(1976 - 1981) First Generation Accord

The year was 1976 and good news for the automobile public was the launch of the first generation Honda Accord.  This was a Japanese car that was to became of the most popular cars in the United States. The first generation car a three door hatchback with a grand total of 68 bph. By the end of the generation in 1981 it could boast 72 bph . With an initial weight of just 2,000 pounds it would be considered a lightweight in today's marketplace. Its smaller size and great fuel economy led to it becoming  a favorite import.

•  Being very innovative this generation set various milestones for Japanese cars such as the Accord tachometer, intermittent wipers, and as standard Accord equipment such as an am/fm radio. Choices in this generation included  the original Accord 3-door hatchback or a newer Accord 4-door sedan. You could also choose either a 1.6 liter or 1.8 liter engine. A further option was on which type of Accord transmission you wanted. You could choose a 2-speed automatic, a 3-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual transmission.

•  By the end of the generation the top of the line 1981 the Accord SE model included novio-leather seats and power seats. Smaller black plastic remote mirrors were added to both the Accord hatchback and the Accord sedans.

•   Another major Accord generation innovation was the dropping  of worded warning lights and gauge markings with pictograms. To make this generation cars distinctive Honda introduced new colors almost every year and also dropped various ones that were not selling well. Some of the color changes for the  Accord included Nivorno Beige being replaced with Oslo Beige, while at the same time the elimination of dark brown and bronze metallic.

•  1981 also saw a new safety feature implemented when a modifications were made to the Accord shifter which now prevented unintentional engagement of reverse.

All was not positive however with the first generation cars.. A significant disadvantage of this Accord generation cars was very poor rust proofing. If you unlucky enough to have lived in areas where salt is used to melt road ice in the winter you could have a major problem with rust starting to destroy your car. One of the weakest areas of this generation  cars was the Accord strut towers being susceptible to rust . Many of them just out right failed.I. Instead of a reliable car that was worth something at trade in time, you had a parts car that was worth almost nothing, and a generation of cars that was not a total success.

The Accord of this generation was compared with other Japanese models such as the Toyota Corona, the Nissan bluebird, Mazda Capella, and the Mitsubishi Galant.

Honda Accord First Generation