Curbside Classic Outtake: Birds Of The Same Feather…

On the main point, my 2 cents. The Fords were as durable, but not as trouble free. These Econolines did one thing every bit as well as that generation of Honda - they rusted like crazy in salt country. The 92 rebody was much better here. The newer Eseries will still rust, but it will take many years and a lot of salt.

>>But are they in the same league as the legendary Hondas of yore? They should have been, considering how basic they were. The only vehicles that appear to have the same aura as Honda were the Valiant and Dart. Iacocca later admitted as much "The Dart and the Valiant ran forever". The Falcon was junk by comparison - inferior transmissions, suspension and engines. But the Falcon sold well - just like the Audi inspired Taurus would later. Ford was never near the top at engineering, marketing was their forte. "Wiz Kid" legacy.

Twin-I-Beam + years of wear on the bushings + high center of gravity + tons of slop in the steering (which is overassisted and has absolutely no feedbackwhatsoever, but that's another matter) + crosswind = van that changes lanes by itself on the motorway ... sometimes regardless of whether the driver wants it or not. I hated driving the junker Econoline camper that a friend of mine had. And where's the "econo"? Talk about a misnomer. That heap got about 8 mpg on a good day.

Thanks for reminding me of the old Accords. What great cars. Lined up next to today's models they look so much cleaner and down to earth. That car is going to become a collectible classic within the next 10 years as an example of the birth of the modern Japanese car.