The first generation Honda Accord was launched in 1976 as a two-door hatchback with 68 horsepower. Honda chose the name Accord to reflect "Honda's desire for accord and harmony between people, society and the automobile."
 
The Accord has achieved considerable success, especially in the United States where it was the best-selling Japanese car for 15 years (1982-97).

The Accord became the first Japanese car manufactured in the United States in 1982, when production began in Marysville, Ohio at Marysville Auto Plant where cars were produced and exported to Japan. The Accord has been sold in most automotive markets throughout the world. The European Honda Accord, also made in Sweden, is styled different and is shorter than its siblings manufactured in Japan and the United States.

The Accord was originally planned as a V6 with a long hood and sporty pretensions. Vastly improved quality control, however, made the vehicle among the most reliable cars in the U.S. market, a position it still holds.

The Accord was one of the first U.S. production cars to feature optic reflectors with completely clear lenses on the headlamps replacing the more conventional sealed beam styled lighting.

One ittle-known fact: The 1998 Accord was assembled in New Zealand at the end of overall New Zealand car production
(due to country's changes in tariffs for car importation).

At the same time, the North American model grew larger, gaining more interior room and weight than its international counterpart. For the first time, Honda offered an "enthusiast" version of the Accord in the U.S, adding a sports suspension and mating the 6-speed manual transmission from the Acura CL to the V6 Honda Accord Coupe.

Modernizing the interior and exterior, the second generation Accord was mechanically similar to the original, using the same 75 horsepower, 1,751 cc engine.

Honda introduced the Insight, America’s first hybrid vehicle (and still the fuel economy leader), in December, 1999. Honda then took hybrid technology into the mainstream with the introduction of the Civic Hybrid in March, 2002.

The 2006 Honda Accord Hybrid, in only its second model year, included many improvements to further differentiate the Accord Hybrid from other Accord Models.

Honda debuted Accord Tourer Concept and the new generation of Honda diesel engines, i-DTEC, at the 2007 Frankfurt motor show.

The Accord was redesigned in 2008, boasting more power and passenger space, but is also now higher priced and has lower gas mileage averages.

Recent years' used Honda Accords continue to excel as family sedans or midsize coupes. Consumers interested in a Honda Accord but limited to a smaller budget could consider the fourth-generation Accord, which was available starting in 1990.

Nonetheless, the Accord has matured into a larger, midsized sedan and is still an enduring automotive icon, industry leader and a critics' best choice in it class.