Before the Accord, most Honda automobiles were not terribly well-suited to the North American market. Think back to the S600 and S800, the N600 and Z600, the 1300 coupe (not even sold in NA) and even the Civic, which arguably owed a lot of its success to the fuel crisis. The Accord was the beginning of the end for that approach, and the current generation of that car is at the upper limit of the mid-size class. However, for a long time, they were compact and somewhat sporting sedans, and that’s what should draw some interest to this 1981 Honda Accord sedan, for sale for $4500 in Fountain Hills, AZ.
Archive for February, 2014
The Beginning – 1981 Honda Accord
February 12, 2014Goes Like Hell – 1986 Dodge Omni GLH
February 12, 2014Based on a European Simca design, with substantial modification for the European market, sales of the Plymouth Horizon/Dodge Omni were credited with saving Chrysler’s bacon back in the 1970s, convincing the government to put together a rescue package. They beat Ford’s Escort to market, and were right on the heels of GM’s (rear-wheel-drive) Chevette/T1000. In spite of Chrysler having borrowed quite heavily from the Mark 1 Golf, VW agreed to supply Chrysler with its 1.7-liter engine, and for many years this VW and a Peugeot/Talbot 1.6 were the base engines, depending on year. However, America being America, we needed more power, and so Chrysler started fitting their 2.2, and then (more power! more!) they added a turbo. With 146hp, it blew the segment-leading GTI out of the water, at least in terms of acceleration. You can find this 1986 Dodge Omni GLH for sale for $3500 in Deer Valley, AZ.
Manual Luxury – 1983 BMW 733i 5-speed
February 11, 2014There’s something perversely appealing about a luxury car with a manual transmission. Most large luxury sedans are much better suited to automatics, with their larger, more powerful engines and most other features enjoying some level of automation. But if you like a shot of sport in your luxury sedan, there are not that many options. When the BMW 7-series was outgrowing the legacy of the E3 Bavaria, and/or BMW was still a sporty car brand, you could find cars like this 1983 BMW 733i 5-speed, now for sale in Scottsdale, AZ for $2650.


