Debuting late in 2017 as a 2018 model, the tenth generation of Honda’s immensely popular and legendary Accord sedan arrived lacking a two-door companion, even if few likely cared or even took notice. As Honda ended production of the ninth generation Accord in 2017, the automaker also officially yet unceremoniously marked the end of production to the Accord coupe, a model offered for the preceding 30 years since 1988. It’s worth noting this, as in ending production of the Accord coupe, Honda didn’t just exit the midsize non-luxury coupe segment — it killed it off altogether.
The study of automobile industry trends on a broader spectrum is a truly interesting subject, and among its most fascinating topics is the plight of the 2-door coupe. Once the most popular body style of some of the best-selling automobiles, beginning in the 1980s, coupes began rapidly falling out of preference in favor of sedans, which in turn have since seen diminished popularity in favor of SUVs and CUVs.
Now I’m using the term “coupe” loosely, applying it to every non-hatchback 2-door, as in fact many “coupes” from this era were really 2-door sedans without exclusive rooflines if we’re technically speaking. In any event, there’s no denying that for many years, 2-doors were immensely more popular than they are today, often surpassing their 4-door counterparts in sales.
For many years, most coupes were actually marketed as the budget offering when compared to their 4-door siblings — think fewer doors, fewer moving parts, lower price — but by the late-1950s, coupes developed a more glamorous reputation. Helped by “halo” coupe-only models including the Chevrolet Corvette, Chrysler 300, Ford Thunderbird, Pontiac Bonneville, and Cadillac Eldorado, coupes gained a more prominent image as a more personal vehicle often purchased by those who could forsake practicality in the name of style, luxury, and performance.
Of course, more budget-friendly coupes and 2-door sedans remained, naturally constituting the bulk of sales for many automakers. Yet even 2-doors of more humble origins soon developed higher style of their own, whether it be of the more sporting or luxury image. Noticeable by the mid-1980s, demand for coupes, at least in North America, was shrinking rapidly as a result of multiple factors.
Although most Japanese automakers had been selling sports-oriented and personal luxury coupes in North America since the early 1970s, they were slow to release more mainstream-image coupes to their lineups, in a somewhat backwards move. Honda, in fact, did not release a non-hatchback 2-door Accord Coupe until the 1988 model year, a point when the coupe market was already on the visible decline. On that note, Honda even more belatedly released the Accord wagon in 1991, but that’s a tangent I won’t embark on as the focus of this piece is the coupe.
Sharing the same wheelbase and forward sheetmetal with the Accord sedan and hatchback, the 1988 Accord coupe gained its own roofline, therefore making it a true coupe and not 2-door sedan. Beyond this, the coupe was mostly the same as the sedan, which wasn’t a bad thing. Good looks, a functional interior, and superior handling for the class aided by its front and rear double-wishbone suspension, added to the Accord’s already strong reputation for reliability, dependability, and value that made it become the best-selling car in America by 1989.
Fully redesigned for 1990, the fourth generation Accord left the sharp angles and wedge shape of its predecessor’s “origami” styling for more a flowing look with softer corners and angles. In the process, the Accord ditched its hidden headlights, which were standard in some markets including the North American, for more conventional composite units. Overall, the look exuded a more grown up, more upscale appearance, with visual ties to the upcoming second generation Legend, much like its predecessor was in relation to the original Legend.
As for the coupe, although it still had a different roofline than the sedan, the differences between it and the sedan were negligible to the untrained eye. Which brings me to the question, was there a real purpose for the Accord coupes of this generation? And were Accord coupes of any generation a profitable extension of the Accord line?
Unlike its predecessor, which gained a noticeably faster roofline, the 1990-1993 Accord coupe’s roofline was far more vertical and “formal”, negating any added sportiness over the sedan. Adding to this, Honda already had a similarly sized coupe with far more sporting pretensions in the Prelude, and only with the Prelude’s looming demise did Honda give the Accord coupe a far more exclusive, aggressive appearance.
Personally, I’m all for coupes, but most people could care less for the plight of the 2-door automobile. Something nearly as strong in the early-1990s as it is today, most generally view 2-doors as less practical and thus an inferior choice when compared to a 4-door of any type.
From personal experience and observation, the buyer that comes to mind for an Accord coupe of any generation (even succeeding generations to the 1990-1993 that did exude greater sportiness) is a middle-age to older man or woman, usually having no children or grown up children. A sharp contrast to the typical buyer of most 2-door Hondas, they were always the demographic that easily could have bought a sedan next, and in many cases did.
While the visual differences between this generation Accord coupe and sedan are minimal, historically it has been the case that most 2-door coupes have more attractive styling/proportions than a 4-door counterpart. Yet in a world where 2-doors are ever less popular, the bodystyle of the 4-door coupe has emerged, blending racier styling with 4-door practicality.
Quite possibly due to their higher popularity than traditional 2-door coupes, 4-door coupes have quickly emerged as the style leaders for their respective brands. Until recently, the 4-door coupe was largely limited to luxury brands, but with the Stinger, Kia has showed us that this isn’t necessarily the case.
Honda has yet to give us a 4-door coupe, but with the discontinuation of its wallflower Accord coupe, Honda basically killed the non-luxury midsize 2-door coupe. Unlikely to ever return, it begs me to ask the question: Did the Accord coupe outlive its purpose or should Honda have continued producing it, thereby dominating a very small niche in the market?
Photographed: Brockton, Massachusetts – April 2018
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I think over the last two decades the notion that sporty cars need to have only two doors has all but disappeared except for sports cars (most of them) and pony cars, and a 4-door Mustang wouldn’t shock me anymore. And really, had they appeared in 1990, wouldn’t the most current midsize sedan qualify as “four-door coupes”? Look at the rooflines of the current Accord or Fusion. I don’t think the Stinger is the first four door coupe from a non-luxury brand; perhaps that would be the Volkswagen CC which is an upscale car but not from an upscale brand. And then there’s the previous-generation (2009) Hyundai Sonata, a Mercedes CLS-like four-door coupe that isn’t an upscale model.
I discussed this in my recent piece on the Mazda 626 coupe (https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-capsule/cc-capsule-1983-87-mazda-626-coupe-the-mystery-of-the-innocuous-coupe/) but I can’t for the life of me understand why somebody would buy a coupe like this over the equivalent sedan. There is no style benefit whatsoever. Even the 626 coupe looked a touch more rakish than the sedan.
Even the first Accord coupe is pretty blah and I think that’s the most attractive generation of Accord ever. It just seems cobbled together and only the North American market wanted it. Then the third series of coupe was also bland before Honda finally decided to visually differentiate the coupe from the sedans with subsequent generations.
I get many of y’all like coupes but if it just looks like a sedan, what’s the point? You’re just sacrificing practicality for no reason.
It’s definitely a style issue. Back in the day, ownership of a four door sedan was advertising that you were stodgy, practical, probably penny-pinching, and overall treated cars as a transportation appliance.
Ownership of a coupe over a four door sedan back then was the same as ownership of a CUV over a sedan today: It’s the image you want to project.
Yes, CUV’s are more practical. But the sedan has never really lost its old image. As if they should all be badged Ramblers.
I think that the ‘why’ depends on where you come from. In the US, 4-door body styles have gradually become acceptable as ‘sporty’ to the point that now most middle age and younger buyers have no hangup with the concept at all.
That is in contrast with other counties/continents; in Australia it appears to me that there never was much cache associated with 2 door body styles and many of their performance/muscle cars in the late 60’s onward were sedans.
Similarly, in Europe there appears little or no stigma associated with sedans as sporty/performance models going back to at least the 1970’s with many examples that go much further back.
My point isn’t that the Accord Coupe sold in the US because it was overtly sporty but it did probably attract some people who wanted something practical but a little less ‘dowdy’ than a sedan. As pointed out here, that was a diminishing perception even when this car debuted in 1990 and the US new car market is now global in the sense of how sedans are perceived.
Will, I’ll toss out a reason for purchasing a more contemporary coupe over a sedan and, yes, it comes from left field.
I’ve seen several instances (anecdotal, admittedly) in which the coupes helped those with mobility issues. I’m not talking wheelchairs necessarily, just those whose range of motion was limited and the coupe gave them (at least the feeling of) better ingress and egress.
As a for instance, my father-in-law broke his back in 1974 and defied the doctors by walking again. So his mobility is compromised in some situations due to the fracture and several steel rods. At one point, through sheer fluke, he had an ’86 Crown Victoria two-door sitting in his garage next to an ’87 Crown Vic four-door. One presented a struggle to enter; the other was a breeze.
Like I say this is anecdotal, although I’ve seen it on numerous occasions. Is this enough to justify continued production of two-doors? Not really. But I’m just offering up a scenario in which there is a distinct appeal.
I have one other situation, surely one not as crucial as entry/egress for someone with mobility issues. I really miss the ability to open one door for 1) putting a briefcase, a small sack of groceries or some other thing on the back floor and 2) get into the car. With a 4 door car I have to open a back door to put the small items in the back seat then open another door to get in. The remote locking eliminates the need to open the front door *in order to* open the rear door, but this is where a 2 door makes life a little more pleasnt.
I am probably in that sweet spot where I have no kids at home and have another vehicle for taking other passengers, so a 2 door would work for me now. Oddly, based on the above criteria my minivan is more convenient than my 4 door cars, if only because I can open the minivan rear door and close it again without moving from my spot outside the drivers door.
On the flip side, I think people found that the longer doors on the coupes often made it harder for the front seat occupants to enter and exit when parked in a tight parking lot next to other cars. Back when I had coupes, I remember needing to carefully open the door so as not to inflict a door ding on the car next to me, then pivot awkwardly to get in or out of the driver’s seat. The shorter front doors on 4-doors do make entry/exit easier in side-by-side parking situations.
I have to agree, one of the reasons I now prefer sedans. Between tight parking spaces, my lack of parking skill, my tall frame, and having to wrestle with the longer doors, I pretty much am done with coupes for daily driving for the rest of my life. That’s not to say I’m averse to owning one for a nice fun car in the future, but I would like to go through a week without having a day where I’m forced to squeeze through the small opening like a snake through the bottom of a door.
The larger doors of a 2 door are a big help for people with mobility issues, especially with a compact car. But on the other hand, a 4 door is a big help for people with mobility issues getting in and out of the back seat.
2 advantages of the 4 door is the fact the rear windows roll down while most 2 doors have fixed rear glass, and the shorter doors are useful in tight parking spaces, many are narrower now. I do like the looks of most 2 doors over their 4 door counterparts.
Given the choice I would probably choose the 2 door since I rarely have passengers in the back seat, and AC is basically standard equipment now.
Practicality is all relative, William. To me, an older married guy with no kids and the occasional 14 year old granddaughter to schlep about, 4 doors is not a necessity. It is not worth sacrificing style for two extra doors that never get used. I’m fairly tall, so the longer doors of my two coupes are much better for ingress/egress than the short doors like that of my wife’s sedan, and its intruding B-pillar that I repeatedly smack my head on when I get into her car. The A pillar is the point of cranial contact when she has the seat set for her 5′-4″ frame.
As to when the demise of the coupe started? – My guess is sometime around when Nissan had its commercials for “The Four Door Sports Car” sometime in the early nineties with the Third Generation Maxima. Personal (affordable) Luxury Coupes were my favorite style of car, but started their downward slide about then. It’s why I have a Mustang. It was the closest thing I could get to the now extinct T-Bird.
And another point of practicality when you don’t need four doors? – My Civic Coupe is lighter than its sedan counterpart, thus better gas mileage as my commuter car. It’s just me making my commute, 90% of the time or more, and just me and my wife for almost all of the remaining 10%. So again, why do I need four doors? The groceries fit in the boot, and that’s good enough for me.
Having said all that, she loves her sedan, and the ability to put stuff in the back seat. Notice I said stuff and not people. I will admit though on the very rare occasion when we go out with another couple, we do take her Lancer. And her sedan is fairly sporting looking for a four door.
The Civic wears its rather aggressive styling better in Coupe form than in Sedan or Hatchback form (IMHO), so I’m glad Honda hasn’t given up completely on the coupe. Hopefully it will continue. And who knows, maybe they’ll buck the trend and bring the Accord Coupe back for the next refresh of this generation in say, 2020. Heck their ad campaign could be “Hindsight is 2020, so we brought the Accord Coupe BACK!” – Ok, maybe I am too optimistic here, but I sure hope when it’s time to replace my Civic, there will be more choices in coupes, but I’m not holding my breath.
The Fleet at Curbside…
I’m posting comments too quickly?
Never saw that warning before.
I’ve gotten that also.
I always guessed what really killed the two door coupe was mandatory child seat laws. When I was a child (1950’s) a coupe was seen as the safer alternative. In the case of a accident, your child only bounced around the interior, and didn’t go flying onto the streets. Once you had to install those bulky, heavy child seats, four doors became a necessity, not an option.
You are exactly right. Back then you could open 1 door, let the 3 munchkins climb in back, then get in and close your door. You didn’t have to open a second door, worry if someone didn’t close a door all the way or fret that someone would open a door while underway. Child safety seats changed all that.
I did this occasionally with my 84 Olds 98 coupe. Let the kids climb in but then I had to follow to be sure everyone was fastened in, usually with one knee on the back floor and the other foot on the pavement. Not fun, even for someone reasonably young and limber. Anything smaller would have been worse.
I lived with installing kid seats in the back of my coupe for a few years before I HAD QUITE ENOUGH THANK YOU and got a four-door.
I never really thought about this before, but this is a really good explanation.
From personal experience, Installing child seats and then putting kids in them in the back seat of a sedan is hard enough. In a coupe, it’s got to be near impossible.
A big reason CUVs are so popular as well, I think. It’s a lot easier buckling them in when you don’t have to duck down into the car.
And before anyone chimes in, “You can do that just as easily or even moreso with a minivan!”, remember that in the US market, minivans only come in full-size.
I’m a minivan fan. Many CUVs are about the same size while offering a lot less people and cargo space, worse economy, and higher cost. Yet the CUVs sell more each year while minivans continue their decline. There is of course towing and AWD that factor in, but in general it tells me that image plays just as large of a role today as it did in the heyday of the coupe. The only thing that has changed is the desired image.
These were new when Hondas were popular and (therefore) expensive. If somebody had one, you knew they had some disposable income, and figured they were smart enough to know they were getting 90% of an Acura, especially in the style department, for more like 70% of the price.
Coupes back then were popular with single people, teenagers (who of course only bought them used) and dads in the era when most moms still stayed home and driving the kids around was exclusively their responsibility.
I think the bottom dropped out of the coupe market when more moms started working and more dads started being more involved in their kids’ lives. I also suspect that as cars have gotten more expensive and longer-lasting, a lot of people are looking more to one car that “does it all”. And hey, as much as I miss cars like this Accord Coupe, the contemporary Prelude, Audi GT etc, I don’t miss them enough to give up picking up a carload of giggly kids a few times a week.
I had no idea Honda built these until recently – I just quit paying attention.
I have known precisely one person who bought an Accord coupe. He was an older guy I worked with who had owned 2 or 3 Integras. He was in a mood for a new sporty car and bought a red Accord coupe (maybe 2003 or so?) as kind of an impulse buy when he couldn’t find what he wanted. The buyer’s remorse came quickly, he just considered it a boring Accord. It was gone after a couple of years.
Sales, YTD
Ford Mustang………42,428
Dodge Challenger…37,367
Chevy Camaro……..25,378
Total………………..105,174
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2018/07/sporty-car-sales-in-america-june-2018/
The coupe market didn’t disappear- Honda just walked away from it. Honda’s made some glaring marketing mistakes of late, this is just one of them. Judging from first year sales, the new Accord is turning into another one of them.
Yes but those are large performance-oriented muscle cars, not a mainstream front-wheel drive 2-door like the Accord.
When you compare those numbers to sales of European Coupes, it quickly becomes apparent that those domestic coupes are the coupe market. It’s also worth mentioning that the majority of those sales aren’t the fire-breathing versions, but the actual “mainstream” versions you’re referring to. Toyota shifted their coupe market toward Lexus, appropriate considering the limited market, IMO.
Given the base Mustang has 310 HP and does 0-60 in 5 seconds, I don’t know if there really are “mainstream” versions anymore. A far cry from my first Mustang, which had 88 HP and couldn’t really be considered a performance car in any way.
Though it should be mentioned that the 21/31 EPA rating of a base Mustang is only off by 1 MPG highway from the 2017 Accord V6, and the trunk space is just 1.5 cubic feet smaller than a Camry while being 4″ shorter overall and quite a bit cheaper. So your argument has merit.
As Brendan said, your comparison is Apples and Oranges. These are two different market segments, with different expectations for sales success. For example, this year Honda has sold 138,290 Accords- exceeding the combined sales of these 3 pony cars.
In addition, Honda still offers a Civic Coupe, so they have yet to “walk away” from coupe. However, unless compact coupe sales turn around, it’s just a matter of time before they join others and walk away from that segment as well.
Following the link you provided for the data I see that Honda knows how to interpret trends, sales are down 10% so far this year.
To add a little more perspective to this, there were 17.2 million cars sold in the US in 2017. Assuming this year’s total sales are similar the coupe market for the full year (based on 6 months of data) represents .01% A pretty thin slice of the pie.
My first car of any type, purchased new at the age of 20, was a 1999 Accord Coupe. Maybe back then they didn’t seem like such an older person’s vehicle?
(P.S. Holy hell, I bought that thing 19 years and 6 months ago. Getting old.)
I feel your pain. We bought a ’91 and a ’99 Accord… new. They were both 4 doors, although I had a ’91 5.0L T-Bird to satisfy my coupe urge.
That’s a GREAT second car. 🙂
My problem with the latest Accord is that I find it difficult to tell it apart from the latest Civic, for which there is still a coupe available.
They do look similar, being on the same platform and all.
I have to say that as much as I love this ’90 – ’93 generation of Accord, the 2-door sedan version leaves me scratching my head. It certainly wasn’t distinctive from the 4-door, which would seem to be the main point. I wonder, with hindsight, if Honda was thinking of the E30 BMW 3-Series, where the square cut 2-door and 4-door looked very similar, and both sold well. Perhaps Honda felt that the Prelude covered the “sleeker” end of the 2-door spectrum, and the Accord could therefore be more “conservative and upscale.” No matter the reason, this 2-door is a snooze….
I wonder if sometime the arrival of the Accord coupe had killed the Prelude in a slowly death?
I’m actually a bit surprised by the continued existence of the Civic coupe, along with the fact that Honda only just now added a five-door hatchback that should’ve been part of the line since at least 2008.
+1. You beat me to it.
And the five-door hatch is the one on which they based their sportiest version of all: The Type-R. You can still get the Si in all three types, but the Type-R is Hatch Only. The definition of sporty has changed, that’s for sure.
I still like my coupe though, practical or not. ;o)
There’s no Si hatchback, but the base model has the Euro-spec suspension tuning being that the hatch is made in the UK – the reason it finally came over had to do with excess production capacity there.
My mistake… since the hatch has a black grille and a few more horses, I assumed it was an Si, as the Si models have a black grille, whereas mine has a chrome one.
It’s the same 1.5L Turbo 4, but the horsepower numbers on the hatch and Si models are a little higher than on my EX-T.
There are a few other differences like exhaust and tuning that may also be the difference in power ratings for the same engine.
In a world where car ownership is increasingly considered optional, any vehicle seems to be required to suit all purposes for all people. Aside from the child seat issue, most people just consider a coupe to have limited usability. As late as the early 90’s, when I was driving a ’90 Accord sedan, the coupe version was still an aspirational car for young single professionals. I knew quite a few people who drove them, and would most certainly would have chosen the coupe myself if I hadn’t 2 kids. I still prefer a coupe, as at 6’3″ and aging I find them easier to get into for reasons similar to those cited by Jason Shafer above. However…..
While recently shopping for a late model used vehicle I naturally gravitated toward sedans, as I’ve always been a “car guy” as opposed to trucks, SUV’s, etc. My partner and I test drove a few offerings in the $13-14,000 range and (due to financing options, program incentives, etc as much as the vehicle itself) ended up putting a deposit on a ’16 Dodge Dart, which we’re scheduled to take delivery of later this week. Almost immediately after leaving the lot I had the nagging feeling that this (large and long-term, for us anyway) purchase might be foolhardy, as we have a small dog, like to take weekend trips, own bicycles, and so on. While he is sold on style, and is thusly pleased with the choice already made, I’ve got the niggling feeling that for the same money we should be leaning toward a Kia Soul, a Jeep Compass, or whatever. So as evidenced by the slow death of the mid-priced coupe and the imminent demise of the sedan, even somewhat style conscious buyers who’d otherwise lean toward a “car” almost have to consider otherwise, as the days of owing a car for three years are long gone for me, I expect this purchase to be one I live with for 7-10 years. These considerations, which seem to be almost universal among buyers, coupled with the advent of the “4-door coupe CUV” a’la Hyundai Kona, Nissan Rocks, et al have obliterated pretty much any need for coupes to exist. I’m actually surprised the Civic coupe is still sold. I wonder for how much longer
Please do some research on the Dart. Worst car I have ever owned. New radiator, head gasket, head itself, shocks, struts, battery, 3 sets of headlights, 3 module replacements, and many more trips by 3 years / 50k miles. Lost my rear in trade but have a reliable Sonata now.
I always admired coupes, but having mostly grown up in the post-coupe era of the late ’80s and the entirety of the ’90s, they were both impractical and unnecessary. During my most impressionable years, Ford developed the spectacular Taurus SHO, and Nissan openly marketed the exquisite 3rd and 4th gen Maxima as “the four-door sports car”. One really could have the convenience of four doors in a car that was truly a blast to drive. But even then, there was always something sexier about coupes like the Nissan S13 240SX/Sylvia, the Acura CL, and of course the 300ZX.
Back in the middle to late 1990s, when I was in my mid-20s and many of my friends were buying their first “real” cars, Accord coupes were quite popular. Folks in their 20s at that time grew up in a world of Preludes, Celicas and the like, and as some have said above, 4-door sedans were seen as stodgy cars for people with families.
A coupe on the other had, even if it was basically a 2-door sedan with no functional difference between it and its 4-dr. counterpart, was seen as an acceptable choice for a young(er) driver. Even if it defies all logic, it was just seen as being more fun.
I’m sure your observation that many of the original owners were a “middle-age to older man or woman” is correct, though younger people definitely sought these cars out for a while too. In my friends’ cases, most of them were purchased used, simply out of economic necessity, but these coupes were definitely a hot item for a while.
2 doors were seen as “sporty” or “stylish” during the 50s-90s. Were aspirational for young adults and teens. Including early SUV’s like full size Blazer.
Then, gradually, the practical benefits outweighed looks in 80s/90s, where then were old fashioned.
Now, a 4 door/4×4 pick-up is a “look at me” vehicle or luxury brand CUV.
Don’t forget insurance is more for 2 doors too.
With most of these font wheel drive “two door sedans” offering no real performance or style gains over the four door, why pay more for insurance too?
I had a friend almost buy an Elantra coupe (which I’ve still never seen one of on the road), just because it was $200 cheaper than a sedan (yes, a total miser). Then he found out his insurance would be about $120 more every 6 months for the 2 door.
That ’90 Accord Coupe really makes the ’89 Cutlass Supreme featured yesterday look that much more attractive. Sure, the Honda was easily the better car in most every way, but all the GM-10s were much better lookers, IMO.
The rationale behind sporty two door cars was they were lighter and the bodies stiffer which aids in handling, they were also cheaper, these Honda have no sporting aspirations and just offer a less practical alternative modern fastback sedans calling themselves coup’es are not a recent thing Rover began doing this in the 60s with their P5 B model which had a slightly diffeent roofline to the regular four door version.
I think, as has been pointed out here by others, the four-door coupe body style, and the extreme fastback rooflines of the Fusion, Avalon, Altima, Malibu, etc. have effectively co-opted the coupe body style. I think this trend may have started with the late and not lamented Saturn Ion and the Mazda RX-8, which were both three-door coupes. The Hyundai Veloster has a similar body configuration. Even full-size trucks featured three doors for awhile, before settling on “extended” cabs with two small rear doors and “crew” cabs with two larger rear doors. Add in the CUV coupes (Mercedes-Benz and BMW, notably), and the two-door coupe comes off as merely superfluous. Strictly as a matter or style, I find the traditional coupe to be the purist expression of automotive design. However, in a time of autonomous cars that come in any color, so long as it is black, white, silver or gray, the coupe is on borrowed time. It’s sad, but what to me is more sad is the notion that humans need not bother driving themselves, especially as it is starting to be analogized to the evil of smoking (i.e., dangerous not just to the user, but to all around the user). It’s a slippery slope, and the demise of the coupe may turn out to be the canary in the coal (or COAL?) mine. After those two clichés, I will say no more!
I’m assuming by “3-door” you’re referring to those vehicles that have or had two half-sized clamshell doors, since 3-door pickups existed for only a very short time, but 4-door clamshell extended cabs continue to exist in both mid- and full-size pickups, and the Ion Quad Coupe and RX-8 always had 4 doors.
Interesting discussion on coupes. I’ll just add a personal testimony.
I’ve driven a 2011 Mustang since it was new, most of which time we’ve had kids. I’ve NEVER had a situation where I felt the lack of rear doors was a problem. The caveat is that our family has two other vehicles. A Hyundai SUV that my wife drives and that we use when driving someplace as a family, and my Roadmaster wagon, which I use to haul stuff, and haul kids when I need to and don’t have access to the SUV. So the key to successful coupe ownership is vehicular diversification!
Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, my family always had 2 doors. My parents never had a 4 door until well after I was out of school. They explained it that my dad, who is over 6ft, preferred the larger doors for getting in (on the smallish cars they tended to buy) and it was safer for kids with not having to worry about the rear doors opening.
“They explained it that my dad, who is over 6ft, preferred the larger doors for getting in (on the smallish cars they tended to buy) and it was safer for kids with not having to worry about the rear doors opening.”
My mom was fond of saying “no one will ask me to drive to the Cub Scout Jamboree in a T-Bird.” She was right.
I wonder whether our congested cities with ever-smaller parking spaces are a factor? When cars are parked either side of you, it’s much easier to open a smaller door.
Today’s Civic Coupe is pretty much the same size as a late 80’s Accord. The 1989 Accord Coupe was 179.7 inches, had a wheelbase of 102.4 inches and weighed 2646 lbs. A 2018 Civic Coupe is 176.9 includes, has a wheelbase of 106.3 inches and weighs 2758 lbs.
“4-dr. coupe” makes no sense to me.
How is it different from a so-called “sport sedan”?
It is an oxy-moronic term, surely invented for marketing reasons.
As a kid, I first encountered the term coupe in the Hardy Boys series. Frank & Joe were navigating their coupe over some winding road on the way to The House on the Cliff, in search of adventure.
Now, this here, my 1st car, was watcha call a “coupe.”
A quick google showed that in 2016 only 6% of Accord sales were the coupe, and 5% in 2017. No surprise that they dropped it then.
At least the recent ones looked different, it took a more careful second look at the lead photo to verify that it was indeed the coupe. Then again I am used to seeing just the sedan, but the difference didn’t stand out!
So-called 4-door coupes used to be called hatch or lift backs and plenty have been sold here (and there), such as the Accord’s rival Mazda 626.
The Volkswagen CC was the first non-luxury 4-door coupe. It was also one of the very first ones in the modern sense (the other being the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class).
Meanwhile, Honda justified axing the slow-selling coupe by claiming that the new model has a fastback roofline that negates the need for it.
See I’m torn because indeed it was the first true modern 4-door coupe from a non-luxury brand, yet it marketed itself as a luxury car in the fashion of the Touareg.
The Stinger is by no means an inexpensive car, but it doesn’t sell itself on luxury or even premium-ness, but rather sporting nature, much like how coupes were primarily marketed in previous decades.
I miss the days when the car bodystyle lines weren’t so blurred 🙂
That lovely ’89 SE-i coupe (7th photo down) is perhaps my favorite Accord of the whole series. Just a damn good-looking car, trimmed just right. When they homogenized the roofline with the 4-door for the next generation, however, the coupe became somewhat redundant. Later ones had some unique touches–the full-width taillight panel on the 6th-gen coupe, and a lot of unique sheetmetal on the 9th gen–but it was always a low-key choice.
I inherited a ’90 coupe 3rd-hand with well over 150,000 miles on it when my daughter got a new car. It was the twin of the coupe pictured above the 2 red/2 blue Hondas above.
What an amazing car! Despite the mileage, it rode and drove flawlessly. I had to replace the trans control module on it (which even I, a complete non-mechanic, could handle).
I sold it, still running and driving, to my wife’s work colleague.