“First question: Is the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour as unattractive in the flesh as it is in photographs?” Automotive News [sub] asks itself. “Answer: Pretty darned close. Directly from behind — and directly from the side — Honda’s new crossover-meets-wagon looks appealing. But from any other perspective, the Crosstour’s confluence of angles is visually jarring, especially in how the swooping a-pillar meets the hood line.” This is it: the day that the editorial collusion known as the Crosstour press embargo ends. For some reason, Honda forgot to invite TTAC to the ho-down. Never mind. Until we see the sheet metal, we’ll rely on yet another round of press shots and word-of-mouth. Or, more precisely, I threw-up-in-my mouth-a-little. While we wait for Autoblog for the official weasel words (“Honda has also released tons of new Accord Crosstour glamor shots”), suffice it to say Honda’s drubbing will not be anywhere near as severe as what awaits Toyota on tonight’s edition of ABC News and Nightline. The network has fired an opening salvo on the internet, and it ain’t gonna help ToMoCo recover lost sales ground one little bit. So here’s MY first question: how much of Toyota’s $1.665 billion ad budget does ABC reap? Just curious . . .
Here is one question I have regarding the Toyota runaway car issue:
What is the rate of runaway car events reported for Toyota’s drive-by-wire based products as compared to older technology mechanical throttle products? If the rates are comparable, than it is unlikely to be an electronics/software problem. However, if the rate of these problems in drive-by-wire equipped vehicles is many times larger than for older, conventional throttle vehicles then there is probably a real issue with the electronics and/or software.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/03/2010-honda-accord-crosstour-first-drive/
Autoblog article here. Actually, they give it their version of a good kicking in the undercarriage. It is apparently: Too expensive, Fugly, has limited options, bland interior, terrible rear vision, a compromised trunk and a spare tire on view to everyone behind you.
On the plus side, it drives nicely and the gearbox (all 5-speeds) is nice. Oh, and good fuel economy.
Not exactly a home run. They apparently want to sell 40,000 of them – good luck with that!
In terms of the crosstour, maybe the pacifica was just ahead of its time.
In terms of Toyota they deserve to be railed over this one. And in my opinion the floormats of death aren’t the worst part of it, its the ziptie repair job. I have to imagine if GM dealt with a problem in that manner, there would be a deathwatch or deadly sin article close behind, but toyota nothing?
Yes, “the Crosstour’s confluence of angles is visually jarring” – but the same is certainly true of the Accord sedan from most (all?) angles, and people seem to be buying that.
I recall seeing photos of a two-door Honda Accord Aerodeck in the British magazine Car around 1987; the front end and doors were the same as the U.S. Accord hatchback of the era (but with fixed headlamps), and the back was rather elegant with partial flip-out side windows and a relatively vertical rear window and tailgate. I wish that had been offered here – I always have liked the “shooting brake” idea.
I clearly recall when Honda design meant, first and foremost, a low cowl height. Oh well.
@John Horner
Drive by wire is fairly established technology. My wife’s 12 year old Benz has it. It also has floormat retainers up front.
Why would you design an accelerator pedal so that if something slipped under it, it would cause the car to accelerate?
The vehicles need to be recalled to replace the accelerator assembly with a better design and update the car’s software to ignore accelerator input when the brake is pressed at speed.
Here we go again with network TV hysterics about “sudden acceleration.”
Drive-by-wire is unlikely to be the problem as it is not new technology, as roadracer indicated. The Camry switched to it with the 2002-06 generation (which I have), and these cars are NOT involved in the investigation.
I have verified that the 2010 Camry’s accelerator pedal rests about 1 inch closer to the floor than in my 2004 Camry.
I think low cowl and side beltline height is something that’s been lost as a consequence of the proliferation of pedestrian safety standards around the world. I seem to remember an episode of Top Gear pointing out the low nose to a car and saying that it would be going away, due to these new requirements. Honda in particular has been forthright in putting this design philosophy in all their vehicles, not just the ones that are sold in Europe and Japan.
So if you raise the hood and round the nose and corners to make it safer for anyone who is hit by the car, then you’re going to raise the beltline of the car as well, to make it work visually.
Accountability – Toyota and others manufacturers made the decision to engineer their gas pedals a certain way that allows a floor mat (or whatever else may be on the floor) to wedge itself between the pedal and the floor. Suck it up, admit the mistake and redesign the offending setup.
Stop whining about it and prove that you are better than the domestics by handling the issue better than they have in the past.
BTW, add me to the list that doesn’t find the Crosstour’s exterior attractive in any way.
“While we wait for Autoblog for the official weasel words…”
Autoblog beat you to it:
It is at this point that you might reasonably expect us to fence-straddle a bit and tell you why the Crosstour is better looking in person. Thing is, we’re not sure it is. Perhaps you expect us to note how what few photos Honda has released to this point fail to tell the whole story. Fair enough – they don’t. And we needn’t remind you that auto journalists (us included) are regularly accused of using mealy-mouthed words like ‘unique,’ ‘distinctive,’ ‘polarizing’ and ‘intriguing’ when what they’re trying to say is that a design team has shat the bed. In that spirit and from our vantage point, we’ll say this polarizing Honda is uniquely distinctive in an intriguing way.
I still cannot believe Toyota’s fix is the zip tie. I hope this is a temporary measure until something permanent is implemented. If it isn’t then this is only the start of things to come from that company.
And the Crosstour. Yup, it’s still ugly and from the shots over at Autoblog rearward visibility is god awful. All of this and the top spec trim will set you back $36K missing features that other CUVs at this price point have. I truly do not see the point.
Big Honda lover, but really… when was the last time they rolled out a truly attractive model?
Just read today that the NHTSA concluded that the floormat problem stemmed from improper installation and use of inappropriate floor mats.
Sounds like a big yawn. But thats part of the price of the top position, you draw more fire.
Nightline etc.? They have a schedule, if they don’t have a story they will create one.
Crosstour? I geuss I don’t think it’s all that bad. People must be pretty bored to freak over it IMO.
Bunter
Drive by wire is not new technology, but it is run by software in the car’s cpu and Toyota’s software is not the same as Mercedes’. It could very well be a programming error that caused the problem, but like any programming error, it needs to be replicated to be proven to exist (and then it can be debugged). However if someone has time to make a 911 call from a back seat, pretty sure the driver has double checked to make sure his foot is on the brake, and not the gas. That still doesn’t rule out the floormat issue.
There goes a worthy Subaru Outback replacement.
Looks just fine time.
The Accord and especially the Accord coupe are ugly, so why would the silly, I mean Accord Crossover be any different?
segfault :
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Why would you design an accelerator pedal so that if something slipped under it, it would cause the car to accelerate?
The vehicles need to be recalled to replace the accelerator assembly with a better design and update the car’s software to ignore accelerator input when the brake is pressed at speed.
OK really? All because some guy couldn’t figure out how to shift into neutral? Carmakers should focus on cars, not silly things like this.
“A camel is a horse designed by a committee.” You can actually see the seams where they joined together the different sub-committees’ stylings. What a disaster! Surely a classic case-study for future design schools on how to make sure you designate a strong and experienced chief designer (and tell the marketing dept to go f@c# themselves).
About the only uglier thing out there is a BangleMW.
The death car was a loaner when the guy took his car in to be serviced. The mats were the wrong ones, meant for another vehicle but put in the loaner.
At least that was the initial explanation of the story.
Crosstour: yes, ugly. Coupe, ugly. Sedan okay though the rear styling is a total rip of a 96 Saturn SL1.
It’s not the floor mat slipping in between the gas pedal and the floor, but becoming lodged on top of the pedal. If it was lodged in between, it would be hard to accelerate, not accelerating on it’s own. Not to say that it wasn’t an over site by Toyota, but for this to kill someone is just Darwin’s theory at work.
The problem is people buying the rubber “sports” floor mats, and putting them on top of the regular floor mats, instead of removing the regular ones first. This is contrary to the manual and warnings on the floor mats themselves. It’s user error, not Toyota’s.
Geotpf: “This is contrary to the manual and warnings on the floor mats themselves. It’s user error, not Toyota’s.”
OK, so do other makes also need such warnings? Or is Toyota’s pedal design different?
This Crosstour is the point where Honda really “jumped the shark”. One can only hope that this turd is the final nail in the coffin of the current Honda product planners and designers. Open disclosure, I’ve been a Honda fan boy for many years but lately they’ve lost me and my future wallet. What happened to the company that once brought us the CRX, the low-cowl design Accords, the Prelude, etc, etc.
Honda used to clearly stand for decent sporty driving dynamics brought to you courtesy of a leading motorcycle company. They used to stand for class leading displacement to horsepower ratings along with class-leading fuel economy. Not all have been perfect in styling but many a former Honda had a nice classy interior and exterior design that you knew would look good 10 years down the road. Product quality has also taken a massive hit over transmission, differential and A/C compressors. We’re talkin’ basic engineering stuff that has seemed to overwhelm them. WTF?
Lately, can any of the former virtues stand true for the Honda we know today? Is Hyundai the old Honda for today?
I’d still give the Crosstour a look for utility first and then decide if I could live with the looks.
Toyota ought to issue a shorter gas pedal for the recall. Create a larger gap between the pedal and floor so nothing can trap the pedal on the floor.
I think it looks a WHOLE lot better than the current Accord. The current Accord is a bloated abomination. It looks 20 years behind its time. And what’s with the obviously made-with-a popsicle-stick line down the body? What happened to the trade-mark sheetmetal crease they used since 1990? I guess it at least still has the padded change drawer. I haven’t had the stomach to get close enough to it to see if it does. Long live the 2001 Accord, the last REAL one.
Drop the ride height about two inches and it’s really not that bad. It’s certainly better than current Accord sedan, though that’s setting the bar rather low.
This is absolutely shameful coming from a company that gave us the NSX, Prelude, S2000, and Civic CRX/del Sol/Si/Type-R. Honda, please torpedo this abomination and send over the Stream instead. Or even a freshened version of the JDM Life Dunk. I’d buy one for the name alone. Hey, it worked with the Jazz/Fit!
Im still confused..
I used to drive a 2800lb Accord 4cycl with a 2.2ltr I-4.. that was always tossable.
My 00 with the 2.3ltr I-4 is about 3000… and this fat ass.. 3800lbs. Thats 800lbs of just mass that I CANT THROW AROUND!
Alright I could deal with the average sized 7th gen… but the 8th. Jesus.. thats a big ass damn car.
Wake me when its over.
The Crosstour in a funny car. Some cars look better in the brochure pictures than in real life. This Honda looks better to me in real life than it does in the pictures. For a “big” sedan it has alot of great utility. Fold those rear seats down flat and you can carry all sorts of packages or hardware store stuff. Yahoo!
Of course mainstream America will totally miss the point and shake their heads in disbelief. Too much this or not enough that and the rest of the flock will follow. Honda won’t sell enough and we’ll move away from anything close to a car based wagon five door hatchback style vehicle.
Yep in America we only think in terms of “real” SUVs (read big, good is no longer measured by offroad ability, just size), minivans. four door sedans and pickup trucks. No clever ideas need to apply here.
Damn…