Jalopnik 
Enter your username and password.
Detroit, 10:34 PM
Sat Nov 14
7 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors:
tips@jalopnik.com
Editor-in-Chief:
Ray Wert | Email | AIM
Road Test Editor:
Wes Siler | Email
Weekend Editor:
Murilee Martin | Email
Associate Editor - Houston:
Matt Hardigree
Associate Editor - Detroit:
Ben Wojdyla
Editor-at-Large:
Mike Spinelli
Contributors:
Mark Arnold
John Krewson | Email
Andy Didorosi
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
09/05/09
Not sure if I'd go for the cargo moonroof w/wiper option though.
09/05/09
09/04/09
09/04/09
09/04/09
We know that. THAT'S THE PROBLEM.
"We think the Euro wagon is a cool vehicle, too..."
"Too?" Are they trying to insinuate the Crosstour is "a cool vehicle"? Umm...it's really not.
"That's another segment worthy of our consideration"
You're damned right it is. Any marque that's too scared to call their vehicle a wagon is behind the times and being obtuse. And even within its intended segment, nobody who looks at a Venza then this is gonna choose this. Not if they possess the gift of sight.
"...is meant to give you the best of two worlds – the versatility of an SUV with the sportiness of a car. "
There is no such thing as the best of both worlds with crossovers. This car delivers "less" not "the best" of both worlds: Something that's probably 100-200 pounds heavier than the sedan/coupe will not be sportier, and the low, impractically steeply raked roofline makes the cargo space less useful than, say, the Pilot's.
It ain't pretty from the classic angles from which you snap photos of cars, either...but it is a Honda, so it will probably do better than...the Pacifica.
09/04/09
THEN FUCKING MAKE IT, ASSHATS!
09/04/09
/juvenile
09/04/09
And thusly we see them reap the fail from disappointed wagon fans.
But you know what, despite being a through-and-through, Corvette-Red-Blooded GM guy, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Honda. Unlike GM and Ford, they didn't drop the ball on car making for twenty years. Unlike Volkswagen, their products are reasonably reliable. Unlike Toyota, they actually try to put some soul in their creations. Unlike Nissan, they are not owned by the French.
And truth be told, I like Hondas. They aren't always high on my list of cars considering what I am shopping for, but every time I get in one, I (as a driver, not a soulless, breadvan-driving twit) think to myself "Yeah, I could be perfectly happy with this". Not many other car manufacturers can say that.
Also, I have yet to see Honda make a serious product mistake from a business standpoint. Getting rid of the Accord Type-R, Prelude, RSX, S2000, and NSX were all heartbreaks to enthusiasts like us, but in no instance has their business suffered from it. They have also introduced a few products that I personally haven't agreed with and continue to think are stupid (*ahem* frickinuselessanduglyascrapRidgeline...), but sure enough, they sold well, and proved that Honda knew their market. While I have an equal distaste for both the Crosstour and the ZDX, I'll give Honda the benefit of the doubt there.
With that whole thing out of the way, we at last get to the meat of the matter. The Honda response said, and I quote:
"We've seen a lot of comments about the desire for a wagon"
How many of you Jalops have been spamming the poor Honda Facebook page with endless "Bring us da wagon" comments?
09/04/09
They're dependable, long-lasting, and reasonably fun to drive. To over-simplify: they get the job done.
09/04/09
The Del Sol - This thiing had such bad body flex that the original roof seals couldn't keep the water out. Since you're a diehard GM driver, you might be amused to know that Honda's first service bulletin for the roof was a fix that called for the purchase of silicone emulsion from "your local GM Parts Department". Eventually they realized that the seals had to be redesigned and were replaced through a well hushed service campaign instead of a full-blown recall.
97 Prelude - Honda pulled the amazing feat of making people forget just how hideous the 93-96 digital dash was by introducing an entirely hideous Prelude model. Just like the 96 Civic, the headlights were ridiculously huge for the time. And thus began Honda's tradition of building the best looking cars from the A-pillar back.
95 Odyssey - An engineering marvel, with first in class innovations like "theatre" seating, anti-crush A-pillar and the hideaway rear bench, the "Oddity" was massively under-powered and the first Honda to bear an appliance-like appearance.
IMHO the new Crosstour is a complete miss. Of course, in typical Honda fashion it will be innovative and well engineered, but I long for the days when Honda's had double wishbone suspension, performance minded engines and character.
09/04/09
My bet, though, is that the Crosstour will sell as well as Honda is predicting, not at all unlike the Ridgeline.
09/04/09
1. Honda's are ugly, bland and soulless.
2. Honda 'fans' therefore must enjoy ugly, bland and soulless cars.
3. Honda 'fans' do not like the Crosstour.
4. Therefore the Crosstour must not be nearly ugly, bland or soulless enough for them.
5. Ergo the Crosstour is actually a nice car.
09/04/09
Research suggested that New Coke was a good idea in 1985 too...
09/04/09
I dunno......I've got some faith that this car will reach a niche market segment.
09/04/09
Of course, getting your opinions from potential consumers (ie everybody with some cash in their pockets) is one thing, but sending out a defensive press release and then not actually letting Facebook affect anything at all in the design is, well, just, well, totally useless.
I hope some carmakers would put some concepts and sketches of cars they are thinking of building onto social networks (probably not MySpace, on second thought) and asking whether real people, not web aliases, like it or not.
09/04/09
09/04/09
09/04/09
Honda whoring itself on Facebook is another reason why I don't care for the site. I thought it was a social networking site for people. Get your greasy rear end - and your car - out of my soon-to-be former neighborhood.
The car generates zero response from me. Nada. It's like the R-class. I don't care. Does it carry eighteen horny naked cheerleaders and go 500mph and there's a Mr. Fusion under the hood? Great. But I just don't care.
This chassis vs. that chassis. So what? It's got a big booty, but so does J. Lo, and hers looks pretty good. It's got a medium-large honker, but so does a Dodge Ram, and no one ever gigged it for that. If it doesn't all come together perfectly, that's okay because it all came together and it works. If it isn't visually perfect, it isn't how it looks that makes it work. And when how it works is what determines whether that eighteenth cheerleader will fit, looks are secondary.
But I still don't care. Honda, Mazda, Mercedes, all of them are wheeling out eminently practical people movers. They are soulless.
When Chrysler was betting the farm on the minivan, reheating its compact chassis and completely reinventing the station wagon, that had soul. You could almost hear the echoes of lineworker's prayers when you opened the doors. Anymore, anything like this is being aimed by computers and number crunchers at a market with money. And I fully understand that that is how it has to be, because the whole point of building cars isn't to build cars, but to make money.
It looks like a perfectly reasonable car. Logical, well-considered, reasonably economical.
And cold. I just don't care.
09/04/09
09/04/09
09/04/09
09/04/09
Honda, first, it's a 5-door hatchback.
Second, Facebook "marketing" is retarded. Ditto Twitter, Youtube, texting, etcetera.
A huge percentage of American buyers are stupid, play to that. The less they know, the better off they are.
Bring back cars which are small, well-built, and offer amazing capabilities for their size, and you're done. The Fit is a good start.
Finally, stay away from marketing people...you don't need them. Honda is well-known for reliable, solid, cars which return high MPG and long, long life. Don't let them ruin it with stupid shit...which is their forté.
09/04/09