Autoblog

Honda will build 2014 Accord Hybrid in Ohio

Steven J. Ewing — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Honda

Honda has announced that it will invest $23 million in its Marysville, Ohio facility to support production of the upcoming 2014 Accord Hybrid sedan. According to the manufacturer, this means approximately 50 new jobs will be created, and the whole investment will result in a 95,000-square-foot expansion of the Marysville plant.

The Accord Hybrid joins the decidedly homely Accord PHEV (pictured) this fall, using a 2.0-liter i-VTEC Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine mated to a 124-kilowatt electric motor. Honda has yet to release official power or fuel economy figures for the non-plug-in hybrid version of the Accord.

Honda currently operates four manufacturing facilities in Ohio, with the combined capacity to build up to 700,000 cars and light trucks each year. The Japanese automaker also has a facility in Greensburg, Indiana, where the Civic Hybrid and Acura ILX Hybrid are built.

Scroll down for the official press release.

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Honda will build 2014 Accord Hybrid in Ohio originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid

Sebastian Blanco — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Honda, First Drives

The Accord Gets Friendly With A Volt-esque Powertrain

After 30 years, Honda is trying to teach the old Accord new tricks, and they're of the plug-in variety.

We've been teased by various prototypes at auto shows and in spy shots, but Honda will finally start selling the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid in January 2013. Part of the overhauled ninth-generation Accord lineup, which will also include four-cylinder and V6 models and a non-plug-in hybrid (completely different than the first-gen Accord Hybrid that was sold from MY 2005-2007) later in 2013, this PHEV is a slightly confounding creature. Everything works well, the car behaves exactly how you'd expect an Accord plug-in to work and the included LaneWatch display is incredibly well done, but there is more going on under the hood than will make sense to the average driver. It took a small cluster of green car journalists 15 minutes of back and forth with Yasuyuki Sando, the Accord PHEV's chief engineer, to finally figure out what the different drive options are for this car. But more about that in a bit.

The last few years have not given Americans a lot of confidence that Honda still knows how to make an engaging gas-electric vehicle. The CR-Z and Insight struggle for proficiency and don't inspire. Now, with the 2013 Accord, the challenge is clear: increase the efficiency level of Honda's incredibly popular mass-market sedan to meet today's regulatory and consumer demand, and don't make it boring. Based on an afternoon cruising the hills and highways of Southern California, it's clear Honda has met this challenge with a lot of newfangled technology hidden away in a largely normal-looking vehicle.

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2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pics Aplenty: 2013 Honda Accord in all its incarnations

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:20:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Hybrid, Sedan, Honda, Design/Style

It's always a dangerous time when an automaker redesigns a top seller. Not only are there legions of past and current owners who expect to be impressed, there are also a whole slew of new buyers the automaker is looking to entice. With that in mind, we present the brand-new 2013 Honda Accord.

Yes, you've seen Honda's redesigned midsize standard bearer before, right on these pages. But have you seen every available trim level from every conceivable angle? No? Well then, allow us to share with you this bounteous cornucopia of image gallery goodness.

For your viewing pleasure, we present the Honda Accord EX-L sedan, EX-L V6 Coupe, Sport sedan, Touring sedan and last but not least, PHEV. Wait, we take that back. When it comes to its unique styling, the PHEV is indeed the least... if you judge it by its efficiency, though, you can expect it to be at the tip of the Accord iceberg.

Check out the Accord in all its various forms in the image galleries above and below. If you actually click on all 361 photos, we'll be truly impressed.

Pics Aplenty: 2013 Honda Accord in all its incarnations originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2013 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid snapped almost completely exposed

Jeff Sabatini — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, Hybrid, Sedan, Technology, Honda, Design/Style, Electric

Look what our spies stumbled upon the other evening in Los Angeles: It's the 2013 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid, sans cladding. While these night shots aren't the best quality, we have yet to see any more revealing images of the next-generation Honda family sedan.

Forget for a minute that this Accord is clearly the plug-in hybrid variant - you can tell by the extra fuel filler door on the front fender - and just check out the grille and those headlights. Look familiar? It should, unless you missed the Honda Concept C at the recent Beijing Motor Show.

We're glad to see that its more aggressive front fascia has been applied nearly lock, stock, and smoking barrel to the Accord. (Is there any Honda that more needs this shot in the arm?) But it does raise some questions about the first set of 2013 Accord spy shots we saw last week, which show the car wearing a different nose. Will Honda have two different looks for the new Accord, one for the Plain Jane sedan and another, more exciting front fascia for its green model? It's a strategy that Hyundai employs on the Sonata, but we certainly can't confirm such a theory yet.

We do, however, have some evidence of what Honda will be doing to the rear end of the Accord, which is making it more aerodynamic via those squared-off bumper edges on either side of the car. The car snapped in the pictures also appears to have a little spoiler on the lip of the trunk, though again, we can't say whether these details are exclusive to the Accord Plug-In Hybrid or might make their way into all the Accord models.

Either way, these images look promising, as they show a car that's both more attractive and dynamic than the eighth-generation Accord we've been living with since 2008.

2013 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid snapped almost completely exposed originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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