Subscribe Feed (RSS)Honda has long been known for the “bulletproof” quality of their automobiles. Combined with the stylishness of their designs, such as the sleek look of the Honda Accord, it’s no great mystery why so many customers around the world prefer automobiles built by the Japanese automaker.
While the Honda Accord has become synonymous with quality and attractive design, the ever ambitious makers of the Honda vehicles are looking for a new accolade for their vehicle.
Green.
Latching onto the public’s demand for more environmentally responsible vehicles, Honda endeavored to produce a hybrid version of the Accord that will retain the reliability and sexiness of the Accord and also reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency.
In 2005, Honda introduced the Honda Accord hybrid to the market, the company’s third hybrid vehicle. The hybrid version of the Accord increased the Accord’s fuel efficiency, the hybrid averaged about 25 miles per gallon in the city and 34 miles per gallon on the road.
Honda offered the Accord hybrid between 2005 and 2007. In 2008, the company introduced the Honda FCX Clarity, which replaced the Accord hybrid as the company’s mid-size hybrid car.
Offering hybrids that actually worked and that were fun to drive was important to the nascent hybrid market, because it proved to automakers that hybrids were a viable product. Honda targeted high-end customers with the Accord hybrid, offering a variety of bells and whistles to entice them. The Accord hybrid actually made use of a V6 engine, and the hybrid’s V6 was able to outperform that of the conventional Accord’s engine.
The hybrid version of the Honda Accord was a relatively reasonably priced vehicle for a hybrid. The vehicle was sold at $3,000 more than the conventional version of the Honda Accord.
Although the hybrid version of the Accord was discontinued, the model has left a substantial legacy regarding mid-size hybrids. In the past most hybrids were known for their clunkiness and poor performance, but the Accord hybrid was a high-performing, reliable automobile.
Today, Honda has several hybrid models of its vehicles on the market, including a hybrid version of the popular Honda Civic. Many of these cars owe their design to systems made for the Honda Accord hybrid. It’s without a doubt that the hybrid version of the Accord had a significant impact on the Honda company’s learning curve regarding the production and sales of hybrid vehicles.
The bottom line is this: Climate change is the battle of our time. Reversing the ill effects of industrialization and consumer culture on our planet is the responsibility of this generation, and Honda is leading the way in achieving this goal with the introduction of vehicles like the Honda Accord hybrid.
One car can’t change the world, but one car driven by millions of people can.
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