Spy Shots: 2008 Honda Accord Coupe pics complete the circle
Click on the photo for a gallery of the Accord Coupe Concept
The 2008 Honda Accord sedan has been out and about fairly regularly in the past few weeks with several lightly covered examples having been photographed. Until now, none of these were accompanied by the coupe version, but that too has changed. Comparing the production coupe to the concept that Honda unveiled in January at the Detroit Auto Show shows how much of the concept was production ready. In fact, the bulk of the details, including the side character line, headlights and green house are straight off the concept. The only noticeable difference is the lower front grille opening which loses the horizontal slats in favor of a wide-open mouth.[Source: AutoWeek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Aetius 5:36PM (5/22/2007)
Is that a Tiburon with Camry headlights?
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fatty 1:13PM (5/23/2007)
no it looks nothing like a tiburon you jackass
John 5:40PM (5/22/2007)
I am not gona make a comment on the design of this car just a general comment about automakers and concepts.
I think Honda is very very smart about not letting anyone see their future cars untill they show up at the dealership. They are very secretive. This helps keep their cars fresh for longer periods.
Not to pick on Ford, but Ford is the exact opposite. So is GM. They tour a car on numerous shows a year ro two before production and by the time it hits the road it looks dated to me. Remember the Ford Thunderbird for a few years ago? It came out in 1998 at Pebbles Beech Golf Coarse, then went around the country for 2.5 years before production began. When i finally saw one it was no big deal. i already had seen 50 picutres of it. Same with this upcoming Camaro. When I finally see it for 2009 Model year, I will not be as exicted. I have seen so many pics of it and already seen it at the LA auto show that in two years I would want a redesign!
You must as a manufacturer keep future production cars closer to the vest. Milking it now gives u some buzz but diminishes the car's future potential.
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S K 5:48PM (5/22/2007)
I agree fully with u John! Your comment is bang on target. The Accord Coupe concept at Detroit Motor Show looked ok , doesn't seem look that great on a computer screen. Infact looks awful when seen from certian angles.
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brandon 3:36PM (5/23/2007)
Can someone please make Honda hire some good designers? If only they would made some good looking cars...
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Tom Miller 5:59PM (5/22/2007)
#2 -- one advantage of showing your car early is that it may cause someone to wait for it instead of buying a competing product that's already on the sales floor. Of course show it a couple years early will reduce the "wow factor" when it finally arrives.
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Adam500 6:00PM (5/22/2007)
Agree with #2
I want to be surprised by new cars. I dont want them paraded for 2 years for some models before I can buy them. I want to walk into a shopping mall and say "wow what is that", but I cant. Im a car enthusiast and like to read about cars and stuff. The onus is on the companies to hide their products until they are ready.
Some recent launches that I had only seen some pics maybe a few months before introduction:
The upcomming Accord
The Tundra
The Silverado
The Aura
HHR
Some others that by the time it hit the road it was dated:
The Mustang
The upcomming Camaro
The upcomming Challenger
The Thunderbird as mentioned
The Solstice
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Brian 6:06PM (5/22/2007)
The only beef I have with the Accord, Camry, Civic, Altima etc is that it is such a common car on the road. Don't get me wrong, their good cars. But they get played out too easily. Whats exciting about owning one if I have one, your friend has one, your neighbor has one, and your mom has one. I remember when the Altimas came out in 2002(or 2002). So many people got one in my old town that it was boring.
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DDL 1:11AM (5/23/2007)
The Aura concept appeared about a year before the production model and was an almost exact representation of the real car.
That said, I agree that all these spy photos are fun, but ultimately take away from the debut of the car. Honda at least seems very good at hiding is test mules until really close to production. I think GM and Ford are probably hurt by having permanent facilities in the US which the pro photographers can stake out and make regular hits.
Anyway, the spy photos of the new Accord coupe were the first to appear. The only think not seen thus far is a V-6 sedan showing bigger wheels and duel exhausts like this coupe.
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Lithious 6:09PM (5/22/2007)
I dont mind car companies showing a concept a few years out. Thats fine. Its for show and a lot will change till production. Such as the Volt or others.
But seeing the Ford Taurus 11 months before production or the new Dodge Caravans 16 months before production is rediculous. You had to look hard to find an Odyssey pic before its launch. The van will look good for all its 5 years on the market. The caravan's 5 years cycle will actually seem like a seven year cycle.
Same with the Fusion. It only came out for 2006 model year but it seriously seems like a three year old car.
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Juan 6:27PM (5/22/2007)
Tiburon - tC lovechild.
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MJS 7:11PM (5/22/2007)
THE LOGIC OF #4 AND SHOWING THE VEHICLE TWO YEARS IN ADVANCE TO GENERATE POTENTIAL SALES DOWN THE ROAD MAY NOT HOLD A LOT OF WATER. MOST CAR SALES ARE DUE TO: LEASE UP, MILEAGE, TOO MANY PROBLEMS,OR SPONTANEOUS. IF SOMEONE IS GOING TO WAIT TWO YEARS BECAUSE THEY JUST LOVE A VEHICLE, THEN NO WONDER WHY THE DOMESTICS ARE HAVING SALES PROBLEMS. BUT THERE IS ALSO THE NEGATIVE OF MAKING US WAIT AND GUESS. IF YOU ARE EXPECTING THE WOW AND DON'T GET IT, YOU CAN NOT REDESIGN IT AND HOPE FOR A WOW. HONDA HAS PROBABLY ALREADY HAVING THIS PUPPY IN PRODUCTION STAGE SET UP, SO IF IT GETS WARM RECEPTION, DEALERS WILL BE STUCK WITH IT THROUGH THE LIFE CYCLE
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ADR 6:40PM (5/22/2007)
"...The only beef I have with the Accord, Camry, Civic, Altima etc is that it is such a common car on the road..."
Posted at 6:06PM on May 22nd 2007 by Brian
Then buy a Mazda6. Great styling and not too many around in comparison...
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Viv 6:44PM (5/22/2007)
Maybe these cars get old for carnuts like us who scour sites like Autoblog. The average joe on the street doesn't visit these blogs nor go to the shows. The first time they see is when the company advertises and they make up the bulk of the buying public.
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Viv 6:45PM (5/22/2007)
Oh by the way as someone already said this looks like the bastard child of a Tc and tiburon. Honda needs some new designs badly.
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Big Rocket 7:05PM (5/22/2007)
Sam Abuelsamid: "Until now, none of these were accompanied by the coupe version..."
FYI, these are actually old spy photos of the coupe. Autoblog had already covered them back here a little over a month ago:
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/18/spy-shots-new-2008-accord-spy-photos/
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JGN 7:26PM (5/22/2007)
I can actually see hints of the Legend in the front end. The later Legend remaining my favorite Honda design.
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Brian 7:44PM (5/22/2007)
Right on #10! Thats whats I'm talking about. Mazda is one of the most over looked cars on the market. I think most people don't buy them because they are owned by Ford. Then that ruins it for some people who rufuse to buy anything american. Mazda is still a very much an Asian car.
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matt 7:46PM (5/22/2007)
Showing a car early can help a manufacturer determine if it will sell or not. Some cars get a very poor reception and are altered.
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$0.02 8:07PM (5/22/2007)
Whoda ever thought the Koreans would have designs (Sonata and Tiburon) that Honda's bread-and-butter car would mimic
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