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John Mellor’s<br />
Go<strong>Auto</strong> <strong>News</strong><br />
Honda boosts Accord<br />
Subtle styling tweaks and<br />
more standard features in<br />
store for Accord V6 sedan<br />
By MIKE COSTELLO<br />
HONDA’s top-spec Accord V6 Luxury is<br />
set to get front and rear styling tweaks and<br />
more interior features at no extra charge<br />
when the facelifted model arrives in June.<br />
Photos received from a Go<strong>Auto</strong> industry<br />
source reveal that the cosmetic changes will<br />
include subtle revisions to the front bumper<br />
and the grille, which will have two horizontal<br />
bars compared to the current model’s three,<br />
as well as chrome stripes running along the<br />
rear tail-lights.<br />
The modifi cations to the grille and tail-lights<br />
appear to be the same as those on the facelifted<br />
US version of the car, which appeared in<br />
American showrooms in August last year.<br />
The Thai-sourced large sedan also gets<br />
Bluetooth connectivity, a USB port with<br />
iPod integration, a new style jack-knife key<br />
and intelligent dual-zone climate-control<br />
air-conditioning.<br />
Accord Euro facelift<br />
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Fuel consumption has also been<br />
marginally improved to 9.9L/100km (down<br />
from 10.0L/100km), while CO2 output will<br />
drop to 235g/km, down from 239g/km on<br />
the outgoing model.<br />
Pricing for the MY2011 Accord V6<br />
Luxury will remain unchanged at $49,990.<br />
It is unclear at this stage if the same changes<br />
will appear on the four-cylinder VTi Accord<br />
models, with details of the update to those<br />
models not yet available.<br />
The Accord facelift cannot come soon<br />
enough for Honda. Sales of its large sedan<br />
have almost halved so far this year, with the<br />
company managing to shift just 733 units<br />
compared with 1370 sales at the same time<br />
last year.<br />
Meanwhile, the Accord Euro facelift,<br />
which debuted at the Geneva motor show<br />
in March, is set to arrive here in the second<br />
half of this year.<br />
SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.Go<strong>Auto</strong>Media.com<br />
May 18, 2011 Page 17<br />
Jeep celebrates 70 years with special-edition models<br />
By MIKE COSTELLO<br />
JEEP has released special-edition versions<br />
of its entire model range to celebrate its<br />
70th anniversary, most of which are now<br />
available in local showrooms.<br />
The 70th Anniversary promotion, which<br />
includes the Patriot, Wrangler, Wrangler<br />
Unlimited and Cherokee petrol models and<br />
the Grand Cherokee in both petrol and diesel<br />
guises, brings new alloy wheels, stainless<br />
steel for the brand’s trademark seven-bar<br />
mesh grille, leather interior highlights and<br />
various equipment upgrades.<br />
All models are available in limited<br />
numbers and come in either silver or black<br />
colour schemes.<br />
The special-edition Patriot compact SUV<br />
is based on the top-spec Limited, and adds<br />
18-inch Mopar alloy wheels and stainless<br />
steel mesh grille, a power sunroof, leather<br />
seats, a leather-clad steering wheel with<br />
chestnut accents, berber fl oor and cargo<br />
mats, a dark green cluster overlay and 70th<br />
Changes seen on the show model included<br />
the obligatory tweaks to the grille, lights and<br />
bumpers, as well as alterations to interior fabrics<br />
and trim and technological updates. The current<br />
model Accord Euro is now offi cially in run-out,<br />
according to the company’s public website.<br />
The Accord is the latest in a string of mild<br />
changes across Honda’s range so far this<br />
year. In April, the company attained a fi vestar<br />
ANCAP safety rating for its entire Jazz<br />
line-up after it fi tted the base GLi model<br />
with side and curtain airbags.<br />
The Japanese manufacturer also tinkered<br />
with the Odyssey people-mover last month<br />
by including more standard equipment,<br />
changing the interior trim and adding a<br />
colour to the range. These changes were<br />
also accompanied by a $1500 price increase<br />
for the top-shelf Luxury variant.<br />
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE<br />
anniversary logos.<br />
The Anniversary Edition 2.4-litre petrol<br />
is priced at $40,000 driveaway, compared<br />
to the regular Patriot Limited’s price of<br />
$35,000 before on-road costs.<br />
The Cherokee Anniversary edition, which<br />
his based on the 3.7-litre petrol V6 Limited<br />
variant, also gets 18-inch Mopar wheels<br />
with polished face and painted accents<br />
on the spokes, stainless steel mesh grille<br />
inserts, a sunroof and leather upholstery<br />
for the seats, steering wheel, door armrests<br />
and centre console, all of which also get<br />
chestnut accents and stitching.<br />
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
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