Beginning in 1981 and ending in 1989, Honda produced a variant of the Honda Accord badged as the Honda Vigor for Japanese markets. At the launch of the fourth generation Accord (which was the third generation Vigor), it was no longer based on the Accord chassis.

This was also the first and only model sold in the United States and was badged as the first generation Acura Vigor. Production began in 1991 and the vehicle went on sale as a 1992 model in June of that year, slotting between the Integra and the Legend. Honda's 2.5 L longitudinally mounted 5-cylinder 176 hp petrol was the only engine available. Honda, Acura's parent company, anticipated that the market would move toward small, well-equipped sports sedans akin to the BMW 3-Series and that a less expensive but equally reliable and well equipped alternative to the BMW would be a strong seller; the Vigor was the result of that thinking. They were wrong, and early reviews of the Vigor were not favorable. Comparisons to the Lexus ES 300, which was roomier and softer in ride, generally favored the Lexus as the more appealing buy for the average luxury car buyer, whereas the Vigor was stiff and small. Despite this, the model did receive points for its handling prowess, which was very good for a front-wheel-drive sedan and akin to the 4-door version of the Integra. In response to the reviews, Acura made several changes to the Vigor for the 1994 model year, increasing rear seat room, softening the suspension and re-engineering the steering rack to help isolate the driver from road imperfections in an attempt to make the model more like the ES. The tactics were unsuccessful; buyers favored the more powerful Legend as a sports sedan and still seemed to prefer the ES as an entry-level luxury model. Poor sales and no improvement in market response led Honda to drop the model, and production ended on May 13, 1994. The Vigor was replaced by the 1996 Acura TL