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Accord being discontinued in the UK?

One sure way to wind up an Acura owner in the USA is to say "That's a nice Honda you have there, just like my Accord/Civic etc". Because that's basically what it is at the end of the day. However, Acura may have some success in selling cars here, simply due to the fact it isn't a Honda. And we all know in the UK Honda sadly seems as fashionable as Ebola. Dare I say it Acura should get some Cleb to market a UK Acura and aim it at the lease market. Fill it with plastic gizmos, shove the engine full of high tech bits that will probably break after 80,000 miles like swirl flaps. It will probably put the Germans out of business within a few weeks.

Back to reality though I guess the demise of the Accord is hardly a surprise and has been spoken about quite extensively on the forum during the past year or so.

Its a shame though. For me the Accord was a symbol of a car designed by engineers and designed to a spec rather than a cost.
 
What are we going to do to celebrate the life of the Accord in the UK?

Maybe a nice club sticker " Accord in the UK - 1976-2015 RIP"
 
Accord owners funeral procession around the UK?

Black tourers look like hearses after all :D
 
HuskyMan said:
Accord owners funeral procession around the UK?

Black tourers look like hearses after all :D
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I've never seen a hearse hitting the VTEC, but I think I should ask for that in my will :)

We have to do something to commemorate it, we've got enough time so we should arrange a meet/wake for next summer? As an owners club we suck at meeting up but perhaps we could all get together to celebrate the life of the UK Accord?
 
A meet is a good idea, but its difficult for some people to come.

I reckon a sticker would be a good simple idea everyone could take part in.

RIP Accord, killed by zee germans!
 
Honda killed by non existent marketing and prices far too high. only themselves to blame. I'm loving my lexus (breakdowns since June = 0!) would i get another Honda Accord, probably not. At the money they got for new you can get much better cars elsewhere. I did see a k24 tonight when I was out and it was nice to see.

I saw an advert on US telly last weekend watching NFL, it was for an Acura of some sort, looked the business, nice meaty engine and loads of tech. That's what we need over here (at USD prices)
 
^ thats what killed a lot of D market cars, becaus eyou can pick up so called premium cars from around 25k, the same as an Accord.

What we should do is drive all the Accords up to HUK HQ and blare out the horns in protest.
 
exec said:
^ thats what killed a lot of D market cars, becaus eyou can pick up so called premium cars from around 25k, the same as an Accord.

What we should do is drive all the Accords up to HUK HQ and blare out the horns in protest.
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I vote for that, would be well funny.
 
Or road block outside the Swindon plant.

Park up and block the main entrance to the Swindon plant, take some nice piccys and then leave before the Rozzers pitch up.
 
richsprint said:
Or road block outside the Swindon plant.

Park up and block the main entrance to the Swindon plant, take some nice piccys and then leave before the Rozzers pitch up.
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Let the Rozzers come, only the Diesel drivers will get caught :ph34r:
 
Some people are already showing their disapproval on Honda UK's FB page, here's 2 snippets....

Why discontinue the Accord in Europe? There are many loyal Accord owners that are very, very disappointed.
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Unfortunately what you state is true, though we will have a wave of new models to introduce in the UK. Do keep an eye on what we're doing, as you never know what might happen.
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'We also feel that the Accord has a future as part of the process of reviving, evolving and bringing the Company forward. It not only provides a link to Mr Honda's heritage (the original inspiration for the name Accord being Honda's desire for accord and harmony between people, society and the automobile) but despite recent concerns it can be revived in the true spirit of Mr Honda - "We do not make something because the demand, the market, is there. With our technology we can create demand, we can create the market. Supply creates its own demand." - it would be a prime example of Honda, as the best in the industry at innovation and evolution to overcome adversity.' - A fellow Accord Owner.


Honda UK Honda I would like to follow up Hassan Aire's post on here from 23rd October.
I cannot understand for the life of me why you are discontinuing the Accord model across Europe. The Accord is a staple of the Honda brand and has been iconic for years. As Hassan quoted in his post, there is no reason why a car that is created shouldn't be able to create its own demand again and rise through the market. I really do think you are making a massive mistake scrapping the model when the previous generations of the car have created such interest for the brand. The iconic cog advert for the tourer model, your amazing voice recognition sat nav system first available in the accord, and of course the brilliant 2.2 ictdi ‪#‎diesel‬ which was whisper quiet. Just think of what you have achieved with this car in the past and just how good they have all looked. However, I think the accord still has a massive place in Europe and the UK. If you design a new one along the same design philosophy as your new HR-V, you will have a distinctive saloon and tourer model- and you guys are always coming up with great technology to put inside the car. The trouble is that for a few years now, the likes of ‪#‎Vauxhall‬ and Mazda have been catching up with you. I believe however you can take back the USP with some investment in new tech systems. Then, why not introduce some of your fantastic vtec technology for a new engine range. Like the insignia, what about a 1.4 petrol turbo with good efficiency along with the 1.6 diesel out of the civic. Then, also include the 2.2 diesel as before but a new efficient version and the car will then be viable again and stand out from the crowd. Clearly, ‪#‎Mazda‬ believes it is on to a winner with the new 6 saloon and tourer and there are lots about in the UK, so there is no reason why the accord cannot take the fight to these models once again. What a solid saloon you have built in the accord over the years- no one builds a car like ‪#‎Honda‬- and please don't drop it from the model line up- a new one would make all the difference and would relish in the reliability and quirkiness of the Honda brand. Please bring it back!!






Some good words said there
 
unfortunately Honda do not have the sales capacity to introduce multiple platforms/engine- they are now trying to catch up. What they should of done is listen to it's market and competitors and responded accordingly. The issue by doing that you start chasing volume which then dilutes your brand the people love so much.



It's all in PR and Honda are terrible at it going against what is business sense BUT that's what I like about Honda. It's still independent!
 
Current 2.4's still in stock will need to be very heavily discounted to get people interested. New era saloons are coming with 1.6 turbo lumps putting out 45mpg and £60/yr tax, a 2.4 NA engine just doesn't hold appeal anymore.

Plus, let's be honest, with PCP and lease deals the majority of people don't look beyond the first 3-4yrs of ownership with a car, so long term reliability isn't really an issue unless buying 2nd hand. And why would a manufacturer be concerns with 2nd hand prices.
 
skinnyman said:
Current 2.4's still in stock will need to be very heavily discounted to get people interested. New era saloons are coming with 1.6 turbo lumps putting out 45mpg and £60/yr tax, a 2.4 NA engine just doesn't hold appeal anymore.
Plus, let's be honest, with PCP and lease deals the majority of people don't look beyond the first 3-4yrs of ownership with a car, so long term reliability isn't really an issue unless buying 2nd hand. And why would a manufacturer be concerns with 2nd hand prices.
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Honda is so concerned about resale value for their customers it is one of the reasons why they don't get into fleet sales. And if you took fleet sales way from the total market share, Honda would fair better that the stats say...
 
Mr Honda said:
Honda is so concerned about resale value for their customers it is one of the reasons why they don't get into fleet sales. And if you took fleet sales way from the total market share, Honda would fair better that the stats say...
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This can have the opposite effect though, as we see hardly any 8th gen Accords on the road compared to companies that do.

I mean look at Insignia's, pretty sure 90% of their sales volume is fleet/company cars. Can't see anyone buying one through choice......

I think Honda might have gotten the pricing slightly wrong on them too, I mean the the 2.4 EX has a list price of £32k, which imo is just too much. It's running costs in terms of mpg & tax vs say a 320i BMW is just too high to command that price point, and I think sales of the 2.4 reflect this.
 
The Accord isn't built in the UK though so it suffers from the exchange rate - there's not much they can do if it costs x amount to build in Japan and then the value of the yen against the pound inflates the price of the car.

To be honest the UK/Europe is Honda's smaller market, Japan and the US are where they make most of their money and the stable of models for those markets is much larger as a result. It doesn't make good business sense for Honda to chuck a load of different models at buyers in the UK if there isn't demand for them. Maybe it's their own fault for not marketing their cars well enough, or maybe the problem is that 99% of the population are fairly clueless and just buy a Ford/Vauxhall/VW/BMW because that's what their friend/neighbour/brother/someone they saw on the way to work drives.
 
skinnyman said:
I think Honda might have gotten the pricing slightly wrong on them too, I mean the the 2.4 EX has a list price of £32k, which imo is just too much. It's running costs in terms of mpg & tax vs say a 320i BMW is just too high to command that price point, and I think sales of the 2.4 reflect this.
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I agree, total parts costs for a car at the factory is not that much, I would expect all the parts for the Accord to be around £5k, and when it leaves the factory they have to factor in labour time and the recoup of the mechanisation of the plant, so to break even I would expect the cost in materials + labour + plant usage to be under £10k.

The choice of sales price is based on other marques in the same market (= country + car segment), so a new Accord for sale in the UK will have a different price from say Australia. It's down to what they can get away with whilst making as big a profit as possible, and while guaranteeing the sale of all the cars coming out of the factory, into all the markets (all target countries/segments)

IMO the Accord is over-priced in this country, I reckon that Honda decided long ago that the UK was not going to be high volume for them, so they just maintain a presence here. They've also possibly noticed a decline in sales of the Accord segment across all markets.
 
The Accord is slightly overpriced new, probably £2k or so. People wont pay premium prices for a Honda, yet the Accord is priced that way. Mondeo, Insignia, Avensis are all better value.
We know the Accord is superior, but Joe public dont.
Honda is doing what BMW did with Rover, charge a premium price, hoping the public will consider your brand premium. We all know what happened to Rover :(
Civic is overpriced also and thats made in Swindon so no exchange rate problem.
 
Accord is wayyyyy over priced , im sorry but it has fallen below even standards of kia and hyundai now , its sad to say but it has , go and test drive one , when was rover a quality brand ?? 1976?? Come on? The last quality rover brands were hanging onto the remains of the honda engines in the late 90s ?? Seriously
 
Its so frustrating as an avid honda lover to see the brand disapoint in such a way ... Surely there could be a market for a medium size saloon with decent mph and a swift turn of speed ..? Come on honda release an ilx with twin turbo 1.6 dtec ??????
 
8thgenfan said:
Accord is wayyyyy over priced , im sorry but it has fallen below even standards of kia and hyundai now , its sad to say but it has , go and test drive one , when was rover a quality brand ?? 1976?? Come on? The last quality rover brands were hanging onto the remains of the honda engines in the late 90s ?? Seriously
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To be fair though you are paying for the quality of the core engineering and the reliability that comes with it. If you want something which isn't going to break down and won't blow seals and sensors here there and everywhere....get an Accord.
 
They're not immune to issues though. Ok they're more reliable than a modern day VW or Audi, but they still suffer cracked manifolds, EGR valves, various issues with the diesels that pop up over and over, VSA modules @ £1600 a time.

Every car has it's issues, and the Accord is no different.

Even the Civic, the most reliable car ever, had basic problems like paint fade and corrosion around the windscreen on the FN2 models.
 
As said by others Honda models even the Swindon built ones are over-priced as Honda wanted to create the impression that they are premium, which the products are but not the image. The Accord is expensive and not really anything to do with it being imported from Japan as all of Mazda's model are built in Japan but they are still cheaper and good value. When you can buy an Audi or a BMW for 25k new, most people will buy an A4 or a 3 series as a Honda isn't posh enough to show off to your neighbours.

Also I think Honda have missed the boast by reducing their range, a good product creates demand, look how Nissan overhauled their range with a new segment of crossovers and were succesful, granted Honda had products ahead of their time, but they missed the boat abit and are playing catch up, I think we will see a new Accord sometime in the near future though.
 
True about Nissan. So many people brand these crossover models as useless, but they've sold boat loads of Juke's and however you spell the bigger one.

Even Kia have sold loads of the Sportage, and they're holding their price like mad too. Take a look at the price of 2-3yr old models vs what you can buy them for through drive the deal, in some cases there's only a few grands difference.
 
skinnyman said:
They're not immune to issues though. Ok they're more reliable than a modern day VW or Audi, but they still suffer cracked manifolds, EGR valves, various issues with the diesels that pop up over and over, VSA modules @ £1600 a time.

Every car has it's issues, and the Accord is no different.

Even the Civic, the most reliable car ever, had basic problems like paint fade and corrosion around the windscreen on the FN2 models.
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skinnyman said:
They're not immune to issues though. Ok they're more reliable than a modern day VW or Audi, but they still suffer cracked manifolds, EGR valves, various issues with the diesels that pop up over and over, VSA modules @ £1600 a time.

Every car has it's issues, and the Accord is no different.

Even the Civic, the most reliable car ever, had basic problems like paint fade and corrosion around the windscreen on the FN2 models.
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All of what you state there, were covered by extended warranties. The problem isn't Honda's diesel engine, the problem is that they were forced to go diesel in the first place, though there are thousands that never suffered any of the above issues, ask bmw owners about timing chain warranties on their diseasels!!


skinnyman said:
True about Nissan. So many people brand these crossover models as useless, but they've sold boat loads of Juke's and however you spell the bigger one.

Even Kia have sold loads of the Sportage, and they're holding their price like mad too. Take a look at the price of 2-3yr old models vs what you can buy them for through drive the deal, in some cases there's only a few grands difference.
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Honda were the first to get into the c-suv game with the HR-V, but if their marketing dept were any use, they'd be where the qashqai sales are now, and not playing catch-up.

The 1.6 CR-V seems to be doing well for them now, the new HR-V should be good too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5qkvAREXbA
 
A lot of the Honda models were ahead of their time really, HRV, Stream, dare I say even the Civic Shuttle from many moons ago.

Also with the diesel, the Honda engine is bulletproof, the problem is with the Bosch parts used, Honda should have gone to Denso!
 
It's a bit depressing to see that Honda seem to be abandoning the European saloon market but not surprising given that the Accord has not really evolved much over the last eleven years. It has stood still while the likes of Volkswagen, Ford, Mazda, and even Skoda take market share that could easily have belonged to the Accord.
Look at the marketing worth of years of topping JD Power customer marketing surveys that were never capitalised upon as a good example of wasted opportunity. It's now too late as the public perception of the Accord now is that it is over-priced, uninspiring, dull and out of date.
 
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