1986 Honda Accord LXi Sedan | Retro Review

The 3rd Gen Honda Accord is arguably one of the most timeless designs of the 80's...maybe up there with the C4 Corvette. Both are flip up light masterpieces! It seems strange to me now that it would be equally as cool to have either. Certainly an Accord wouldn't turn my head back then like a Corvette always did. That's the magic of looking in the rearview. Be RAD to yourself...and each other! Cheers, Ben.
Show 518 | Original Airdate 3-18-1986

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[martins]

Who here cares more about the retro reviews than the new cars review?

[JJPMustang]

Pop up headlights
Legendary reliability
What more could you ask for?!

[drivedb]

You’d almost have to be old enough to remember when these Accords were still on the road to understand just how wide the gap was between the imports and domestics at this time. The Taurus of course was an exception, but ultimately even the Taurus couldn’t hold a candle to the longevity of the Toyotas and Hondas of this era, and this Accord was no exception. Very well-built cars. Made in Ohio, too.

[ricepony]

Classic John harping on oil pressure and voltage gauges.

[MandusahRamirez]

I remember when my parents first got this car it sounded like an electronic motor when accelerating and that distinctive Honda start up sound.. Ahh the good old days

[albear]

2:00 Wait for it! Wait for it! Here it comes! John's comment about the missing oil pressure and voltage gauges! 😂🤣😂

[jamesstuart]

Such an innocent-looking dagger to the heart of General Motors.

[christopher]

It was this model Accord that really made Honda a huge player in the midsize car market. I remember when this came out and people I knew that had only ever bought American cars started switching over to imports. It was miles above any other car in its market.

[Plata-ori-plumbu]

As an eight year old boy, I'll never forget the day my dad bought two of these, a 5-spd manual for him and an automatic for my mom. With the pop-up headlights the Accords were on the same level of the Ferraris of the period for me. The 5-spd ending up in my 16-yr old brothers possession and the first technical modifications he did were burn out the clutch and flat-spot all 4 tires. I used to think I had the coolest brother on earth as I rode with him one day, 90mph in a 35mph zone. The stupid things we did as kids are too hard to process nowadays....

[speedkar]

These were the cars I grew up seeing all over the roads. It's weird to see one without rust though

[NSXTypeRGTRLM]

This was basically peak Honda! I miss the Honda of the late 80s early 90s.

[enzojh]

Oh man I love that 80s/90s Honda classic startup 🥰. Such legendary cars.

[trancross]

This was my very 1st car purchase. I got it back in 1997 at a used car lot in my hometown. Mine was an LXi, with the exact same exterior & interior colors as this one, but mine was a 5spd. It sparked my love of the Honda/Acura brand.

[georgeprotopapadakis]

That engine sound 😍 even across a parking lot/garage, you can tell it is a Honda.

[LOTOVIII]

I own a mint 89 with a 5-speed, wouldn't trade her for the world.

[tresgriffin]

I'm actually curious at which point in MW's history did John finally resign himself to the fact that nobody puts Oil Pressure and Voltage gauges in cars anymore. lol

[Henchman]

I still see these on the road which is amazing because I'm in Canada and we salt our roads.

[jonathankleinow]

$13, 700 in 1986, the MSRP for this loaded LX-i, is $32, 535 in 2020. The $18, 000 with dealer markup is about $42, 750 today. I can't imagine paying a $10, 000 premium for an Accord, even a really nice one!

[natehahn]

I had an 87 LXi 5 speed in high school. I loved it

[MaestroTJS]

4:43 Such a beautifully cohesive design. Everything "works" and flows perfectly and the angles are correctly balanced by other angles. Nothing overdone. And those pop-up headlamps which give a sporty allusion to the Prelude. For some reason, Honda kept that full-folding rear seat for decades!