• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, June 5, 2007 11:30 AM

Honda is discontinuing the gasoline-electric version of its Accord sedan after the 2007 model year. Analysts say it is the victim of a high sticker price and unremarkable gas mileage.

Outfitted with a six-cylinder engine and heated leather seats, the Accord hybrid was positioned as a gas-electric for the performance crowd when it was introduced in 2004--with a price to match. The base sticker is $31,685, compared with $26,820 for its closest competitor, the Toyota Camry hybrid. The Accord's combined city-highway mileage of 31 mpg was hardly in the same league with the Prius at 55 mpg or Honda's own Civic hybrid at 50 mpg.

Honda sold a measly 439 Accord hybrids in the U.S. last month, while Toyota sold 24,009 of its l segment-leading Priuses. Sales of hybrid vehicles as a segment have more than doubled this year.

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