Accord takes over Honda's hit parade.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

You know how one car can symbolize a brand, like how the 3-Series means BMW and the F-150 truck means Ford? Well, for Honda, that car always has been the Civic.

Until now.

While the Civic remains a Honda standard-bearer, and a favorite of young and economy-minded buyers, the 2003 Accord finally asserts itself and claims its spot atop the Honda hit parade. This is a car that generations of buyers, especially Californians, have loved. Heck, it was the best-selling passenger car in America in 2001. Throw out fleet sales, Honda says, and the Accord has been the No. 1 car nine of the last 10 years.

But, despite its lofty achievements, this was a tried-and-true, ...