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Forty years ago, when foreign cars were first making a dent in the American car market, they unhinged a lot of true blue patriots. Parking lots in Detroit, for example, refused entry to "Un-American" brands. Closer to home — next door, in fact — we had a neighbor who would pull up beside foreign cars at stop lights, roll down his window and unleash tirades of abuse upon the unfortunate drivers. And people think road rage is a recent development.

I wonder how our old neighbor would cope with the auto industry of today? In my review of the Chrysler 300, I noted that with Hondas being built in Ohio and Chryslers being built in Mexico (the PT Cruiser) — to cite only two of many possible examples — it is getting harder and harder to say what is an "American" car and what isn't.

In the case of the Chrysler 300, vehicle assembly takes place at Brampton, Ontario, Canada; the hemi engine is built in Monterrey, Mexico; and the four- and five-speed transmissions are built in Kokomo, Indiana. The US/Canadian parts content (not including labor) is officially listed at a modest 71 percent.

Now consider the Honda Accord. It is built in Marysville, Ohio, and has a US/Canadian parts content of 70 percent. That's a mere 1 percent less for the "Japanese" Honda than for the "American" Chrysler, not including labor — and the Accord is assembled in the US by American workers and the Chrysler isn't. So, you tell me: Which one is the ever-so-patriotic domestic brand and which one is the import?

Not that it matters where the rubber hits the pavement, but all this blather about the origin of the cars we drive has become so muddled as to be meaningless. Perhaps it is to the good. Since you can no longer define a vehicle by country of origin, that forces you to evaluate it on its merits. And that's certainly a game Honda is willing to play, since it has a reputation for building some of the most popular cars in the business.

The Accord, in particular, has been a best-seller for Honda for decades and it's easy to see why. The Accord is well built, commodious, comfortable, economical and offers good, if not scintillating, performance. As a piece of affordable transportation that will get you there and get you back, few cars can beat it.

For 2005, the Accord has been refined in numerous ways. New features for sedans include: standard side curtain and front side airbags added to DX and LX models; new wheel cover designs for LX and EX trim levels; new coin pocket design; new taillight design; and illuminated steering controls.

Our Accord test car was the top-of-the-line EX and came standard with leather seats and all the normal power and convenience goodies. It featured Honda's 240 horsepower, 3.0-liter VTEC V6 engine, too. This is a 24-valve, overhead-cam powerplant that produces plenty of power for everyday driving situations. Mated to a five-speed automatic transmission, it is smooth and quiet in its operation.

The Accord EX-V6 comes with or without the Honda Navigation System with Voice Recognition. If it has it, as our test car did, it is an EX-V6 NAVI. Not exactly a thrilling moniker, that. Sounds more like a name for a trash compactor you would find in a corner down at the smudge works. Oh, well.

As longtime readers know, I have mixed feelings about navigation systems, in general. While I can see the potential untility, most systems are so complicated to program that it's just not worth it for the average consumer. Honda's system is no better or worse than the industry norm in that regard. If you have ten or fifteen minutes available to program it with your destination before setting off, fine. But most trips around town only last ten or fifteen minutes to begin with, so why bother? The first manufacturer that figures out a way to design one of these systems so that the average motorist can program it in 60 seconds or less will really have something, in my humble opinion.

Base price of the Accord EX with the V6 and the navigation system is $29,215. The same car without the navigation system retails for $27,215, so you're paying two grand to have an electronic NAVI-gator. Frankly, it wouldn't be worth it to me. Still, the Accord EX-V6 itself is a well-made, solid-performing car that I would recommend to anyone looking for a set of wheels in this market segment. R&D