Cars worth noting: 2003 Honda Accord

Honda's new Accord achieves something that I previously only felt in big, expensive German cars - it feels German. If I were the only one that noticed that "feel" I might not have mentioned it, but several people that rode in the car with me commented that the car felt unusually heavy yet nimble.

To be honest, I don't exactly know how you make a 3,000-pound vehicle feel like it weighs 5,000, but the Accord simply mows down irregularities in the road rather than skimming over them. When you close the doors, they sound bank-vault solid. When you hit a pothole you get the distinct impression that the hole got the short end of the stick.

Adding to the illusion is Honda's …