New Honda Pilot

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

The 4th Gen Accord looked the best to me. Followed by the 6th.

[BimmerM3]

6th gen, then 8th gen looked the best, IMO. Never was a huge fan of the 7th.

[Tave]

I've never looked an Accord, or any Honda for that matter (minus the S2000), and thought, damn that thing is just too sexy to pass up.

The 7th gen had lukewarm styling, but then again so did all Accords up to that point. The 7th gen had the misfortune of being designed during a period of years where no one was really moving the ball forward design-wise.

However in all other respects it was a great car, IMO.

[CALL_911]

The 7th gen had the misfortune of being designed during a period of years where no one was really moving the ball forward design-wise.

???

IMO that was the first generation of family midsizers with some modicum of excitement, beginning with the 2003 Altima. The 7th gen Accord's styling, IIRC, was controversial when it came out which is more than one could say about any preceding Accord.

[Cookie Monster]

I still want to own a 7th gen Accord V6 6 speed sedan. That was a very cool sleeper IMO.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

IMO that was the first generation of family midsizers with some modicum of excitement, beginning with the 2003 Altima.

The Maxima had been at it for years.

[CALL_911]

The Maxima had been at it for years.

Eh, the Maxima wasn't really an Accord/Camry competitor.

[FoMoJo]

The Maxima had been at it for years.

Circa 1980-1990s, Maxima was the top choice of ricers, as I recall.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Eh, the Maxima wasn't really an Accord/Camry competitor.

You're right. It was as more of a 600/760/900/5000/6000/Cressida competitor.

http://m.caranddriver.com/comparisons/escape-from-baja-mexican-sports-sedan-torture-test-archived-comparison-test

[CALL_911]

You're right. It was as more of a 600/760/900/5000/6000/Cressida competitor.

http://m.caranddriver.com/comparisons/escape-from-baja-mexican-sports-sedan-torture-test-archived-comparison-test

And this fact has a lot to do with why the Maxima is all but dead

[FoMoJo]

You're right. It was as more of a 600/760/900/5000/6000/Cressida competitor.

http://m.caranddriver.com/comparisons/escape-from-baja-mexican-sports-sedan-torture-test-archived-comparison-test

The '80s were truly the dearth of the automotive experience.

[ifcar]

And this fact has a lot to do with why the Maxima is all but dead

It's been a strong seller throughout this generation. We'll see what the new one does.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

You're right. It was as more of a 600/760/900/5000/6000/Cressida competitor.

http://m.caranddriver.com/comparisons/escape-from-baja-mexican-sports-sedan-torture-test-archived-comparison-test

Circa 1980-1990s, Maxima was the top choice of ricers, as I recall.

I was referring to the 4DSC SE models starting in 1988.

[Laconian]

The tail was really bad prior to the facelift

Yeah, it had a real badonkadonk butt.

[Tave]

???

IMO that was the first generation of family midsizers with some modicum of excitement, beginning with the 2003 Altima. The 7th gen Accord's styling, IIRC, was controversial when it came out which is more than one could say about any preceding Accord.

Yuck. At that time the cars had grown in size to the point that a lot of the past cues were obsolete, but the designers hadn't had time to react. So we got a lot of flat-slabbed nondescript blobs.








With the 'mercians looking about 5 years long in the tooth (better designs but inferior underpinnings):

[CJ]

The 300M still looks great.

[Tave]

The 300M still looks great.

It was a favorite of mine, still looks good too but I hardly ever see one.

[AutobahnSHO]

The 300M still looks great.

Gross, I always hated them.

[2o6]

Tave, you're absolutely crazy.



The 2002 Altima was a godsend, and was pretty revolutionary for the segment (same with the 2003 Maxima). It was the start of the Renault partnership, and design skyrocketed.


I've owned a 1998-2001 Altima. It's a bland shitbox.

It's not ugly, but not exactly interesting either





The accord had a strange rear, but I really like it. The Altima is still a very good looking car. the Camry was OK.

[Tave]

Tave, you're absolutely crazy.

I can appreciate your unapologetic anti-establishment-ism, but why don't you cool it on the "crazy" talk and at least admit to yourself that your opinions are pretty far out there?

[GoCougs]

7th gen Accord was the pinnacle of the marque thus far, esp. the motor and available 6MT sedan, and the last before the bean counters started fully running the show. Its (huge) demerits were prototypical Honda road noise and interior rattles. 8th gen noticeably cheapened and didn't advance the marque other than size and 5er ripoff styling was lol. 9th gen is simply a warmed over 8th gen but at least the styling has been toned down and refinement is up.

[TBR]

I can appreciate your unapologetic anti-establishment-ism, but why don't you cool it on the "crazy" talk and at least admit to yourself that your opinions are pretty far out there?

I don't think his opinion on this is far out there at all. The Camry was obviously as bland as ever, but the Mazda6, Accord, Altima, and Fusion of that era were all vastly more exciting to look at and drive than their immediate predecessors.

[MX793]

It was a favorite of mine, still looks good too but I hardly ever see one.

My folks had one.  Not a bad driving car either, considering how big it was.  Better planted than most large American cars (way way more responsive than any 2000s era W-body Impala or Taurus).  Motor had decent punch for that time as well.

[Tave]

I don't think his opinion on this is far out there at all. The Camry was obviously as bland as ever, but the Mazda6, Accord, Altima, and Fusion of that era were all vastly more exciting to look at and drive than their immediate predecessors.

Oh yes they were better drives for sure, design is subjective but IMO they are uglier cars and it's not really close. In any event I wasn't picking on 2o6's opinion on this specifically, but the ease at which he threw "absolutely crazy" at me as if he was the measuring stick of automotive sanity.

I thought the Fusion was a good effort for that generation, although it didn't debut until 2006 and had time to learn from the mistakes of its competitors. I remember popular sentiment was a bit against it (i.e., the Mach 3 jokes).

The Mazda6 was OK, better than the 626 but not as attractive as the Protege.

[ifcar]

I agree with the praise for the 300M and that generation of Taurus styling -- that was a pretty classy generation whose looks would have gotten a lot more attention on something less mediocre in other ways. Of course, these are a size bigger than the Accord.

The 2003-2005 Accord has aged surprisingly well to my eyes. It looked so bloated and awful when it came out, but even the taillights aren't awful looking anymore. The 2006-2007 was a further improvement.

I never liked the looks of the 2002-2006 Altima, especially the 2002-2004, but it was at least there was a clear appeal.

The 2002-2006 Camry was quietly classy and unobjectionable to my eyes, though the facelift 2005-2006 got a little fussy.

The first-gen Mazda6 looked great, I think, except for the taillights. But it was just the right look for the brand, and not bad to look at either.

[68_427]

These weren't that bad either IMO, but they were a step bad from the prior gen.

[Morris Minor]

My grandmother bought a first gen in the late 70s. It was a revelation, after years of Rootes cars (Humber, Singer, Hillman) etc. When she took to her local garage for service, mechanics used to gather round to look at the beautiful underhood layout.

[BENZ BOY15]

It looks like... Transportation...




Interior looks like a HUUUUGE upgrade, apart from this.

Weird.

[BENZ BOY15]

I like the design of my dad's era Pilot the best (MY 2007).....after that, they got strange looking. That car is still going fine and has held up really well over the years and has a timeless, pleasant/non-offensive look to it.

It also has a relatively powerful engine which works well and I'd say the only thing I don't like about it is the road noise.

It's pretty loud on the inside but I suppose that's a Honda trait not limited to the 2007 Pilot.

[Soup DeVille]

My grandmother bought a first gen in the late 70s. It was a revelation, after years of Rootes cars (Humber, Singer, Hillman) etc. When she took to her local garage for service, mechanics used to gather round to look at the beautiful underhood layout.

Never met anybody who bought one of those more than once before ( the Rootes cars that is). My general impression was that they were a step below AMC.