1992 Honda Accord Article at Automotive.com

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Below is an enthusiast article written by the automotive experts at Super Street. What comes to mind when you hear the words station wagon? Do you think of a large, clumsy vehicle used to transport families to vacation destination on America’s roadways? Do you think of the utilitarian transports soccer moms use for battle? Whose upho

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IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

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Article From Super Street Magazine

1992 Accord Wagon

Mom's Ride Goes Ballistic / By Maurice Durand / photographer: Super Street Staff
/ Article provided by: Super Street Magazine

Even the nitrous has the Goldfinger touch.

Relocated plate—just one many body mods.

What comes to mind when you hear the words station wagon? Do you think of a large, clumsy vehicle used to transport families to vacation destination on America’s roadways? Do you think of the utilitarian transports soccer moms use for battle? Whose upholsteries bear the stains and stench of fast food, and the markings of children who disdain the notion of napkins. Still, for others, the mention of station wagons conjures up images of our parents’ idea of a good “first car,” and the best inspiration for working those three jobs to have a cooler ride in high school.

Hindsight reminds us that the station wagon was the vehicle class that gave way to the size and practicality of the SUV and minivan, and now we merely know that station wagons are more unique, if only for their scarcer numbers. For John Malozsak of Ballistic Unlimited, the distinctive station wagon serves as a rolling business card for his growing screenprinting business. This stunning ’92 Honda Accord station wagon appears on show-circuit events promoting Ballistic Unlimited’s capabilities as an apparel printer that caters to the automotive industry.

Of course, eye-popping exterior features abound and announce to the world that this is not your garden-variety station wagon. A Wings West body kit and rear wing complement the lines of the wagon. The highly massaged front and rear end treatments are highlighted by a re-skinned rear hatch that relocates a custom-license box. The big-mouth front end leads up to a Sir Michael’s louvered hood. All of this has been bathed in a robust hue of ’97 Volvo Copper by Body Pros of Garden Grove. Modern Image Sign Works took care of the silver and purple flame graphics that stretch along both sides of the car. Meanwhile the wheel wells were flared and trimmed to accommodate 19-inch wheels.

In the interest of maintaining the Accord’s user-friendly street manners, engine modifications were limited to a few simple bolt-on massages. The stock ’92 2.0L engine uses a custom-copper-painted air intake, and expels gases through a Bosal header and exhaust combination. In addition, the gases are fired by an MSD SCI ignition box through Vitek wires. More gusto comes in the form of a 50 shot of nitrous oxide, whose tank is color matched to the car’s copper exterior.

Further down the drive train, the automatic transmission was swapped in favor of a five-speed-manual gearbox that harnesses engine power through a Vitek clutch. This wagon can attribute its stance to the 3-inch drop provided by Intrax springs over KYB AGX struts. For improved suspension feel, the vehicle makes use of Energy Suspension bushings throughout.

Axis Se7en, painted to match the vehicle’s exterior wheels sized 19x8.5 are used at all 4 corners, wrapped in Toyo Proxes 225/35R19 rubber. The rear drum set-up was swapped in favor of rear discs, and Power Stop cross-drilled rotors are used at all four corners. The ride quality is compliant enough on 19-inch wheels to be used as daily transportation.

This Honda features the sort of interior you wouldn’t want to transport the kids in. The stock seats have been reshaped and covered in black and silver suede to complement a custom-grey carpet. Atop the carpet are custom floor mats cut from aluminum five-bar-diamond plate by Sir Michaels. These trick industrial-flavored mats lend a unique look to the interior, and of course, are far more durable than conventional mats. The dash features custom-painted inserts to match the copper exterior.

The interior also sports a full roll cage by Pro-Design of Santa Ana that is color matched to the vibrant copper exterior. Sparco seats, pedals, and a shift knob round out the control surfaces. Meanwhile, a Clarion head unit with CD and mini-disc player, amplifier, and speakers do their part to break up the monotony of Southern California traffic.

Certainly, this wagon defies all preconceptions of the station wagon merely being a form of utilitarian family transport. Instead this ride sounds off its own unique expression, right down to the push-button starter. By selecting an uncommonly modified chassis as his canvas and paying attention to the details, John has created a stunning show-quality vehicle that keeps him connected with his auto-enthusiast roots. So, now what do you think about station wagons? All I know is that if my parents would’ve offered me this station wagon to learn to drive in, I wouldn’t have hesitated.