1981 Accord first car with navigation installed? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

86560SEL · #1 01-05-2009, 03:09 AM

Doing some auto research tonight, I came across this interesting information on Wikipedia, then further on a Honda history website page. In-car navigation first installed on the 1981 Honda Accords.

http://world.honda.com/history/challenge/1...stem/index.html
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro_Gyrocator

Seems that some others have claimed to be first and its unsure how many of these were installed in the 1981 Accords, since it was a $2700 option in 1981! Seems it was abandoned in 1985, as it was having problems in accuracy.

Not many 81' Accords around anymore (I had a 1984 Accord LX that I had inherited from my grandmother in the late 90s), so its likely that any of these systems are around.

Just thought this was some neat automotive history and thought I would share.

For some of the younger lads on here that may have never seen a 1981 Accord, here is an old vintage ad for a 2-door Accord. I could not find a photo for the 4dr Accord in 1981 except at this link... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1977-198...a_Accord_01.jpg

This was the last year for the 1st generation Accord. The next model in 1982 was around until 1985, then there was the 1986-1989, 1990-1993, 1994-1997, 1998-2002, 2003-2007 and the 2008-current model.

iwrock · #2 01-05-2009, 03:12 AM

Whoa, thats crazy... Its a map.

86560SEL · #3 01-05-2009, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iwrock

Whoa, thats crazy... Its a map.

Yep - gotta love that 1981 technology.

iwrock · #4 01-05-2009, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86560SEL

Yep - gotta love that 1981 technology.

Its gotta be a pain to update the uhhh "firmware".

Jim B. · #5 01-05-2009, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86560SEL

... it was a $2700 option in 1981!

Seems it was abandoned in 1985, as it was having problems in accuracy.

"Inaccuracy" in mapping and navigation?

Shurely shome mishtake... Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

86560SEL · #6 01-05-2009, 09:53 PM

lol. Yeah, evidentally it came with a series of transparent maps that went into the projector which was an electronic unit that I am assuming lit up on the screen your location.

I think it said they later had a 2nd generation nav system after that, but I could not find any details.

I am not sure what year the true-indash unit came on the Accord, but I know that Acura had it as early as 1996 as an option on the RL sedan.

MTI · #7 01-05-2009, 09:57 PM

Didn't 007's Aston Martin have that in Goldfinger?

redassag00 · #8 01-05-2009, 10:02 PM

My mom had an 81 Accord. It was the last car we had before she went to nothing but MB. IIRC that car was around 6500 bucks new. It was a LX model, with the Vacuum actuated locks for the rear doors, operated by a lever next to the parking brake.

FWIW, I remember that car was a piece of ***** and you could never get parts for it, but that was 83-84 ish.

Also had rear defroster. I remember the car didn't come with a radio. IIRC a lot of Hondas (except the EX) were shipped without AC, and the dealer/port installed the AC.

A friend had a 04 Civic HX, port installed AC. Interesting. Installation is clean and looks just like stock.

Medmech · #9 01-05-2009, 10:06 PM

Heres the Wiki, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro_Gyrocator

interesting piece indeed I wonder with the advancement of gyros what a modern system could do without gps. I saw a program on Speed that compared a gyro speed system with the iPhones system and the iPhone was almost dead nutz accurate only using the gyro.

Fulcrum525 · #10 01-05-2009, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTI

Didn't 007's Aston Martin have that in Goldfinger?

My thought exactly (Not helped by the fact that I was watching it last night...)

86560SEL · #11 01-06-2009, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redassag00

FWIW, I remember that car was a piece of ***** and you could never get parts for it, but that was 83-84 ish.

Oh really? That must be before they started being good cars, unless that one was a lemon. I had a 1984 Accord LX 4dr (loaded) in the late 90s that had about 250K miles on it. Also over the years I have had two 1986 Accords and a 1991 Accord - all were super cars.

MTI · #12 01-06-2009, 01:49 AM

Around the mid-80's, Road & Track did a head to head comparison of the $12K Honda Accord LXi and the $23K Mercedes 190E. In summary, the Honda was a close contender, losing out in braking and fit/finish, but the article surmised that it wouldn't be long before the Japanese caught up with Germany.

86560SEL · #13 01-06-2009, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTI

Around the mid-80's, Road & Track did a head to head comparison of the $12K Honda Accord LXi and the $23K Mercedes 190E. In summary, the Honda was a close contender, losing out in braking and fit/finish, but the article surmised that it wouldn't be long before the Japanese caught up with Germany.

I would love to see that road test. I like those old comparisons. If it was a LX-i Accord, it had to at least be 1986 since that was the new top model for 1986. I have had a couple of 86' Accords and I could see where they would come close. Now O love Mercedes, but I also like Hondas. You have to own one to appreciate it. My 1986 Accord LX sedan had excellent fit and finish and even over 200K miles, had rattle/squeak free interiors - my 1991 Accord LX was even better. I bet they did not know then that over time, the Honda interior would "weather" better than the Mercedes on average. I do not see many Accords of that era with cracked padded dash tops or hardened door panels like I experienced on some 80s 190s I checked out. Also on some 190s I experienced some cracked rearview mirror housings, broken sunvisors, etc - never did on my old 84' Accord, or 86' Accords. The next generation Accords (1990-93) were even better.

Now the 190E was still a super car. While my old 1984 190D had a cracked dash ( I have owned 4 80s Mercedes and never owned one without a crack on the dash), my little 84' 190D was totally squeak and rattle free! The interior was much quieter than my old 85' 380SE, but my 380 had about 140K more miles.

I can say that my current 1988 300SEL has an amazingly squeak and rattle free interior. Thankfully for now, I dont even have that scrunching door panel issue that plagued the W126 cars.

Ara T. · #14 01-06-2009, 02:16 AM

Squeakiest car I've ever driven was the 86 300SDL we used to have. Pretty annoying compared to W123.

R Leo · #15 01-06-2009, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redassag00

My mom had an 81 Accord. ...
Also had rear defroster. I remember the car didn't come with a radio. IIRC a lot of Hondas (except the EX) were shipped without AC, and the dealer/port installed the AC.

I bought an '81 4-door for full list and thought I was damned lucky to get it too...it was my first ever new car. I remember that it was so quiet, you could hear the clock ticking when you were on the road. The no radio thing was weird...I had to buy a $65 plastic adapter to mate the Sony FM/cassette player to the dash but, was impressed that all the speaker wiring was already in place!

Nice car but the seating was horribly uncomfortable on long road trips for anyone over 225# and 6 ft.