What, Honda too?!?

It's bad enough that the only way to get a manual trans Mazda CX-5 is to be stuck with silver, grey, or black, but the new 2013 Accord is even worse!

A stick in the LX or EX gets you silver or grey. A stick with the Sport gets you grey or black.

WTF?!?

If I'm crazy enough to buy a new car with a clutch pedal, I probably want an actual color. (See Ford's Mustang and SE Sport trims on the Fiesta, Focus, and Fusion for doing it right).

Crazy man, crazy.

Yeah, be expecting this trend until there is no more manual trans

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: Yeah, be expecting this trend until there is no more manual trans

Except the opposite is happening in the market. Ford is selling double the number of sticks in the US that they projected, so they responded by making the manual available even in the top-trim Titanium Focus. Guess what? Hotcakes!

A lot of companies are getting it right, and selling like crazy, so it's just odd to see two of the perennial stick-shift fan companies (Mazda and Honda) do something so odd.

Javelin wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: Yeah, be expecting this trend until there is no more manual trans

Except the opposite is happening in the market. Ford is selling *double* the number of sticks in the US that they projected, so they responded by making the manual available even in the top-trim Titanium Focus. Guess what? Hotcakes! A lot of companies are getting it right, and selling like crazy, so it's just odd to see two of the perennial stick-shift fan companies (Mazda and Honda) do something so odd.

This is strange, since Honda has always stuck to their guns about offering manual transmissions. I wonder what got them down this track...do people who prefer manual transmissions, on average, prefer grey and black?

I bought a 2011 Accord LX (base model) 5-speed and all I could find searching most all of the Chicagoland Honda dealers was silver.

Not my favorite but it works.

In reply to Javelin:

Yes and the Focus is still a small car, where manuals still thrive. Not many people want a manual in a midsize car or a CUV, that's where the problem lies. If Honda saw the same increase as Ford did, maybe then they would change their minds, but that probably won't happen. They want to pump cars out of the factory they can just throw on the lot for the average Joe to purchase. It would seem to make more sense to sell them in more than two colors, but there is probably some bean-counter logic behind it.

Even though Automatics are virtually getting the same EPA mileage ratings as manuals, you can still squeeze more miles out of a manual in real world settings.

Datsun310Guy wrote: I bought a 2011 Accord LX (base model) 5-speed and all I could find searching most all of the Chicagoland Honda dealers was silver. Not my favorite but it works.

That's exactly what my college roommate had to choose from when he bought his 2000 Accord. He could only find silver. And that was in Kansas where I imagine its more slim pickings than the Chicagoland area.

I think it's less about what some people want per se, and more about what the dealer can find a buyer for in a timely fashion.

I'd love to see lots of vibrant cool colors available. Apparently silver and grey sell much faster, so guess what dealers carry?

As a dealer, if you were stuck with a manual transmission car, you would want it to come with the most popular color available so it would leave the lot quickly. That's silver.

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

Ford sold enough Focii to offer the new baby-Aston Fusion in an SE Sport EcoBoost getup. With lots of colors, too.

I expect color options to continue to decline till you can only get cars in white - kinda like a helmet - gotta draw up your own graphics and get them cut in vinyl or if you're brave and have a good eye for what'll work for resale you can paint it on.

Gray. It's taking over. I don't get it. Who actually likes that? But if you're buying used cars, it seems to be about 80% if what's available. If there is some color, it's some pale blue or green barely discernible from gray.

Javelin wrote: In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid: Ford sold enough Focii to offer the new baby-Aston Fusion in an SE Sport EcoBoost getup. With lots of colors, too.

I don't think that has anything with the Focus sales. Ford sold manual 4-cyl sport models on the previous Fusion(s). They are only mating the manual to the 1.6L Ecoboost not the 2.5L like before. The only benefit the Ecoboost is going to have over the 2.5L engine is MPG. The 1.6 is only a couple hp more than the 2.5. It's nice that they have more than two colors, maybe Mazda and Honda should take a hint.

If Ford were smart, they would offer the 2.0L Ecoboost with the manual. That's 240 hp right there.

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

The Fusion just (barely, maybe not even to the masses yet) launched. Give em a few months/maybe a model year to see what else falls down the pipeline. I can see a 2.0L EcoBoost / 6MT coming as a sportier Fusion...

fast_eddie_72 wrote: Gray. It's taking over. I don't get it. Who actually likes that? But if you're buying used cars, it seems to be about 80% if what's available. If there is some color, it's some pale blue or green barely discernible from gray.

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

Ahahaha!

lol...love ya Eddie, and Tom Celica is friggin awesome, just couldnt resist poking fun at the irony

fast_eddie_72 wrote: Gray. It's taking over. I don't get it. Who actually likes that?

Look at my screen name.

I used to just have silver cars. I used to think lots of cars look their best in silver, like my 1979 Trans Am, my old '87 Cougar XR7, and both my old WRX's. I've had lots of silver/gray cars. Lately, I've been getting bored with silver cars, and most new cars look really boring in silver.

Take my current automotive crush, the Dodge Challenger. Here's one in silver:

It just looks plain and boring. It also somehow makes the car look even fatter than it is.

Here's a Hemi Orange one:

Much better. WANT!!!!

My "Fleet" now has a white and red Dakota Sport, a pearl white Mazda 3, a black CSX, and a silver Trans Am with big multicolored red and charcoal birds on it. Only one silver car left.

I love my Infiniti QT1 pearl white. Its starting to get midwest salt cancer in thew rear arches, and I know that pretty soon, Im gonna have to perform surgery, and that will likely mean shes gonna get resprayed in plain alpine white with integrated clear. Makes me sad, but its waaaay too hard to try to feather pearl into pearl. Shame.

I think white makes any car look good, look cleaner longer, and helps you stay under the radar of the 5-0.

Between the wife and I, we've had 5 white cars in the 10 years we've been dating/married. Probably likely to continue too.

I like black cars, grey cars, and......

Yeah. That's about it.

CERTAIN cars i will tolerate in white.

I hate hate HATE red cars. I own two. Kill me, please.

I didn't know the Accord was still available with a manual in any color...

I didn't know people still bought Hondas.

I like cars in the most ridiculous colors humanly possible. I am half tempted to paint all my cars in those old Mopar colors.

But black is passable. I hate white, gray or beige with a passion.

I loathe that my 5 is silver ("Titanium Metallic"). I've already told SWIMBO that if it ever has to be repainted, it will be in a different color.

WR Blue Pearl sounds good.

What I truly, deeply do not understand is just how expensive it can possibly be to allow more than 3 colors. Really? OK, I understand that dealers mostly ordered for stock in the most popular colors. But how much extra would it be to let them be ordered in any regular color?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I like black cars, grey cars, and...... Yeah. That's about it. CERTAIN cars i will tolerate in white. I hate hate HATE red cars. I own two. Kill me, please.

I CAN'T STAND BLACK cars ... kinda like the way you feel about red ... all three of mine are black ....