Baby Boomers made the Honda Accord, and Honda’s pioneering decision to build a plant in Ohio ultimately put the company in the automotive big leagues to the astonishment of Toyota and Nissan executives, who were, eventually, forced to follow. The introduction of the Accord in June of 1976 – gasoline at $0.59 – a gallon – was a gamble from what was essentially a motorcycle company. The bet on a small three-door hatchback paid off big-time.
Accord was the first Honda model and first vehicle from a Japanese automaker to be manufactured in America and has been in continuous production there for almost 34 years, since the start of Honda’s U.S. automobile manufacturing at the company’s Marysville, Ohio auto plant on 1 November 1982. Now 40 years after its introduction, more U.S. car buyers selected any other car during this time with 12.7 million Accord models sold.
Most Accords – but not all of them – were produced in what has become a network of 18 Honda North American plants. Through the years, it also has been produced in the company’s plants in East Liberty, Ohio; in Birmingham, Alabama; in Alliston, Ontario, Canada; and in El Salto, Jalisco, Mexico. In total, Honda has produced more than 10.7 million Accords in North America for both local and global markets.
Nine Accord Generations Later
Accord was and is an efficient, responsive, fun-to drive car with good fuel efficiency and low emissions – along with refined and responsive driving dynamics. Honda says Acord is popular continues with some younger buyers as the top-selling mid-size sedan and number two overall (to the Honda Civic) in sales to under-35 car customers for five of the past six years.
Accord was also the first U.S.-made automobile from a Japanese automaker exported overseas, beginning with the shipment of Ohio-made Accords to Taiwan in 1987, followed by the export to Japan of the U.S.-made Accord Coupe in March 1988.
From its diminutive size as a hatchback with a smaller wheelbase than today’s sub-compact Honda Fit, to today’s full lineup of engines and body styles – including the Accord Sedan and Coupe and just-launched 2017 Accord Hybrid – Accord has an impressive legacy. Accord’s ongoing popularity includes three consecutive years (2013-2015) as the top-selling car in America to individual car buyers, although the rush to crossovers and SUVs is diminishing traditional car segments.
