Plenty of Hatred on Internet for Honda Accord Crosstour

There haven’t been many new models that have stirred the ire of the internet as quickly as Honda’s Accord Crosstour. The crossover made its official internet debut yesterday on a number of blogs, including this one, Facebook and on Honda’s official website. The internet is an open forum, and people weighed in immediately with almost universal disapproval of the car’s design. Namely its ungainly front end.

We talked to Honda spokesman Chuck Schifsky about the reaction and if Honda might consider something as radical as reworking the grille.

“We’re confident with the styling,” Schifsky said. He suggested that people need to see the Crosstour in person and on the road before leveling criticism. He also said that it’s a little bigger than the Accord, so possibly the larger grille won’t seem so off-putting in person.

Schifsky said there was a lot of negative internet chatter about the new Civic when it debuted because it had small windows ahead of the door, sort of like the Toyota Prius.

Since then, Twitter and Facebook have opened up even more outlets for people to vent, and vent they did.

On Honda’s official Facebook page for the Crosstour, where more than 4,000 people have become fans of the page after seeing snippets and teaser images of the crossover, there was much disdain. Many of the commenters didn’t resemble the typical online automotive enthusiast — known to complain about anything and everything — either.

• Leigha Brennan: And it’s hideous. Great — there goes my excitement about having a potential wagon! I adore Honda, but the Crosstour is strange and not attractive … maybe it won’t be as assaulting to my sensibilities in person??
• Mike Rim: How do you become an UN-fan??
• Eliot Tipton: Anyone else suddenly notice how good-looking the 2010 Outback is?
• Grace Recasner: No, no, no…. I was waiting, praying that Honda would reconsider this when I saw the spy photos. I’ve been holding off buying because I thought this would be my perfect car, now I think I’ll end up with a CR-V.

Even on our own blog post where we — the jaded automotive journalists at Cars.com — described the Crosstour images as unsightly had readers leveling verbal bombs about the crossover.

• No need to waste words: IT’S HIDEOUS!!!
  Posted by: tscurt
• Honda’s designers must be in a real bad funk. Maybe they’re hoping the Pontiac Aztec owners will get excited and buy this beast.
  Posted by: eagle2x
• I would prefer if they drop the “crossover” shenanigans and call it a station wagon, or even estate to be fancy.
  I can accept “commanding view” (think Subaru wagons), but this is an ugly mutation of SUV and station, with the pretext of crossover, not to mention awkward styling. Ho hum.
  Posted by: Mike

It doesn’t seem like any amount of public outcry via the internet will change the look of the Crosstour before it launches in late fall.