Best New Family Car�: Honda Accord

The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) has voted the new 2008 Honda Accord sedan as the “Best New Family Car” in the 26th annual AJAC Canadian Car of the Year competition. It is in recognition of Honda’s exceptional effort in bringing quality design, engineering and manufacturing for the model. Thus, the Honda Accord comes eligible to compete with the other qualifying models for the overall Canadian Car of the Year award. Winners will be announced on February 13 at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.

Late October the 2008 AJAC Car and Truck of the Year competition was held near Niagara-On-The-Lake. Over 70 AJAC journalist members participated in four days of back-to-back test evaluations, covering 59 individual products in 12 different categories. According to AJAC officials, the event has been designed to provide Canadian consumers with sound, comparative information on vehicles that are new to the market.

In the event, the Honda Accord EX Sedan competed against five other rival products in the Family Car category. The 2008 Honda Accord Coupe, powered with V6 engine that comes with 6-speed manual transmission, on the other hand, competed against two other finalists in the “Best New Sports/Performance Car Under $50,000” category.

Honda Canada, Inc. Executive Vice President Jim Miller said, “We are very proud of this award and thank the members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada for their vote of confidence in our new Accord sedan… With more than three-quarter of a million Accords sold to date in Canada since its introduction in 1976, the Accord has remained a valid choice for Canadian families looking for high levels of dependability, quality and reliability – attributes that are hallmarks of the Accord as a perennial segment leader as the consummate family car.”

The new Honda Accord will be featuring a wider range of innovative technologies that are designed to offer better efficiency, enhance safety, and greater power. The vehicle comes with exemplified expressive style, fun-to-drive performance and innovative packaging.

The 2008 Honda Accord will be available in sedan and coupe body styles. There will be two variations of a 2.4 L 4-cylinder engine and two iterations of the 3.5 L V-6 engine. With manual transmission, the two L4 engines will produce 177 and 190 horsepower, respectively. They have estimated city/highway fuel economy rating of 9.4/6.4 L/100km. On the other hand, the 3.5 L i-VTEC V-6 engine will produce 268 horsepower. This other engine comes with a new generation of fuel-saving advanced Variable Cylinder Management (TM) (VCM) technology, which will be operating in six-cylinder mode for power in and 4- and 3-cylinder modes for efficiency. Thus, the vehicle will be an estimated city/highway fuel economy rating of 11.0/6.7 L/100 km.

The redesigned Honda Accord gets a larger interior to provide “equal” seating comfort for front and rear passengers. It will also have larger rear legroom and increased width, allowing the front seats to be positioned farther apart for a wide center.

The Accord Sedan is provided with longer wheelbase to improved ride characteristics. It will also have premium suspension design and wider track, wider tire sizes, and standard ABS and Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) – to facilitate enhancement of driver confidence and handling performance.

Since Honda intends to provide comprehensive approach for vehicle safety, every 2008 Accord will be integrated with sophisticated safety technology. It includes driver’s and front passenger’s dual-chamber side airbags; side curtain airbags; dual-stage, dual-threshold driver’s and front passenger’s airbags; and active head restraints designed to reduce neck injuries in the event of a rear collision. Standard active safety features will include the VSA and four-wheel-disc anti-lock brake system with brake assist and electronic brake distribution.

The 2008 Accord will be equipped with an Advanced Capability Engineering (TM) (ACE) body structure to enhance frontal collision compatibility with vehicles of varying sizes and bumper heights.

Honda Motor Company Ltd., a Japanese automotive manufacturer, has been supplying a wide range of dependable vehicles, motorcycles, power equipment and marine engines to Canadian customers. It has 130 manufacturing facilities in 29 countries around the worlds. Each year, it attracts over 20 million customers. At its two assembly plants in Alliston, Ontoria, Honda Canada is manufacturing the Honda Ridgeline and Civic, and the Acura MDX and CSX that comes with quality parts like the Acura CL alternator and other genuine auto parts.

Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.