biker

If that Accord Coupe really has turn signals in the mirror that may mean it is meant for the European market. The previous gen USDM coupe was sold in Europe.

Moog-Type-S

Honda better put a 6 speed automatic in this Accord.

TMQ

Wow, it seems that the grille on the coupe is done quite differently compared to the sedan. the coupe looks very sharp. the grille on the sedan looks like it's from the 70's (which is).

The headlights also look slightly different? (coupe vs. sedan) or because it's a full front view?

Anyway, the sedan still has a much better design than Gen7. I'm sure the public will vote with their dollars.

Now, what's good looking about Saturn Aura? I don't find any. the chrome bar up front? the out of date horizontal bar on the side? the rear bottom chrome bar? I see all those posts about Aura being better, but hardly any explanation of which design element or perspective stand out.

The Ford Mondeo (uk) - now that's a good looking car - the headlights and grille flow very well. Sporty and sharp.

Accord sedan will always be on the vanilla side. I think if you wait to see it in person, it will be a lot better than what the spy photos show.

Infamous425

they didnt put a 6AT in the new MDX or RDX i doubt they'll put it in the accord. and i dont think honda really needs it as it already gets good mpg. ive been reading the aura forums and theres a lot of complaints of poor mpg even with the 6AT

is300eater

sorry if this is a repost... but I don't believe it's been posted...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxXIdV8jV2s

biker

Videos of the concept are not very useful at this point when the we already have pics of the real thing.

Moog-Type-S

Honda better get with the program and put a 6-speed auto in the Accord.
Camry has one, and Altima has CVT....meanwhile Honda still puts 5-speed autos in their "lux" line of cars

Step it up Honda.

biker

This 6AT craze is just marketing hype - there's nothing wrong with a 5AT if it delivers the same millage and performance at a lower cost. The first thing the LS commercials bragged about was its 8AT - like anyone looking at the car objectively would give crap about that.

Infamous425

people with TL's 5AT posting that they get 28mpg on the highway while some Aura owners are barely breaking 20mpg with the 6AT

LuvMyTSX

20 mpg, that's it? Wow.

Mokos23

Aura isn't even a V8, that's sad

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

I think the real question is here how much HP is Honda going to put in this car?

is300eater

oh, sorry... I thought it was a commercial... I didn't know it was some kind of concept promo

phile

Well that's the Aura. But what about the Toyota Camry? The 6spd seems to have helped quite a bit...faster, and good mileage. Doesn't seem so gimmicky to me when it's properly applied.

is300eater

I wish my FX had a sixth gear

Moog-Type-S

A quicker car, with better mileage FTW. 6-speed AT in a Honda would be a plus.

gilboman

you seemed to have missed the boat completely on this one.

when you buy an ultra luxury car, its all about bragging rights and not what actually is useful. you dont look objectively when you are buying a luxury car(real ones), you buy one that can stroke your ego, you can show off and one that has so much stuff that you don't need it reeks of extravagance.



we arent talking about econoboxes here..

TypeSAddict

lol....if you're bragging about the number of gears your car's automatic transmission has you need to reevaluate your life. Or end it.

TinkySD

Does that also appy to MTs? Or is it only ATs that have no need of better gear ratios that allow you have to have shorter low gears for better accelaration yet still be spaced out smoothly and give you a low rpm cruise in top gear?

A 6at would enable honda to increase performance significantly, especially on their 4 cylinder engines, without losing any efficiency.

Infamous425

a camry v6 6AT probably gets the same real-world mpg as the accord v6/TL 5AT so its really a wash

other cars like infiniti desperately need a 6AT but honda's 5AT is already very efficient

TinkySD

I would argue that the 5at is efficient because it is geared towards efficiency -- which hinders performance. None of the 5ats are bad by any stretch but if you can add performance without taking away any efficiency how is that a bad thing?

A confounding factor is that hondas all tend to get excellent gas mileage because tey user small displacement motors than most of their rivals. An efficiently geared 3.0 liter is going to get better gas mileage than an efficiently geared 3.5 liter. Now if that 3 liter has more gear ratios to work with you can still have those same efficiency benefits without having to give up any performance.

I wouldn't call it a wash taht a v6 camry that weighs a couple hundred pounds more than the accord and has a 17% larger engine getting similar mpg numbers -- that would sound more like an example of that more gears can give you.

Infamous425

i also mentioned the TL which has 3.2/3.5 engines and also get good mpg with that same 5AT. honda would be better off changing the gearing for better low end response

the toyota avalon still uses the 5AT and gets excellent mpg.

TinkySD

Definitely agree... now if they had a 6at I think they could provide that level of low end response while still having all the efficiency

phile

Let's avoid the "probably" comments and be objective here: the Camry is rated 22/31, Accord is rated 20/29. And without a doubt the Camry V6 is faster. We're not talking about Ford or GM where the mileage #'s hardly ever match, with Toyota and Camry, the #'s are pretty accurate. It's not a wash, with the 6spd, it's faster and gets better mileage.

The Avalon as well as the new Highlander does not get the 6-spd for whatever reason. That doesn't really support the argument against the 6-spd, though. Maybe in certain applications it's not more beneficial, but clearly in the Camry's case, which is a direct competitor to the Accord, it is beneficial.

unlemming

Since when is 'good' enough? Just because their 5AT is better than some 6AT doesn't mean they can sit on it...unless they want to be the next GM.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

But keep in mind that the Camry was released mid-cycle into the current Accord's life-span. When the new Accord is released for next year, let's see if they raise the bar on the mileage.

F23A4

biker

It's good enough if the gains from a 6AT are minimal, the cost would go up, the reliability might go down and the only people that would care about the change are numbers obsessed customers (very few).

unlemming

...and I'm sure GM had a similar argument (way) back when everyone else was going to 5AT and they stuck with 4AT. I guess I'm obsessed because my V6 4AT rental G6 sedan desperately needs another gear down low.

youngTL

Wow, the sedan is fugly on the back end (and a bit on the sides).

The coupe looks really great, especially in that blue. The chrome door handles are a bit extreme though.

jwong77

Amen! This Good enough attitude is what put the american car companies where they are now! No, our interiors are "Good Enough"! It may look like utter crap and fall apart, but "It's Good Enough!". Come on guys, that has never been Honda's M.O. They shouldn't start that now.

Mokos23

do you think you'll trade in your 7th gen Accord coupe for the new one?

biker

GM usually always had good trannies with no issues - that was the least of their sales worries. The lack of a 6AT could be the usual - Honda is late to the game to ensure a very good product. The issues with the 5AT form a few years ago might still be fresh in Honda's mind and they don't to screw it up.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

I agree 100% that honda doesnt want to make a 6AT untill they are sure its perfect. They probably are testing one but are going to keep testing it for years and years to make sure they are good trannys that dont fail. The old tranny storys still probably scare them.

As far as Toyotas have a 6AT yeah thats nice and all but from what I have read those trannys are complete crap and fail sometimes within the first 1000 miles. I am sure Honda wouldnt want that either and I personally would rather have a 5AT that will last forever then a 6AT thats poor designed and fails.

CCColtsicehockey

not true. the current accord is not US only and I doubt this one will be either. it will be the inspire in Japan most likely just like the current US accord is the inspire in Japan.

unlemming

GM 4ATs might not have issues with reliability, but the performance on them sucks. If Honda is testing a 6AT or 7AT that's great, but they're so secretive they appear to be stagnating. I've heard the GM 6AT doesn't perform all that great either, but it does seem to give better mileage (I've not driven in a GM 6AT car, just repeating what Ive read about the Aura). I'd rather have my 5AT that occasionally pops than the 4AT my rental had...

alex2364

I believe GM have some of the best ATs in the market. I know BMW uses GM 6AT in their 328.

Infamous425

thats what i was thinkin too. theyre holding off until their (whatever speed) new tranny proves its durability before releasing it. in the meantime the 5AT is proven and efficient so they stick with it for now.

and yeah toyota's 6AT has had quite a few failures in the camry and es350 and even the new tundra people are having their tranny's replaced already.

Infamous425

what about this... both use the same engine

2007 camry v6 6AT = 22/31 mpg
2007 avalon 5AT = 22/31 mpg

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

^^^^Hm thats true too. Another thing to think of is how many people actually know the difference? I would say most people who buy a Honda Accord really dont know a 5AT vs 6AT. My grandmom has a Murano I am sure if you told her it had a CVT she would smile and say "Oh is that good?". I would say at least 75% of people who buy an accord dont buy it based on the tranny. I think if they see its rated as good as the camry in gas mileage they wont ask more questions.