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Wednesday, July 11, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D1 OAKVILLE NISSAN B o b M c In to s h DOES YOUR CAR WAX GIVE YOU BETTER PROTECTION THAN YOUR CUT-RATE CAR INSURANCE? D o n 't tr u s t ju s t anyone i in su re y o u r car. see m e 616 York St. Oakville W e lease all m akes and models. W ayne M cG ill 2345 Wyecroft Rd. # 21. Oakville B47 5671 An Oakville Beaver Advertising Feature To advertise in this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 More power adds to appeal ofHonda Accord LX ecently my friends at World of Wheel M agazine did a five-car family sedan test and the result was interesting. They picked the Honda Accord LXV6 out of a pool composed o f the Kia Mengentis, Chrysler Sebring LXi, Saturn L300 and Ford Taurus SEL. 1 guess what's inter esting is the Accord is by far the elder statesm an o f the group, about due for a much needed generational change. The magazine's editors said, "it still RoadWorthy does all the practi cal things a family needs to do and does most o f them as well as, or better than, any o f the others." I like to remember how many years Honda kept telling automotive journal ists a V6 wasn't needed in the face o f a hoard o f V6 compact family sedan com petitors. They maintained, with gritted grins, that their 2.2-litre inline four was just as good as a V6 and easier on the fuel. Well, they finally relented with a 3.0litre V6 a few years ago, but it was only in the all-luxury EX version or the sports coupe, both o f which were more money that the average family buyer can afford to part with. Therefore the decision to offer the V6 in the entry level 2001 LX is long over due, and at a list price of $26,800, it sits right in the middle o f the segment that looks at Taurus/Malibu and finds Camry also out of their price range. I should nqte the LX (and the EX for that matter) still R JIM ROBINSON Honda now offers its silky 3.0-litre V6 in the entry level Accord LX sedan, making the Accord more attractive to buyers than ever. can be ordered with the 2.3-litre inline four-cylinder. Safe, affordable and long-lived trans portation for the family and their "stuff" is what makes or breaks a car in this seg ment and the Honda Accord has been a consistent winner because it has never allowed itself to stray too far from its core business - solid transportation. The 24-valve V6 produces 200 hp and 195 lb/ft o f torque driving the front wheels through a four-speed electronic autom atic transm ission that features grade logic. Honda likes to offer double wishbone front suspension in the teeth o f the much m ore cost-effective coil over MacPherson strut. The rear is indepen dent with multi-link suspension utilizing coil springs and stabilizer bar. In order to keep costs in line, the wheels are 15-inch steel rims, but the tires are good-quality Bridgestones in P205/65 series. The interior is classic Honda with a big gauges, the largest being centre speedo the others for fuel, temp and revs. Honda has put all secondary controls into a centre binnacle with the HVAC up top and the radio/CD in the centre. As you'd expect, the cloth and plastics are o f the finest quality and there are no simulwood pieces that seem to be popping up with increasing regularity in compact and sub compact family sedans. The steering is nicely weighted and does not have the dead-on-centre m alady that afflicted Accords and Civics in the 1980s-early 1990s. The four-speed autom atic defines seamless shifting and the V6 is remark ably frugal, using 11.717100 km (24 mpg) city and 7.6L/100 km (37 mpg) highway. Now the Honda isn't going to set any records for in-your-face looks. In fact my tester was silver grey on the outside and muted grey on the inside. W hen it comes to blending in, this is the kind o f car the Invisible Man would love. But the Accord isn't about show - it's about faultless go, which it does in fine fashion. Everything works perfectly - which is why people continue to buy Hondas. Power windows and pow er locks work in silence and swiftly. With the silky V6 now available in the less costly LX, the Honda Accord is more o f a consideration than ever. COMLffiJJS HOW FOR GREAT DEAISIAII Vehicles, New & Used Piked to Move \ LUBE, OIL & FILTER ---j- j J J j J MAINTENANCE PACKAGE 0* Opitim um U S E D V E H IC LE S 1 DEALER 1 J :J :: i jf ^ m i m A L L M A K E S H C W /U 5 1 D T ·H A M . Q.E.W . TOR. f n §W +E 410 SOUTH PONTIAC BUICK INC. SERVICE RD. W. (JU S T W ES T O F DORVAL) 905-845-1681 U M U IL L M U P A D Il I A C SEE DEALER FOR DETAILS S. SERVICE RD. « I U. KERR * g WYECROFT RD. T 1 m SPEERS RD.