Honda

Honda Accord

The Honda Accord is a series of compact, mid-size and full-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in a majority of automotive markets throughout the world.

In 1982, the Accord — which had always been manufactured in Sayama, Japan — became the first Japanese car to be produced in the United States when production commenced in Marysville, Ohio at Honda's Marysville Auto Plant. In addition, the Accord is, or has been, produced in Nelson, New Zealand, Swindon, England, Guangzhou, China and Ayutthaya, Thailand. The Accord has achieved considerable success, especially in the United States, where it was the best-selling Japanese car for fifteen years (1982–97), topping its class in sales in 1991 and 2001, with around ten million vehicles sold.Numerous road tests, past and present, rate the Accord as one of the world's most reliable vehicles.

Since initiation, Honda has offered several different car body styles and versions of the Accord, and often vehicles marketed under the Accord nameplate concurrently in different regions differ quite substantially. It debuted in 1976 as a compact hatchback, though this style only lasted through 1981, as the line-up was expanded to include a sedan, coupé, and wagon. By the Accord's sixth generation in the 1990s, it evolved into an intermediate vehicle, with one basic platform but with different bodies and proportions to increase its competitiveness against its rivals in different international markets. For the current generation of the Accord released for the North American market in 2008, Honda has again chosen to move the model further up-scale and increase its size. This pushed the Accord sedan from the upper limit of what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines as a mid-size car to just above the lower limit of a full-size car, with the coupe still rated as a mid-size car.

Honda Civic

The Honda Civic is a line of subcompact and subsequently compact cars made and manufactured by Honda. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the Civic has become larger and more upmarket, and it currently slots between the Fit and Accord.

It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door model, followed by a three-door hatchback that September. With the transverse engine mounting of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive like the British Mini, the car provided good interior space despite overall small dimensions. Early models of the Civic typically included a basic AM radio, heater, foam-cushioned plastic trim, two-speed wipers, and painted steel rims with a chromed wheel nut cap. As the years went by, it has become much more upscale with options such as air conditioning, power locks, power windows, leather upholstery, satellite-linked navigation, and a six-speed manual transmission. Initially gaining a reputation for being fuel-efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly, later iterations have become known for performance and sportiness, especially the Civic Type-R, Civic GTi and Civic SiR.

The Civic has been rebadged for international markets with such models as the Honda Ballade and Honda Domani/Acura EL. The Civic platform also served as the basis for the CR-X sport compact, the CR-X del Sol targa convertible, and the CR-V compact SUV.

As of 2006, a total of 16.5 million Civics had been sold worldwide, with 7.3 million of them in the United States. By 2010, Civic has been the top-selling car in Canada for thirteen years. With high gas prices and a weak economy in June 2008, the Civic supplanted the Ford F-Series to become the top-selling vehicle in the United States for that month.

In Japan , production of non-hybrid Civic for domestic market ended in August 2010, production of Civic hybrid for home market ended in December 2010. In recent years, customers shifted to minivans and compact cars like Honda Fit. Honda launched Fit hybrid in October in Japan. However, production of Civic and Civic hybrid for export markets will continue.

Honda Pilot

The Honda Pilot is a mid-size crossover SUV. The Honda Pilot is built in Lincoln, Alabama, and was also produced in Alliston, Ontario, Canada up until April 2007. The first generation Pilot was released in the summer of 2002 as a 2003 model, and in 2006 it received new front and rear fascias, a redesigned interior, and various standard safety features. The second generation Pilot was released in late 2008 for the 2009 model year.

The Pilot was designed to fill a large American demand, particularly a larger SUV with third-row seating. Prior to the introduction of the Pilot, Honda only had the compact crossover SUV CR-V, and the Honda Passport (a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo) which is truck-based and intended as a quick-fix, as the company recognized the competition from other refined mid-sized SUVs and crossovers. The Pilot shares underpinnings and the powertrain with the Acura MDX luxury SUV, and their platforms are shared with the Honda Odyssey minivan and the Honda Accord sedan. The Pilot’s unibody construction and independent suspension is designed to provide handling similar to that of a car; however, it is also fortified with integrated perimeter frame rails, which helps it withstand towing and light off-road use. The Pilot is Honda's largest SUV, although the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour surpassed the Pilot in length.

The Pilot is sold in North America, while Japan and Australia, for several years, got its relative, the Honda MDX (first generation Acura MDX) instead. In the Middle East, the Pilot is sold as the Honda MR-V. The second generation Pilot is also available in Russia and Ukraine. The Pilot has been a critical and commercial success for Honda, selling over 100,000 vehicles in 2004, an increase of almost 20% over 2003.

In September 2011, 300000 of the vehicles were recalled for a seat belt defect.

Honda Odyssey

The Honda Odyssey is a minivan manufactured by Japanese automaker Honda since 1994, marketed worldwide, and now in its fourth generation in North America and Japan.

The Odyssey had originally been conceived and engineered in Japan, in the wake of country's economic crisis of the 1990s – which in turn imposed severe constraints on the vehicle's size and overall concept, dictating the minivan's manufacture in an existing facility with minimal modification. The result was a smaller minivan, in the Compact MPV class, that was well received in the Japanese domestic market and less well received in North America. The first generation Odyssey was marketed in Europe as the Shuttle.

Subsequent generations diverged to reflect market variations, and Honda built a plant in Lincoln, Alabama, incorporating the ability to manufacture larger models. Since model year 1999, Honda has marketed a larger (large MPV-class) Odyssey in North America and a smaller Odyssey in Japan and other markets. Honda also offered the larger North American Odyssey in Japan as Honda LaGreat between 1999 and 2004.

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