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The Honda Inspire ( ) is a luxury sedan introduced by Honda in 1990 and based on the Honda Accord chassis. The first Inspire debuted in 1990 as the Accord Inspire, a sister nameplate to the Honda Vigor, then the Honda Vigor was exported to the USA as an Acura. The Vigor/Saber and the Inspire were the same car sold at different retail channels in Japan, known as Honda Verno for the Vigor/Saber, and the Inspire at Honda Clio stores. The Inspire was developed during what was known in Japan as the Japanese asset price bubble or "bubble economy". In 1995 the Inspire was updated by the second generation model, on a platform it shared with the Honda Legend, and exported to the US as the Acura 3.2 TL, while the Vigor nameplate was replaced with the Honda Saber. The longitudinal 2.5 L straight-5 engine layout and platform remained and was sold as the Acura 2.5 TL. In 1999 these cars were replaced by the third generation TL that was based on the US-spec Accord platform, and largely designed and engineered in the US by Honda R&D Americas, Inc. in Raymond, Ohio. Manufactured in the US, these were imported into Japan as the new Inspire and Saber. In June 2003, the fourth generation Inspire was introduced in Japan. It was the redesigned American-spec Accord. This Inspire marks the first time Honda introduced their Variable Cylinder Management technology. In October 2005, a fourth generation Inspire received a mild restyle, with new headlights, new taillights, revised interior and new colors. The Inspire targeted the Nissan Teana, the Toyota Mark X and numerous other entry level luxury cars from Japan. In October 2007, the fifth generation of the Inspire was previewed at the Tokyo Auto Show. It is essentially a rebadged 2008 North American-market Accord with minor exterior and interior modifications. |
