November 13, 2002—Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has announced that the new Accord / Accord Wagon has won the Japan Car of the Year Award for 2002-2003, conferred by the Japan Car of the Year Executive Committee.

This is the third time the Accord has won this award, which went to the 3rd-generation model in 1985, and to the 5th-generation model in 1993.

The new 7th-generation model inherits the principle of harmony among individuals, cars, and society embodied in every generation of Accord since the first. Combining a roomy interior with a luxurious feel, high performance and driving comfort, excellent safety and environmental performance, it also comes with HIDS (Honda Intelligent Driver Support System) for lane maintenance and vehicle distance/speed control on freeways and a voice-recognition navigation system, among other high-tech features. Acclaimed as a new global benchmark for midsize sedans and wagons, the latest Accord has recorded more than 6,000 orders so far.

"We are extremely honored that the new Accord has been singled out for the Japan Car of the Year Award 2002-2003. We are especially gratified that the new Accord is the first to win under the new rules, chosen from a field including both domestic and import cars,” said Honda’s President and CEO, Hiroyuki Yoshino. “We see this award as the crowning achievement for everyone involved who have lent us their steady support as we developed the concept and the new technologies, then incorporated them in the new Accord.
We will continue to forge ahead and endeavor to meet the high expectations of our customers by developing cars that are one step ahead of their time."

This is the third year in a row that Honda has won the Japan Car of the Year Award, having won it for the Civic, Civic Ferio, and Stream in 2000 and the Fit in 2001.