value buys in the large segment," he says.  Given the Japanese brand finished 2011 just over 25 per cent down on its 2010 tally (after being thumped by earthquakes, tsunami and nuclear reactor issues in Japan and floods in Thailand), the beancounters will be looking to get volumes back to pre-disaster levels. April's performance showed growth over April 2011 but the numbers year-to-date remain behind 2011. The 133kW/226Nm 2.4-litre four-cylinder entry-level Accord VTi has dropped $4300 to a list price of $28,190 - or $29,990 drive-away. The VTi-L with satellite navigation has been dropped $2800 from $39,990 to $37,190 and the 202kW/342Nm V6 Luxury model has been reduced by $2700 to $47,290. The Accord V6 is equipped with Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) that allows the engine to operate on either six, four or three cylinders for maximum fuel and emission efficiency. The City light car has also had its price cut - by $500 - as part of a facelift and features upgrade. Mr Collins says the $19,990 drive-away pricetag makes the City "sensational value for money." "Australians will love the look of the new-look City," he says. The City, offered in VTi and VTi-L variants, has a new grille and redesigned brake lights and bumpers, aluminium-look interior trim bits and a new rear micro antenna. The VTi-L gets a new design for the new-look 16in alloy wheels. The dash has also been refreshed - the speedometer now has blue illumination - and the City also has thicker window glass and floor carpet to reduce cabin noise, claims Honda. On the floor significantly improve cabin quietness.  The City VTi manual is priced from $18,490  (or $19,990 drive-away), add $2000 for the auto or step up to the VTi-L automatic for $22,990.  

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia. But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show.Take off the 20-inch rims that neatly fill out the guards and the chrome-surrounded fog lights and the concept car is production ready.And the improved styling will be backed - at least in the US - by more powerful and fuel-efficient engines. The 3.5-litre V6 is retained but has been overhauled with Honda's latest technology, including cylinder deactivation, and is mated to a new six-speed automatic transmission.The base 2.4 litre four-cylinder engine has been replaced by an "Earth Dreams" 2.4-litre direct injection unit that produces 135kW/240Nm and is paired with a new continuously variable transmission to achieve what Honda says will be class-leading fuel economy.A new two-motor plug-in hybrid system is reserved for the Accord sedan. The system operates in three modes - electric, hybrid and petrol only - to maximize efficiency.In electric mode, the Accord plug-in hybrid will use a 6kWh lithium-ion battery and a 120kW electric motor to drive up to 23km in town and Honda says the recharge time will be less than an hour and a half using a 240-volt charger.In hybrid mode, the Accord is powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder , i-VTEC inline four-cylinder, Atkinson cycle engine, while at high speed the system will switch to petrol only mode. Drive in all modes is through the front wheels.Honda says the Accord will launch in late 2012 in the US and is expected to show the more compact sedan at the New York Motor Show. The sedan is claimed to have the same interior space with a more compact exterior to save weight and improve driving dynmics.The Accord will also be the first to be fitted with Honda's lane departure and forward crash warning systems. Both use a camera mounted behind the windscreen to alert drivers if the car is moving out of its lane or approaching a car too quickly.

Mazda was the first to move, cutting prices by $930 to $2000 in October, and now Honda has joined the push with savings of $1500 to $3000.  Cars to take a cut include the go-fast Civic Type R, Accord Euro and Odyssey.The bad news for Honda buyers is that models built in Thailand - the CR-V, Accord, Civic and Jazz - hold the price line because of a free- trade agreement.  Even so, Honda has found space to trim the sticker of the Thai-built City four-door, which now has a starting price of $19,490.The new Honda pricelist comes into effect on today.

Amazing Honda Accord chain reaction commercial using Accord car parts.

Taste is entirely subjective. But some things transcend subjectivity and become absolute.There cannot, for example, be any argument that Alfa Romeos are a blessing to the eye. Nor can there be any doubt that Saabs are the preserve of the clueless. These are givens.So it is with faux woodgrain. It’s ghastly. Vile. It always looks exactly what it is, never what it’s supposed to.A pretend tree around the dashboard doesn’t make you look like a wannabe enviro-vandal who delights in nothing so much as denuding virgin rainforest. If only it did. No, it makes you look someone who can’t afford a car with the real thing.Wood is of the essence in the glorious land yachts of Rolls-Royce, the next best thing devices of Bentley and the better models from that up and coming Indian marque, Jaguar. For a start it’s wood. It belongs.Faux wood belongs nowhere. It doesn’t confer the aspired to sense of opulence and affluence. Trimming up an interior with the fake stuff is like wearing a red bowtie with a dinner suit.I’m looking at an example right now. It’s in an ad for a used BMW 320d, a car that is – pound for pound, buck for buck – the best 3 Series. I’m a big fan. One day, the GFC and other man-made disasters notwithstanding, I’d like one.But not this one. Not even at the just north of obtainable price of this low-kilometre 2006 example. Not even as a gift.It’s not because the MY2008 has the upgraded engine, it’s mainly because a near perfect sporty diesel sedan has been vandalised with bloody hideous faux woodgrain trim.In the Bimmer’s greyly sombre, somewhat spartan cabin (which I happen to like) this stuff sticks out like a dunny in the desert. Possibly someone will find it in themselves to ignore this grave defect, though this would require all the discernment of a Kath or a Kim.Audi has applied restraint with the natural finish of the ash inserts in the Q5 – a miracle: wood that looks and feels like wood.But usually the application of dead tree is a criminal misjudgement. On that charge sheet you can include the orange-lacquered kitchen laminate that abominates the Toyota Tarago.In the first generation Euro Accord Luxury, Honda perpetrated the worst example of recent times, with a sick-making blue (yes, blue) faux woodgrain. For a mercy, they soon deleted this option.Now, how to make all carmakers follow suit?

More than 50 Euro owners have reported the combustion problem, which Honda Australia describes as a 'post-combustion detonation sound'. Honda brought an engineering team from Japan to study and resolve the problem, which was also reported in a handful of cars in the USA. It only affects the Euro with 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine. "A counter measure has been developed. We will receive it at the end of this month and will be contacting customers to recify their vehicles," says Honda Australia's spokesman, Mark Higgins. "It's a handful of cars. We've sold 9000 or 10,000 Euros in the past year and it's around 60 vehicles maximum." He says Honda is taking the problem very seriously. "Honda R&D people came out from Japan. We had a team of engineers here for about two weeks," he says. Higgins is not aware of the specific changes to solve the problem but believes it is an electronic counter-measure. "We're not sure if it's a specification specific. We don't know what the issue is, as yet," he says. "But the good news is that we had an issue, and there is a counter- measure. It's an electronic or ECU issue, not a mechanical issue. "The other thing to remember ... is that this is doing no harm whatsoever to the engine. We guarantee the engine will have no ill effects. It has also had no effect on performance or the fuel economy."