2003-2007 Honda Accord: Minutiae

Ah, the 2003-2007 Honda Accord sedan.  Originally reliable transportation for upscale suburbanites, it’s now taking on “teenage first car” status before it inevitably descends into its final resting place as the darling of buy-here-pay-here used car lots.

But today, it’s the subject of some minutiae near and dear to PlaysWithCars: tail lights.  You see, despite being offered for just five years, the Accord used three different tail light designs.  And so, for those of you who are as pedantic and detail-obsessed as me, here they are.

2003-2004

The 2003 and 2004 models used a narrow horizontal strip of tail light.  The top half was red, and the bottom half – which housed the reverse lights and turn signals – was clear.  There’s nothing exceptionally interesting about this, except that they were a bit … odd looking.

2005

The 2005 Accord sedan shared its taillight design with the ’03-’04 models with one exception: the lower half of the lights was red.  This included the turn signals, which previously lit up amber.  So, you can wow your passengers when you see all-red tail lights on an Accord, since it can only be a 2005 model.  From experience, they won’t be very impressed.

2006-2007

Apparently receptive to my “odd looking” remark above, Honda completely changed the rear of its seventh-generation Accord in 2006.  The old tail lights were gone, replaced instead by oddly-shaped triangles and a trunk that no longer housed a bunch of reflectors.

And thus, the minutiae of the 2003-2007 Honda Accord.   Admit it: with this in mind, your commute home just got slightly more interesting.