Made in the USA Honda Accord Celebrates 25th Anniversary

2008 Honda Accord Coupe
The Honda Accord first rolled off American assembly lines in Marysville, Ohio, exactly 25 years ago on November 1, 1982. Though still considered a Japanese car, nearly 9 million made-in-the-USA Accords have rolled out of the Marysville plant, doing wonders for the local economy in the process.


1982 Honda Accord Coupe
First imported from Japan in 1976, the Honda Accord was a natural step up from the popular, reliable Honda Civic. Accords sold well in their new market, not really surprising considering the competition: the Chevy Monza, Ford's Maverick and Mustang II, and the Plymouth Valiant. With the introduction of the 2nd generation Accord, Honda of America Manufacturing opened its Marysville plant and things have been humming right along ever since.


Honda Accord meets its makers
The very first 1982 Honda Accord Sedan now resides at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Just 967 other Accords were made that year at Marysville - contrast that figure with today's production capacity of 1,800 vehicles PER DAY!    


Honda Accord, an American tradition
The 2008 Honda Accord is the first year of the vaunted brand's 8th generation and if looks and specs are any indication, keep the Accord in America's top 5 sales group - a position it has maintained for 20 years. Of course, the 2008 Accord isn't what it used to be: this years optional 3.5-liter V6 overpowers the original Accord's 1.6-liter four by a whopping 200 hp: 268 to 68! Of course, power output isn't the only thing to have changed over the years... the first Accord boasted an MSRP of just $3,995.
 
Steve Levenstein     
Japanese Innovations Writer
InventorSpot.com