A FEW MORE THINGS ABOUT HONDA...
Andrew picks up on this issue’s Top Ten Trivia with his own thoughts on the Accord
As I write, it is 45 years to the day since the first ever Honda Accord was launched. And if you take a look at what else was available to the British car buyer in May 1976, you’ll understand what a momentous occasion this was.
Japanese cars had already taken a serious foothold in the market by then, not just in the UK but also in America. It was a tiered system. Datsun were at the bottom with cheap and cheerful cars like the (excellent) 100A Cherry, as well as the perfectly assembled and well equipped Violets and Bluebirds with their chintzy styling and often alarming lack of roadholding that was generally to do with the abysmal tyres fitted. You then had your Toyotas, pretty dull but superbly made to a standard unattainable by Ford, Vauxhall or Leyland, churned out relentlessly by a strike-free factory.
Then there were the oddballs from Subaru as well as some excellent cars from Mazda, but crowning them all was Honda, the perfectionist motorcycle manufacturer that turned its hand to car manufacture. The tiny N360 was considered just too small and slow for most markets outside of Japan, but this was joined by an N600, the same car but with an all-alloy, 45bhp, 598cc twin that revved to 9000rpm and gave the same performance as a Mini 1000.
Replacing the N600 in 1972 and competing with the Datsun 100A Cherry was the all new Civic. This was Honda getting serious, and in one fell swoop it eclipsed everything in its class, or at the very least it joined forces with the new Renault 5 and Fiat 127. But the Civic was more Minipriced, and upon launch here in May 1973 it actually cost a few quid less than a basic Mini 1000 which came with drum brakes all round, an abysmal ride, rackety A-series, gear whine and variable quality control. By comparison, the Civic had front discs, reclining seats, impeccable build quality and a 1200cc alloy engine with a single overhead camshaft and 59bhp. Superb economy was assured by Honda’s Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion with two combustion chambers.
By the time the Civic was launched in the UK, Honda’s ambitions were reaching upwards into the more profitable Golf class, whose price range encompassed the Allegro, Escort and the Marina Coupé as well. And so on 6th May 1976, the neat and stylish three door Honda Accord was launched to very favourable reviews, though UK buyers had to wait until February 1977.
The Accord could be described as a more sophisticated Japanese Golf. Power was by the 1600 OHC Honda EL engine, another quiet and leak-free gem that delivered an unstressed 80bhp which was fed to the front wheels via a slick five-speed gearbox or the two-speed Hondamatic auto. Independent four wheel McPherson strut suspension, servo assisted disc brakes, velour trim, a hatchback with a folding rear seat plus headrests, radio and a rear wash wipe were all part of the manners as well Upon an package, up Alfasud, to launch, that, Golf as whilst were standards. well the nevertheless Accord as not driving as sharp cost £3185. mean it into much perspective, That in probably 2021, an but axle- doesn’t to put hopping Marina 1.8 Coupé with similar performance cost £3213, the much slower Allegro 1500 Special £3228 and the lively and well-trimmed Golf 1600 GLS £2963. Vauxhall had nothing to complete, and although the sweet handling but slow Chevette GLS hatchback cost £2861 even though it was no better than the bargain price E model at just £2291, powered by the old 1256 pushrod engine it was never in the Honda class, while Ford wanted £3361 for a cart sprung Escort 1600 Ghia.
Honda continuously improved the Accord. Later in 1977 they added a laminated screen and halogen headlamps, as well as electronic ignition and a four door saloon in 1978. In 1981, Honda replaced the hugely successful Accord with the second generation, a broadly similar looking but further refined version of a car that sold almost two million units. The following year, Honda completed a factory in the USA to build the Accord, the first Japanese manufacturer to do so. BL was still making the Allegro, and the Marina would last another three years.
There are many theories as to why companies like BL ultimately failed, and the Honda Accord is a core reason. For the price of an Allegro, you could buy a car as finely engineered as any Mercedes, superbly finished and easy to drive with detail design that was so far ahead of the opposition that buying anything else seemed a false economy.
To think in 1994 the door had been open for a 49% part ownership of Austin Rover by Honda and all the ingredients were there for a full BL recovery with British design and Honda quality. The 1989 Rover R8 was the just beginning, but it all came to nought. What a shame.