9th Gen Misc Discussion Thread: Tops IIHS and NHTSA Tests; Consumer Report Top Pick

[benjaminh]

Originally Posted by alvlee01

I work for Honda, and I handle ordering, allocations, and sales...and I can bet my entire life savings that you are lying through your teeth about having a 2008 Accord EX-L Sedan with Navi in a manual transmission. I hate to put you on blast but the very fact that
1) Honda does not provide custom ordering, or even special ordering. They factory designates the number of each trim level they will make and lets the dealerships know how many they can order, and they in turn choose color. We are not BMW, and we are definitely not Subaru. Honda has made it very simple...you want certain options...get the specific package, i.e. Navi only comes with EX-L, etc.
2) the ONLY Accord EX-L that has navi that comes in manual transmission is the 6 speed COUPE V6, but that is rare. Each dealership only orders 2-4 a year...and considering they have 1,000+ Accord allocation, that's a very minute number.
3) The only Accord to come in a manual transmission from the onset of the 8th Gen Accords has been the LX, and V6 coupes.

It's one thing to make false claims and brag about it, its quite another when someone can prove you wrong. Nice try however.

To everyone else who complains about why Honda doesn't make many manual transmissions...they would love to...but the fact that U.S. is a very stuck up market where 95% of buyers will buy automatic, whereas the exact opposite is true everywhere else. We have become spoiled, complacent, and downright lazy. So, Honda markets to those crowds. Why on Gods green earth would they make a manual transmission sedan that only a few people on a Honda Forum are demanding, when the rest of the country is saying they won't buy it...handful here, millions out there...sounds a little lop-sided to me

I'm not lying.

I went to my dealer in the fall of 2007. Put down a deposit of $500. Ordered the exact color (white) and model I wanted: 2008 Accord EXL navi sedan manual. The dealer told me they had to wait until 29 other people also ordered an EXL navi manual sedan. In other words, I didn't just get to "special order" one single car on the line of that model. They had to wait until they had orders for 30. But then they built them. It arrived about 2 months after the dealer put in the order. It was great to get that call, saying: "Benjamin, your car is on our showroom floor waiting for you. Come on in and pick it up!"

It's by far the best car I've ever owned.

[Husker]

IMO--> TROLL--> alvlee01--> Life savings--> 0.00

H

[Husker]

2013 ACCORDS TESTING

Husker

[Couper09]

Originally Posted by fastball

I wonder what the navigation option will cost now on the EX-L. On the 7th and 8th gens it was roughly 2 grand...... are they going to be that outrageous on price considering everyone's smart phone has built in GPS or a Garmin is less than $120.00 now?

And considering the fact that more and more automakers are offering navigation on their lower trim models. Honda better step it up. They used to be an auto leader. Now they're lagging behind. There is no reason nav should only be available in EX-L models. What about the consumer that don't want leather, a sunroof, or a V-6, but still want navigation?

[luvr_of_vball]

Originally Posted by Couper09

There is no reason nav should only be available in EX-L models. What about the consumer that don't want leather, a sunroof, or a V-6, but still want navigation?

How many of these buyers are out there? And at least to date, Navi has always been available in both 4 cyl and V6 model Accords.



Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

[Sparkland]

Originally Posted by kvndoom

Ugh tell me about it... there's always something better JUST about to come out. I wish I was rich; I'd have 100 cars!

Yes, that is the difference between "happiness" and "joy." Happiness only lasts until you see something more appealing, which won't be long at all.

[TheGandalf]

En joy?

[Husker]

Must be getting close to the 2013 roll out, Honda is putting makeup on the 2012.

2012 Honda Accord HFP coupe

Husker

[jshaw]

Originally Posted by alvlee01

But it's ok for people to pay $35k for over-priced Chryslers (aka Mercedes Benz, and yes they still use the same block), over-rated and over-priced Camry's (Lexus), and VW (Audi), but more closer to home...people pay over $35K for the dull Avalon, as well base Nissan maxima's...so a $35K Accord that comes with 300hp V6, navigation, backup camera, blind spot detection system, lane departure system, bluetooth, and premium sound is not bad...considering to get the same crap on any other make would cost you closer to $40K. Hondas are expensive because of their quality...why idiots would pay the same price for cheap plastics in a Toyota is beyond me. BTW, it was people like you that went around and said $40K for a mini-van was ridiculous and would rather get a fully loaded VW Van for $25k...guess what happened, their van broke down a year later, and he comes running back to me to buy a fully loaded $44k touring elite odyssey...go figure

To be fair, the Lexus ES is now on the Avalon platform.... so it's basically a stretched Camry :p


Though, if you have ever been driven in one, it's something different. It's.... almost removed from the outside. I normally don't care for C&D (they are generally full of it), but their title for the 2013 Lexus ES review fits it well: a car for the aspirationally meek. But only in the sense of driving. I could well see some cities, where a simple commute may be a daily 3 hour grind, where driving pleasure simply isn't anywhere on the priority list. Just comfort while in transit from point A-B. That's probably why such a highly expensive FWD sedan sells so well in the USA, when AWD and RWD competitors are all about with better performance, more HP, more of about everything BUT the Lexus exterior isolation.

[namegoeshere]

HondaLink™ is a cloud-based system that connects you to your favorite digital content without hassling with your mobile phone. Access Aha™ by Harman, Pandora® internet radio, SMS text message function and more via the audio system interface and voice recognition.

You Tube

You Tube

[orange_chicken]

More distracted driver on the roads...

[TheGandalf]

Originally Posted by orange_chicken

More distracted driver on the roads...

Most "drivers" (we should probably call them "driver seat occupants"...) that will like and use this feature, already do so, via their smartphones. This is even worse as they have to fish them out of whereever they have them and take their hands out of the wheel to "play with them".

At least with the approach being tried by Honda, these Driver Seat Occupants should be able to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road (or as close as they can) and tries to limit the distractions by reading the updates to them and not allowing them to post some of their own...

Of course, if the Driver Seat Occupant (DSO) feels compeled to update their facebook status and tweet that they are: 3 minutes away from home, 2 minutues away from home, almost home and/or "Honey I just rear ended the neighbor, but don't get upset, it's not like that time you caught me..." they will still have to fish out their phone and do so...

But remeber also lower tech DSOs find ways to be wreckless by eating while they look for a CD in the glove box, while some fix their make up, and of course from time to time they might hold the wheel or look out.

What we need is better Drivers Ed.

[dm919]

I remember reading this comparison test in Car and Driver a few years ago-featuring an Accord EX-L sedan with a MT!

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...mparison-tests

[benjaminh]

Originally Posted by dm919

I remember reading this comparison test in Car and Driver a few years ago-featuring an Accord EX-L sedan with a MT!

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...mparison-tests

Thanks! That's exactly what the inside of our car looks like. My daughter helped pick out the blond trim.

[namegoeshere]

Originally Posted by Husker

IMO--> TROLL--> alvlee01--> Life savings--> 0.00

H

If Troll = I think I'm Mr. Know-It-All (but I really don't) because I work for a Honda dealer, then yes he's a troll.

benjaminh, if you want to collect on his bet, he works for Honda of Hayward. Name is Alvin Lee. Let's see if he's a man of his word or not.