This Rakish JDM Honda Accord Wagon Looks Way Cooler Than Any Normal Car Needs To
Normal cars don't have to be boring, even though they usually are. I was browsing Facebook Marketplace the other day when I stumbled upon this clean JDM 1998 Honda Accord wagon listed for sale on Marketplace in Los Angeles, and despite a mundane color combination of silver over grey, its sharply raked rear glass and full-width Acura NSX-esque taillight bar made quite an impression. I've always regarded the U.S.-market sixth-generation Honda Accord as a subtly handsome design for a funny reason that I'll expand on, but this JDM wagon bodystyle takes that to a much more dramatic level.
We got the fifth-generation Honda Accord wagon in the States, but its bulbous rear-end design looks downright frumpy compared to the rakish design of its successor. The front end looks vastly the same as the U.S.-market sixth-gen Accord, but things get a lot cooler from the B-pillar backwards. It looks like a Saab 9-5 wagon had a baby with an Audi 5000 Avant, but with sleek wraparound glass, and I love everything about it. This particular car has a 2.3-liter four-cylinder attached to an automatic transmission that sends its power to the front wheels, but it's really clean and it only has around 70,000 miles on its odometer.
Sacrificing maximum cargo capacity for maximum cool factor
The drastically sloped rear glass might not put practicality and maximum cargo capacity at the forefront of its priority list, but damn does this Accord looks good. I now need to see someone turn a sixth-generation Accord coupe into a shooting brake by grafting the JDM Accord wagon rear end on, preferably in red.
Honda sold three distinct versions of its sixth-generation Accord for different global regions. Japan got this one, Europe got its own Accord, and then North American, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia got the one you likely grew up with. I think Japan got the coolest version of the sixth-gen Accord, especially considering that you could get an Accord Wagon SiR, which had all-wheel drive and a unique version of the Honda H23A four-cylinder with VTEC and a blue valve cover.
I have a special connection with the sixth-generation Accord. If you're wondering how long I've been infatuated with cars, I still remember the day that my preschool teacher, Miss Jennifer, bought a bright red 1999 Honda Accord coupe with a spoiler. It clearly left a lasting impression on four-year-old Logan if I still remember fogging up the windows of my preschool from ogling it. I also remember the day that my kindergarten teacher Ms. Noble got a green BMW 318ti, and I remember the cars all my elementary school teachers drove. That's normal, right? Anywho, if anyone is feeling generous, I'd happily accept a sixth-generation JDM Honda Accord Wagon SiR as a present.