Toyota Corolla and Honda Accord are icons of the Japanese automakers’ rise to US market dominance over the last generation — reliable performers on the road, steady draws in the showroom, dependably lauded by public and press alike. And the OEMs have just produced a new generation of each venerable model.
But the long, long run of success could be nearing an end for both Accord and Corolla. Year-to-date sales are off for each nameplate more than for each OEM overall. Proliferating competition — some from sibling models — is squeezing them. Consumer consideration of Corolla or Accord doesn’t translate as predictably as before into purchase. High gasoline prices and a shaky economy have roiled the picture still further.
And it could just be that, well, Americans are tiring of vehicles that have been around since 1966, in the case of Corolla, and since 1976 in the case of Accord. Some Detroit Three nameplates have been retired and then resuscitated in that time span.
“They may just have been around too long,” said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think tank in Ann Arbor, Mich. “It’s too early to tell a definitive story about them, but it’s pretty clear that something is going on.”
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