среда, 3 октября 2007 г.

Honda Accord Review







I remember sitting in a park with my father a quarter-century ago, pointing at a nearby car. "What do you think that is?" "A BMW?" Nope, but his guess was not without reason. The second-generation Accord lifted more than a few design cues from the storied German marque. The 1982 sedan was also notable for its astounding attention to detail, compactness and efficiency. For those "in the know," the Accord revealed Detroit's sedans as over-sized, over-powered and indelicate. Now that Honda's eighth-generation Accord faces a supposedly chastened Detroit, does the new model maintain the mechanical high ground?

The new Honda Accord is 20 inches longer, eight inches wider, four inches taller and 1,000 pounds heavier than the motor my father misidentified. In other words, it's larger and heavier than the '80's Detroit iron reviled by Honda's early fans. And yet the Accord has come full circle. After years of increasingly bland styling, the ubiquitous sedan once again begs to be mistaken for a BMW.

Looking at the new Accord from the rear three-quarter perspective, clocking the C-pillar kink and the wrap-around taillights (that continue to the roofline's down-sweep), it's a dead ringer for the current BMW 5-Series. From other perspectives, the Honda's design is less derivative– and less eye-catching. This despite a swage line slicing downwards from the rear and a bit of Bimmeresque flame surfacing. A distinctly un-Honda abundance of front overhang does nothing for the proportions.

Still, overall, mission accomplished. The new Honda Accord looks much more expensive than both its predecessor and its classmates.

Inside, the Accord's instrument panel sweeps across the cabin like a 5-Series' dash. Unfortunately, this aesthetic "homage" extends to the Accord's ergonomics. The new controls are just as complex as any Bimmer's, with more buttons than a professional seamstress AND a large iDrive-inspired eight-way knob. So much for "We make it simple."  The Accord's front seats are well shaped for both comfort and [a modicum of] lateral support, especially when clad with grippy cloth. Thanks to the supersized external dimensions, the enlarged cabin is roomy enough for four Big and Tall preferred customers. The Accord's rear seat folds in a single section to expand a class-trailing trunk; unusually intrusive rear strut towers defeat the purpose of a 60/40 split.

The 1982 Accord was motivated by a mere 75 horsepower. For years Honda refused to offer a V6 as a matter of principle. Gen 8 Accord buyers can still opt for a four-cylinder engine, with either 177 horses ( LX) or 190hp (EX). That's plenty of poke for a family runabout, right? Wrong. Pitted against the upsized Accord's 3,433-pound curb weight (EX-L with autobox), the four pot must rev its little 16-Valve DOHC i-VTEC® heart out to get the job done. The resulting 21/31 EPA ratings aren't class-leading.

Enter the new 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6. Hello cubes, goodbye revs. Needless to say, the extra displacement works wonders in the oomph department, with minimal torque steer. The six may not deliver neck-snapping thrills or sing a lusty long, but it's a refined piece that engenders mindless merging and perspiration-free passing.

These powerplants deserve better partners. When hooked up to either engine, the still-five-speed automatic didn't behave well. It occasionally held a gear too long, or refused to downshift, or bumped when going from gear to gear. Maybe the transmissions needed more miles to adapt to my driving style. Maybe not. Fancy manually shifting the recalcitrant slushbox instead? Buy an Acura.

Though the Accord's steering feels nicely weighted and precise, the suspension is tuned for touring, not sport. Going around curves, the double wishbones deliver most of the solid, tightly damped and thoroughly composed feel of a BMW– without the Bavarian's sporting edge. Many competitors offer the option of firmer suspension tuning, but Honda doesn't believe in options. The Accord's suspension settings are a deft compromise between comfort and control. It is, nevertheless, a compromise. Enthusiasts will not be well satisfied; everyone else will be.

The Accord's soft-core suspension settings does have its advantages: banishing the bump-thump busyness that sometimes afflicted the previous Accord on patchy pavement. There's still more road noise than you'll find in some Accord alteratives, but it's much less pronounced than in many past Hondas.

The new Honda Accord is an impressive piece of automotive artistry. It's well-built, roomy, properly-priced and (with the V6) powerful. It raises Honda's trademark refinement to a new level, with much of the look and some of the feel of a base BMW 5-Series.

But part of the Accord's appeal used to lie in Honda's idiosyncratic insistence on engineering cars that followed the "man maximum, machine minimum" philosophy. The new Accord is large and in charge, but in seeking to provide a 5er for the masses Honda has forsaken much of the formula that earned the model its place in American automotive history.




Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=5455

вторник, 2 октября 2007 г.

2009 Nissan Murano SUV Sucking The World





As a lot of Nissan cars lover come to my site from the google keywords "2009 Nissan Murano" search, I noticed that the 2009 Nissan Murano SUV is hot all over the world.

But 2009 Nissan Murano SUV is really to go out? No one can say "yes", as nothing leak from the Nissan Corp. official. Batch rumor of 2009 Nissan Murano SUV is spreading around the world. Even the Renault Koleos Concept is taken as the 2009 Nissan Murano SUV, Lol...

On Yahoo Answers, some said that, the Nissan Murano will be replaced by the Nissan Rogue in 2008, which is another Nissan's Crossover SUV, competing against with the Nissan Murano.

The All-New Nissan Rogue crossover had been released before, having intuitive all-wheel drive, smart storage, and a steet savvy 27mpg, with starting price at $19,250.




Source: http://horisly.blogspot.com/2007/09/2009-nissan-murano-suv-sucking-world.html

понедельник, 1 октября 2007 г.

How the public, not SUVs, screwed up the idea of hybrids

The public is right to be upset to find that hybrids don't automatically improve mileage by 20 MPG. Most hybrids now, compared with the market just a few years ago, are a bunch of SUVs with only slight improvements in mileage and very high annual fuel costs. The SUV fad began dying, so SUV makers looked to cost cuts, switched to crossovers, and added hybrid systems to hang on for dear life. We'll see how much they tarnish the public's perception of hybrids in the future.

The excerpt above pretty much summarizes this recent post from AutoblogGreen. They were covering an ABC News story which notes that the annual cost of hybrids (i.e. fuel cost) is rising. Both ABC News and ABG take it upon themselves to blame SUVs.

I have no love for SUVs, which is a whole other topic, but to condemn auto manufacturers for introducing "hybrids" which don't get as high gas mileage as the Prius et al? That's downright ludicrous.

They note that since 2000, the annual fuel costs of hybrids have gone up. This is due to the use of hybrid technology in pre-existing cars, resulting in a product that wasn't fuel efficiency-designed from the ground up and generally just has an electric motor slapped into the mix. While in examples like GM full-size trucks this is just a bid to get a few points higher MPG, in others like the Saturn Aura it is an attempt to introduce hybrid technology to a new low in starting price. Regardless of the product, the bottom line is that hybrid technology increases fuel efficiency and that despite whatever motivation the manufacturer might have had, it is a step in the right direction.

Instead of blaming auto companies for introducing "hybrids" that don't get elevnty-billion MPG like the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight, and thus "tarnish the public's perception of hybrids in the future," the public needs to take responsibility for knowing products before they buy. The public needs to know that the Honda Accord Hybrid, while not selling well and being discontinued after 2007, gave you the fuel economy of a compact four-cylinder car in a mid-size sedan with 255HP. The Ford Escape Hybrid gives you a mid-size SUV with gas mileage better than most sedans. GM is showing huge commitment to many forms of green auto technology, from offering the first semi-hybrid system on a full-size pickup truck to making strong pushes for E85 to offering hybrid technology (albeit not as efficient as Toyota's more expensive systems) at a new low price point.

If the public knew that and realized that today's hybrids are just a stepping stone to more efficient transportation, they might get off their keisters and pay more attention to something other than a keyword about the product they may buy - "hybrid."




Source: http://supplespub.com/rants/2007-09-26/how-the-public-not-suvs-screwed-up-the-idea-of-hybrids/