Honda is indeed an interesting company. As I recall those early CVCC's were a touch smaller than their American counterparts, but undeniably (in hindsight) better built, with far more attention to details and quality. The American carmakers of that era couldn't put the words "quality" and "small" into the same sentence and thus we had the Pinto and it's ilk. I bought an 82 Accord for my wife and an 86 for myself (still driving it, though the air conditioning just went south after only 13.5 years). Both drove extremely well and we recently laid the 82 to rest. The man Honda himself was a Japanese maverick, with unothodox views on almost everything. Honda as a company had a profound knowledge of engine technology, derived from the motorcycle heritage, which served them extremely well when gas consumption consciousness became important. Later on, their car racing activities led to improvements in suspensions as well.
By the way, when I bought the '82 Accord, it was virtually impossible in the Northeast to buy one for list price. A friend had given me a test drive in his Accord, before my first purchase and it was crystal clear that this was a great driving vehicle. The negotiation with the dealers was about how much over list price you would pay. Supply and demand. I was furious about the sales practice and the dealerships, but eventually delighted with the overall product quality, which was miles ahead of the American alternatives. |
