Clean Compact: 1980 Honda Accord – Hatchback – SOLD!

December 30, 2022, Update – We confirmed the seller of this “Classifind” deleted their listing, so we’re now able to call this one “SOLD!” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call us directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

Many popular cars fade into our memory as they become very commonplace. Years later, they are long forgotten until the picture of one reminds you of how you don’t see them on roads anymore. That’s the feeling we got when we came across this survivor-quality 1980 Honda Accord hatchback on Craigslist in Puyallup, Washington (Seattle), in December of 2022.  The seller reports that their Accord hatchback features the more desirable five-speed manual transmission and a well-maintained garaged example.

Once offered for $6,900, Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the collector car market, confirms the ask is slightly below the five-year rolling average of this guide’s summary for first-generation Honda Accords of all trim and body styles produced between 1977 and 1981.  By clicking on the green dots in the graph below, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you evaluate the price of the Accord featured here:

As a second data point, the  Collector Car Market Review Online Tool reveals the seller’s ask falls between this guide’s #2 Very Good” estimate of $6,100 and its #1 “Excellent” appraisal of $9,000.

Honda launched the first-generation Accord in May of 1976 as a 1977 model. The four-door sedan version debuted one year later.  The Accord was a platform expansion of the earlier Honda Civic. To comply with gradually tightening emission regulations enacted in both Japan and the U.S., the engine was fitted with Honda’s CVCC technology. The Accord sold well due to its moderate size and great fuel economy. It was one of the first Japanese sedans with features like cloth seats, a tachometer, intermittent wipers, and an AM/FM radio as standard equipment. In 1978 an LX version of the hatchback was added which came with air conditioning, a digital clock, and power steering. Until the Accord and the closely related Prelude, power steering had not been available to cars under two liters.

Technically, the sedan was not changed from the hatchback, and the wheelbase remained the same as well. This did result in a rather long rear overhang to fit a full-sized trunk.  The roof was a bit taller so as to provide more interior comfort, and the Accord Sedan was the first Honda in Japan to be offered with typically Japanese middle-class extras such as ornate hubcaps and lace seat covers.

In the U.S. market, the sedan was available in three colors: Livorno Beige with beige cloth interior, Silver with maroon cloth interior, or dark red with maroon cloth interior. In 1980 the optional two-speed semi-automatic “Hondamatic” transmission of previous years became a three-speed fully automatic gearbox. The North American versions had slightly redesigned bumper trim. Other changes included new grilles and taillamps, and remote mirrors added on the four-door (chrome) and the LX (black plastic) models. The CVCC badges were deleted, but the CVCC induction system remained. At the same time, California-specification engines received a four-port exhaust valve head and a catalytic converter. This version of the EK1 engine was equivalent to the 1981 49-state High Altitude engine, omitting the air jet controller device that helped maintain the proper mixture at higher altitudes (above 4000 feet). The horsepower increased from 72 hp for 5-speed cars and 68 hp for automatic cars with the two-port 49-state engine to 75 hp (56 kW), like the 1981-83 versions.

The OnlyHonda4Me YouTube Channel features this 1980 Honda Accord going for a drive to give a modern-day perspective of what its like to drive a first-generation Honda Accord:

We’re very impressed at how clean and well-preserved this 1980 Honda Accord Hatchback remains.

Here’s the seller’s description:

Show or go: What would you do with this 1980 Honda Accord survivor?  Please comment below and let us know!