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Is today's Honda Accord cheaper than it was back in 1989?

Whether you're shopping at the grocery story or on a car lot, everything seems to be getting more expensive these days. However, when all the factors are considered, that might be more an issue of perception than of fact. The American Public Media radio show Marketplace recently tackled the question whether modern vehicles were actually more expensive once you factored in important variables like inflation and cost of ownership. The result was pretty surprising.
For its example, Marketplace chose the Honda Accord, because in August, it was one of the bestselling vehicles in the US, with 51,075 of them sold. Winding back the clock 25 years to 1989, Honda's cheapest Accord cost $11,770, and that money bought you a stripped-out car with 98 horsepower, a manual gearbox, no air conditioning and hand-crank windows.
Fast-forward to present day, and a basic Accord starts at around $22,000 and gives buyers significantly more features, including a 185-hp engine, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth, cruise control, more space, refinement and much better safety. By Marketplace's math, when just figuring for inflation, that modern Honda would cost about $11,500 a quarter century ago, despite all of that extra equipment. But that's just one factor. Scroll down to listen to the full report for an explanation of how cost of ownership figures into the mix, and whether it throws all of the calculations off.

Honda gets weirdly R-Rated with new Civic Type-R launch video

Honda is still about a year away from bringing back the Civic Type R to challenge Europe's hot hatch ranks, but the wait isn't stopping the brand from starting its promotion in the UK with a truly strange ad campaign.
Titled R-Rated, the marketing plays with the idea of Honda's Type R badge not being something for every driver, and its 60-second short film Disruption definitely isn't for everyone. The teaser video is meant to personify the spirit of the hot Civic by combining aggressively weird imagery with a glimpse of the new model. It cycles through things like a pack of wolves, androgynous models, a lady with a samurai sword and a flaming speed camera before getting to what we all want to see - the car. It's a weird, by turns creepy, video that feels like it's trying to be outlandish without always showing there's much thought behind the madness.
Perhaps the most frightening thing about the Civic Type R is that there are still major doubts about whether its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with an estimated 280 horsepower will make it to North Ameircan showrooms. We understand the business case may be tough, especially when the CTR's hatchback bodystyle isn't sold in America at all, but we think Honda's North American showrooms could use a bit more performance edge, and an affordable halo car like the Type R could do just that.

Honda could halve its US lineup without crimping its sales much [w/video]

Taking a detailed look at the Honda lineup in the US, it isn't hard to see the strength of some models and the weaknesses of others. A recent report on Autoline Daily points out that its five core models - the Accord, Civic, CR-V, Odyssey and Pilot - make up a full 93 percent of Honda's sales in the US. Through April, Honda has sold 419,798 vehicles, and 389,474 of them were from these core models; not to mention the fact that the Accord was the top-selling car in the US last month.
This means that Honda could technically cut six of its 11 models and only lose about 5,000 sales per month. Of course, this is just some data crunching and there is no reason to believe that Honda is planning to kill off any of its models in the near future. In fact, it seems to be committed to the Ridgeline, while Japanese-made models that may actually lose money for Honda still fill unique voids. Scroll down for the video report - fast-forward to the 1:43 mark for the Honda info.