If it wasn’t enough to build The Most Revolutionary Small Car (1973 Civic) And The Most Influential Modern Car In America, (1976 Accord), in 1982, Honda revolutionized the industry again by opening the first modern transplant factory (VW’s brief experiment notwithstanding). Honda’s timing was perfect too, coming right on the heels of the 1981 Voluntary Export Restraint Agreement (“VER”). At a time when the Made In USA flag was being waved even by WalMart, Honda looked like a genius. American workers in depressed rust-belt Marysville, Ohio were cranking out exactly what the market wanted: a high-quality efficient compact car. No wonder this Accord set the stage for its climb to the the number one sales spot just a few years down the all-American road.
If memory serves me, Marysville only cranked out the sedans, at least to start with. So this red hatchback coupe may well be of Japanese origin. No matter; although some aficionados of the brand claimed to be able to tell the difference between domestic and Japanese built Accords, in reality there was no substantial difference. And in a way, that was the really the biggest story of all.
Quality at US car plants had been slipping precariously all through the seventies, and the whole domestic industry’s rep was in tatters. Botched new cars like the Aspen/Volare (1976) and GM’s X-Bodies (Citation, etc; 1981) fueled the exodus to quality, which the Japanese had been sending this way for some time. But the idea of a US-built Honda was not nearly as easy to swallow then as it soon became.
The whole story of Honda’s unexpected arrival in Marysville was fascinating to watch as it unfolded; an experiment in trust-building all the way around. But it soon became the model that has been, and still is being replicated repeatedly, although generally further south to be more securely away from the clutches of the UAW.
I remember being a bit dubious myself; we’d convinced ourselves that American auto workers could never meet the notorious standards of what we saw on tv from the Japanese factories: calisthenics, gleaming factories, workers able to stop the line without retribution, and workers meeting regularly to figure out ways to improve build quality as well as to reduce costs. Compared to what had been going (wildcat strikes, sabotage) on at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio plant not far away, it might as well have been another planet.
But the time was over-ripe for a revolution in car production, and the UAW knew it too. Throughout the eighties and ninetees, the Marysville model was increasingly adopted as America’s own. GM entered into a joint venture with Toyota (NUMMI), Chrysler did the same with Mitsubishi (Diamond Star), and the experiences gained are now SOP. But in 1982, Honda was the true pioneer.
So what about these gen2 Accords as cars other than industry history? They typified the steady incremental improvements Accords would (generally) see every four years, until more recent times, anyway. Size was up, as always. The second generation had a decidedly more substantial feel to them, and was the first step in its evolution from a compact to today’s full-sized car. But none of the precision feel was lost; if anything, the gen2 Accord felt better built and exuded a distinctly higher quality feel.
Mechanically, the prior Accord’s 1751 cc CVCC four was carried over, to be enlarged to 1830 cc in 1984. They still had carburetors, which Honda somehow managed to make work remarkably well in that era of rapidly tightening emission controls. With 75 hp, the Accord was decidedly not a sporty car per se, yet it was always quite willing to impersonate one. Honda never really pursued any over enhancement of the Accord’s sporty abilities, instead choosing focusing more on the profit-rich upscale direction, with the 1984 SE-i which sported fuel injection, 101 hp, but a decidedly plusher interior. No Brougham, though.
These Accords were what Accords have always been: providing a degree of tactical and mechanical refinement one step ahead of the competition. And of course with legendary reliability. There are a fair number of this generation still in front line duty hereabouts, but there vulnerability to rust in other climes is known. I picked these two, because they’re both of the first two year variants (’82-’83), before the front end restyle. I happen like this style better.
The jump that Honda had over Toyota in this era was remarkable. Honda was already introducing second generation FWD cars and US-built ones at that, while Toyota was still selling RWD compacts. The Accord would become the first Japanese nameplate to reach the top of the US sales stats in 1989. Heady times, and decidedly revolutionary ones at that. That doesn’t exactly happen very often, the closest thing being Hyundai’s recent explosion. But they’re really just playing by Honda’s play book, as old and tattered as it now is.
Note: This is effectively Chapter 6 of the CC Honda Chronology. The earlier ones are here, except for the first one (N600) which is here.
A nice overview of a very important car.
Just a few small corrections. The 100-hp fuel-injected engine was introduced in 1984, not ’85, and it was called SE-i, not Si. (The Prelude, CRX, and later the Civic offered Si models, but not the U.S. Accord.) As far as I know, the SE-i was available only as a sedan, not as a hatch.
As I recall, the SE-i was not positioned as a sporty model, but as a junior luxury car in the European mode, with leather upholstery and plusher trim. It was really a follow-on to the earlier Accord SE, introduced in 1981, prior to this generation. The SE was another response to the Voluntary Restraint Agreement — essentially, a lot of the Japanese automakers said, “Well, if the maximum number of cars we import is limited, let’s import more upscale products with fatter margins.”
Thanks for that; I’ll correct it. Good to see you back, the first chapter of the Aussie Falcon was terrific. Look forward to the rest of it.
Those Hondas were very well thought out cars and considering the rubbish the big 3 were building its no wonder they were a huge success. A follow on from import restraint is the Acura badge also Infiniti, double your quota with a new name. Rootes group played the same game in New Zealand during the 1950s doubling their Hillman Minx imports by badging it a Humber 80 it worked and the Humber version was more popular.
My spouse graduated from college in 1984. She had a chemical engineering degree and a new job fresh out of school.She wanted a new car. Her father (GM lifer) put some subtle (and not so subtle) pressure on her to buy an Olds Omega X car. She wanted a Corolla (still RWD in those days). I LUSTED for one of these. From 10 feet away you could tell it was a beautifully put together car. The fit and finish was amazing. The engine was smooth and nearly silent and the interior astonished me. We had to compromise,so we ended up with a Datsun 200SX because we had no kids and two doors would do nicely. The SX was a fine car,a little underpowered and tinny,but thank God,it was not an X car . The Accord has been an unrequited love of mine (and hers) for going on 30 years now,and later this year, we have decided to finally get a new one when Honda does their year end clearance.
Its hard to describe to my offsprung just how much of a forward leap the Accord and other Japanese models were to my generation. We had gone through our teen years driving late 60′s to Malaise-era Detroit excreta and these cars were a new reality. Thats why so many people my age can’t be tempted by anything that the big 3 put out today.
You couldn’t be more correct…I too graduated college in ’83 and started buying new cars the next year. Since then, it has been Toyota’s, VW’s, Nissans, and even a Volvo (never again) all purchased new. I don’t recall ever considering a US brand for the “excreta” as you say that was being put on the roads, especially in the ’80′s.
Back then, the Japanese were going to bury us and not just in the car industry. Remember studying Japanese management technique in college? Well it didn’t happen, but they’re still building quality automobiles.
The US has long caught up in that regard but still…don’t know if I could do it.
I think this is the first generation to use the 4-speed automatic instead of the 2-speed “Hondamatic” That had to have been music to the ears of people driving Accords on American freeways (especially when “speeding” at over 55 MPH)
Actually the 82-83 Accords had the 3-speed automatic – my dad had one. I don’t believe the Accord got the 4-speed auto until the 1984 refresh, at the earliest.
I graduated college in October ’85. I bought an ’85 Accord LX hatch with 16K on the clock and drove it for 3+ years and 40K miles with not one problem … gas, oil and tires were all it needed.
Drove it from CA to MI and back in late summer 1986 and averaged 35+ MPG for the trip .. got 46MPG on one leg in NM.
Fantastic little car. Mine was a 5-speed and had the burgundy velour interior.
That metallic gray sedan sure looks like our old 82 that we bought used in 1984 (I think.) Ours was really metallic silver though, with the paint almost as bright as that nearly jewel-like coating Honda were still painting their steel wheels with, which lasted for years and years while VW wheels painted a similar color rusted the first time the car was washed. The generally nice all-over finish was what appealed most to us about that particular car; it didn’t seem that the ’87 we had next was quite so well finished, especially on places like the inside door jambs. That 1982 was dead reliable and still had the original engine and clutch when we sold it with well over 150K miles.
I remember these ones. Growing up in the 80s, my old man only bought Japanese and went on endlessly about how good his first new car, a ’74 Honda was. He wouldn’t buy a newer one though, convinced that they’d gone too upmarket by ’84.
honda accord as i grew it was our pet car always seen regularly on our silver screens,time passed the light of the day of accord being manufactured in the sub-continent din’t took off even to be honest what ever may be the feat of the accord but for a true enthusiast’s like me till date a car of the 1992 lines has been never made before nor after that .Simply superb stunning machine a real feast to my eyes even today, today i am seeing the 6th or 7th generation accord but seldom i take a second look,accor means the 1992 and that’s it.
My dad ordered a silver 1982 Accord sedan when the 2nd-gen first hit the market. They were in super high demand at the time, so it took a while for his car to arrive at the dealership. (BTW I believe all 82 Accords were still manufactured in Japan; the Ohio plant didn’t start putting out Accords until the 1983 model year.) Build quality was superb, probably better than that of the 2010 Accord LX I’m leasing right now. My 2010 has a few interior creaks and squeaks – something I certainly don’t recall ever hearing in the 1982 and 1991 Accords that my dad had owned.
I had an ’83 5-speed, light blue. Built in Hiroshima. I had to sell it because I was moving to Japan and their restrictions wouldn’t let me bring it (back). It was a good, solid little car, my third after a ’62 Bug and a ’73 Volvo 142 that blew a water pump and then a head gasket. I loaned it to a friend who was looking for a car and she drove it 5 miles home after the pump gave out. Needless to say, NO ONE drives my cars now except with me in the passenger seat.
My Honda had a couple brake issues (I heat-spotted the brakes), a rusty bearing in the distributor, and the water pump nearly gave out – but I noticed it and got it to the shop before it failed.
I liked them so much, I ended up buying an ’87 hatch and a ’91 sedan later. I never owned any of them more than a year or so. the last two were both totaled. Sideswiped by a Semi in the ’87, ’91 hit by a pickup making a turn into traffic – me. Neither my fault.
We have a ’06 Pilot now, but the precision and simplicity are not there anymore. Still a good vehicle, but it lost some of the old Honda-ness they still had in the 90′s.
The greatest car I’ve ever owned or will ever own was a 1982 Honda Accord hatchback, burgundy, LX trim, 5-speed and enough mileage to have visited at least a couple different planets in our solar system. It set me off on a streak of buying several more Hondas of similar vintage which were all very good, but none so great as that initial $250 hatchback.
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What was so great about it? I don’t know, exactly. I think it’s that everything on this car just made perfect sense, even where it didn’t. There was no waste or pretension about it, it had the exact right amount of everything… and it was the car that most perfectly realized my combined love of utilitarian, indestructible transport modules and obscure, overly-complicated technological wizardry. I don’t understand carbs, I like fuel injection. For all practical purposes, EFI works much better for driveability, emissions, fuel economy – and in most real world applications, horsepower. Somehow, in 1982 – when even the Big Three were well into developing dependable EFI systems, Honda was still chugging along with their absolutely brilliant and mystifying Controlled Vortex Combustion Chamber carb. In fact, this generation Accord’s 1.8l motor was nothing more than a “big-block” version of the original Civic 1200 powerplant, which itself had it’s roots in their two-wheeled division. No computer, just miles and miles of vacuum hose feeding that beautiful little sewing machine that I do not understand whatsoever, but I know it always worked perfectly no matter what. In fact, no other car – EFI or otherwise, idled as smooth or pulled through the rev range as consistently as my carburetted Hondas… and later on I had a Prelude with the twin-carb CVCC setup that made this one look like an erector set. I don’t know how it worked, it just did. Early Accords ran so well and so clean that they didn’t even need a catalytic converter to fly past US emissions standards of the time (including California!), but the EPA made them put one on there eventually anyway.
At one point, I somehow stumbled across a bunch of Japanese literature about Honda’s design philosophy for these Accords and it was just fascinating. There was nothing about market research, target demographics, etc… it was solely focused on driver experience and environmental harmony. There was a whole section about how the shape of the dashboard over the instrument cluster was inspired by traditional rural Japanese architecture and all sorts of insane shit you would never believe a profitable automobile manufacturer would care about.
This car was no speed demon, but it loved to be driven like one. The little single-cam motor wanted to be revved all day, the skinny tires squealed and plowed through corners – but with predictable and controllable aplomb thanks to the MacPherson struts at all four corners. I never knew a car that was easier or more rewarding to drive at it’s absolute limit. I could marvel for hours at seemingly mundane artifacts like the finely upholstered change tray that shut at the perfect angle to prevent rattling, the impeccable rows of stitching on the headliner fabric, the tightness of the shift-linkage, the unobtrusive door chime or the luminescence of the instrument cluster. If New York had the Pacific Northwest’s climate, I’d still be driving that car and it would easily have been over a million miles by now.
In 1982, Honda was a revelation and a revolution. It would still be a few years before the Accord’s size was compatible with most mainstream American buyers, and with each size increment Hondas lost a little bit of the raw “driver experience” the company was striving for as well as the outsider appeal the early models personified like the VW Beetle before it. IMO, the early Accord’s DNA carried over into the next few generations of Civic, but while those may have been objectively “better” cars in every respect, the ’76-’85 Accord is the one I’ll always love. It’s from a time when Honda wanted to be to Japan what BMW is to Germany, but with more practical packaging – and for those years I think they succeeded in a sublime manner.
Unfortunately, it’s now 2012 and Honda is so far removed from these types of cars it’s laughable… but such is the way of human nature. Every revolutionary ends as an oppressor or heretic before the next cyclic rebellion begins once more. Honda is dead, long live Honda!
Do own an 83 sedan 5 speed never winter driven. Canadian car with a 1602cc engine (EL code). So rare now! Feel free to use my picture to illustrate your article
Sebastien, that’s a beautiful and well-kept Accord! Very nice!