Direction of design philosophy of the Accord

[Sirocco]

It seems that over the last 20 years or so, the Accord has seen technological improvements, for both safety and convenience. But it's also gotton fancier, and I wonder why the design aesthetic needs to be so "artistic", to the point where the dash of the 2008 Accord is "sculptural" (which can also be said for the current models Acura TSX, which is the baseline model). And the head and tail lights likewise, taking the form of "precious jewels". Is it possible to have all the luxuries, but with a more plain design approach, such as with the design approach of the late 1980's Accord LX (the one with the flip headlights, for example)? For comparison, look at the current Volkswagen, which has more horizontal lines in the dash, and a much simpler steering wheel. In contrast, the 2008 Accord steering wheel is a modern art sculpture, for chrissake. It's eye catching, but does that make it desireable? The Volkswagen steering wheel is less "decorous", with 8 buttons (for audio control) that don't beg for attention. I think Honda should offer a model with all the luxuries, but that is more understated, less flashy. Does anybody agree with me?

[James Matteu]

1- 6th Generation, the US Accords seemed to have had a closer resemblance to the JDM Accord and Euro Accord lines when compared to how similar the 7th and 8th Generation US Accords are to the JDM and Euro markets.

 

I understand Honda was answering to the US market by having increased the size of the Accord with the passing of each generation.

 

But this latest body style really confused me. Honda seemed to have taken a huge leap in size, with respect to both Accord V6’s displacement and wheelbase.

 

Then, I found out that the 2008 JDM Honda Inspire is being re-badged in the US as the 2008 Accord. This made more sense since the Inspire used to be re-badged as the US TL, and came with a 3.2 liter V6. Now the “sculptural” ’08 US Accord makes more sense with its 3.5 liter V6 knowing it’s really an Inspire. The Inspire was always a luxury car, I guess Honda wanted to inject some of that into the US Honda market.

 

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[Sirocco]

In one sense, "sculptural" means "luxurious to the eye". But what about the other senses? I think what I object to is the "excess" of style given to the 2008 Accord. The dash is overly complex, visually. It's "attractive", in the sense of eye-catching, but, in more practical terms, at some point it ceases to be "desireable" in terms of its utility. I admire it, but I don't DESIRE it. I want to stare at it, but I don't want to drive it. The Accord isn't supposed to be a fancy car. Here's a problem with the 2008 Accord: Bass and Treble are in a list of about 8 things you have to cycle through with the main central knob. I think I'd go mad cycling through this list within a few months of owning the car, while never using half the items in the list. Personally I consider that approach to design very tedious to use, even though it's somewhat common. Going back to the Volkswagen comparison again, it has dedicated bass, treble, AND midrange knobs, which is "tried and true". I think the problem is the "California school of design" has decided they would throw out all that is tried and true, instead putting form above function. I think the Accord will lose its appeal until it gets back to it's roots, as being a car for everybody.