Some of the excuses are completely reasonable. For instance, Honda explains that the vehicle is built on the U.S. Accord platform and not the TSX platform, which is why it doesn't look like the European Honda Accord wagon. They also point out it's aimed at individuals (i.e. moms) in the crossover segment and their research shows it'll appeal to them. This could be true.

What really gets us, though, is this excuse:

The photos: Arguably, the two studio photos we posted didn't give you enough detail, nor were they the best to showcase the vehicle. There are more photos on the way. Maybe it's like a bad yearbook photo or something, and we think the new photos will clear things up.

This is a little hard to swallow. The two pictures are of the vehicle from the front 3/4 and rear 3/4 from different sides. At this point you've done as much as you possibly can to show the car from 360 degrees in two shots. Their post states "[N]or were they the best to showcase the vehicle." We're sorry, but if your vehicle is ugly from 3/4 front and 3/4 back it's just ugly and we doubt more detail is going to change that.

In the end, there could easily be buyers for this vehicle, but they're not the ones being targeted in the Facebook campaign. For one reason or another, 5,700 "fans" were convinced they'd get something like an attractive wagon and this crossover isn't pleasing to the vast majority of them. To quote Facebook user Daniel Ruiz II, "I am a car fanatic and a faithful Honda owner, I might not be the target audience for the car, but you shouldn't need to fit in to a certain market segment to find a car appealing."

The full statement from Honda is below.

Official Honda Statement

Hi, Facebook fans. We're listening, and we want to address a few things you've been talking about over the past few days.
1. The photos: Arguably, the two studio photos we posted didn't give you enough detail, nor were they the best to showcase the vehicle. There are more photos on the way. Maybe it's like a bad yearbook photo or something, and we think the new photos will clear things up. 
 
2. It's not the European wagon: We've seen a lot of comments about the desire for a wagon, but this is neither a wagon nor designed for wagon buyers. We think the Euro wagon is a cool vehicle, too, and we appreciate the feedback… but a version of that wasn't our intention here. That's another segment worthy of our consideration, but the Accord Crosstour, built on the larger, Accord platform, is meant to give you the best of two worlds – the versatility of an SUV with the sportiness of a car.
 
3. Many of you don't like the styling: It may not be for everyone. Our research suggests that the styling does test well among people shopping for a crossover.
 
4. You want further details about the Accord Crosstour: We typically can't give you details so far out from when the vehicle goes on sale for a number of reasons, including competitive intelligence and pure availability. However... we hear your frustrations, and while specs on the vehicle aren't finalized, we're trying to get some stuff together that we hope will satiate some of your curiosity and give you more to think about.
 
5. Honda associates participating in the wall comments: We didn't remove comments out of embarrassment. We removed comments that were posted contrary to American Honda's consumer-generated media policy for associates: We must first clearly state that we are Honda employees and that a posting is a personal - not Honda's - opinion. Eddie forgot to add that, so his comments were removed.
 
Thank you for all of the interest, and we'll be in touch again soon...

[Crosstour Official Facebook Page]

Ford tells me in choosing entries, they're looking for an ability to draw both comments and YouTube views on the entry. So, here's your chance to shine as Jalopnik commenters. Go crazy! Let's get some serious comment traffic going here and some serious view traffic going over on YouTube to show FoMoCo what JalopMoCo is made of!

Be sure to hit the HD button if you're rocking a broadband connection — now you'll get me swaying in full digital glory.

Since it's launch on April 7th, ImSaturn has seen membership grow to a positively staggering 1,524. That's a huge number of devotees to Saturnalia — it's almost equivalent to 3% of the people who've purchased a Saturn so far this year. And why shouldn't they all be excited? Members get to be wowed with such exciting and amazing features like — press releases and groups organized by Saturn model. Who wouldn't be excited to chat and share stories with other proud owners of the now-defunct Saturn Relay minivan?

But, the online community does take steps to ensure members feel like they play an active role in the company. For instance, when ImSaturn member Rick Murphy 'posted' concerns about a delay in the delivery of his new Astra, company reps like Steve Janisse are there to squash the negative publicity reassure concerned customers by posting a quick response saying,

"So sorry for the long delays...but all of your cars have either already been shipped or will be shipped today. We'll give your retailers an update. If anyone else is looking for their Astra, please let me know."

According to the New York Times, which has breathlessly covered the exciting news, Saturn has a wild side. Apparently — bear with us, we're so excited we can hardly type — the company's planning a contest dubbed "kissmyastra." The contest not only acknowledges people in the 18-34 demographic heart the lower case, but also people who find themselves caught in embarrassing situations with their cars. The contest promises big prizes for people caught with their Astra in the most passionate of positions.

All joking aside, it appears that Saturn's greatest problem may be basic brand and product awareness among the general public, not amongst their own customers. Troy Clarke, President of GM North America described the problem to Automotive News,

"If you look at the purchase funnel, you ask, "Do we have a consideration problem on Saturn or a conversion problem?' The fact of the matter is we have a basic awareness problem."

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