My Two Cents on the Honda Accord Crosstour and the Public Outcry on its Styling

First of all, allow me to say that in all honestly, I'm completely dumbstruck from the amount of attention that the Accord Crosstour received considering the fact that it's just a crossover version of an existing model - nothing more, nothing less. I know Honda maintains a strong fan base which is very active on the net and that these things tend to go 'viral' very quickly on the web today, but still...

I expected more people to be interested, for example, in the new Ford C-MAX, also revealed this week, which is a far more important model (from a global perspective) as it previews the next generation Focus on both sides of the pond.

I'll agree with most of you that the Accord Crosstour is no beauty and style-wise, I'd classify it in the same category with the 'Bayerischideous' X6 and 5-Series GT.

Was I expecting something better? Sure. Am I surprised? Hell no and I can't understand why many are acting as if Honda is some sort of a Japanese version of Alfa Romeo that all of a sudden lost its design touch.

If you want my personal opinion, from a styling point of view, I find a couple of current day Hondas interesting e.g. Euro Civic hatch, the outgoing S2000; some all right but nothing to get excited about like the Accord and the rest, including the Insight, FCX Clarity, Odyssey and Pilot -you get the picture- bland to the point of near invisibility.

Ok, so Honda mucked up in a sub-category that's aimed at more adventurous Camry owners - big deal... Just my two cents.

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Malignant Rumors: VW Planning to Reshape Porsche's Model Portfolio, Drop Cayenne and Panamera?

The biggest of the boardroom battles between VW and Porsche may be over, but that hasn't done much to stop the usual rumors from making the rounds. First, Germany's Autobild reported that VW CEO Martin Winterkorn was pushing for a couple of volume vehicles - a baby Boxster and junior Cayenne - and a third, Panamera-based, model. More recently, however, Car magazine is claiming that VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech wants to take the Porsche brand in another direction, pushing it back to its roots.

How? By killing off the Cayenne and Panamera once they have run through their respective life cycles, the argument being that VW AG produces more than enough sedans and SUVs already.

The big questions are: 1) How would people feel if Porsche aced its controversial (if popular) Cayenne and the new Panamera, and instead concentrated on strictly building sports cars? and2) What sort of lineup would we be looking at?

After all, a baby Boxster would be right in line with the old Porsche philosophy, and a larger GT would help make use of the Panamera's platform if the humpback saloon did indeed bite the dust. Of course, no one but the suits within the company know what's really going on, but it's always fun to speculate.

By Phil Alex

Phil Alex was born in Rhode Island in 1985. He graduated with degrees in Finance and German from Wofford College in 2007 and has had an obsession with cars and travel. Currently he resides near Japan's international airport in Narita. He makes no apologies for his articles and welcomes all feedback, as long as it is adamantly worded. If for any reason you are inclined to vent some more, check out more of his posts on the Examiner here.

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My Two Dents on GM, Ford and Chrysler LLC

Just a word to the people... The auto industry, along with the rest of the economy, is in shambles. Obviously the big-wigs cannot be trusted to make the right decisions. Everyone (be they layman, enthusiast, or insider) needs to voice their opinions, not only on finished products but on job standards, engineering developments, and the quality of the buttons on the dashboard.

Only by listening to the people will companies start to make the right choices and thrive. After all, why should we be expected to settle for rubbish? While currently concentrating on the Big Three, my articles will soon begin to branch out and hopefully have a more global scale.

GM:

GM is a sinking ship, and the fact that it is eliminating dead weight by jettisoning four brands is old news. Many people have been throwing out theories about where not only the victims, but the survivors are going.

Of the "Poor Four", Saturn and Pontiac are the two with potential (if they play their cards right). Frankly, Hummer was commercially doomed from the start and I have no idea where it could possibly go other than the great junkyard in the sky. Saab lost its soul a long time ago, and again: nowhere to go but away.

Chrysler:

Chrysler is the black sheep of the group, the little-guy outsider. Think Squeak from Baseketball. This company's products have been all over the board, from Neons to Vipers and from racetracks to mountaintops. Good in theory, but oh-so-poorly executed. Now Chrysler needs to make some tough decisions regarding its three brands and their respective images. Upcoming target: Jeep.

Ford:

Not much to scream about here, unless you want to nitpick.... and I do. I'll explain why the Blue Oval deserves to be on top, and yes, it will sound like a PR thing. Why? Because when it comes to domestics, I'm a Ford guy. Regardless, they can stand to do better; Lincoln isn't exactly a direct competitor for Cadillac anymore, and Mercury is all but scrap. Volvo is on its way out, as no one seems to want to touch the Swedes with a ten-foot pole (consumers and Sweden alike).

As will be the norm, I will go ahead and exercise the right to drop in my two cents. Feel free to follow my lead. In fact, I insist on it; it's lonely out here. As always, the point of all forthcoming articles is to incite discussion, not arguments. So ladies and gentleman, start your engines and... GO!

By Phil Alex

Phil Alex was born in Rhode Island in 1985, yet for reasons unbeknownst to him moved to South Carolina. He graduated with degrees in Finance and German from Wofford College in 2007 and has had a strange obsession with cars and travel since he was a wee lad. He currently resides a stone's throw from Japan's international airport in Narita. All of this can be seen on Facebook, so check it out. He makes no apologies for his articles and welcomes all feedback, as long as it is adamantly worded.

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Chrysler: A Roller-Coaster Tale of Corporate Hits and Misses

The 1980's: Chrysler's heyday. Lee Iacocca said, "If you can find a better car, buy it." Nowadays that's one hell of a dangerous ad campaign to try. Counting the number of manufacturers presently building cars better than Chrysler involves counting toes... not a good sign. Chrysler; My God, what happened? For the past thirty years the smallest of the Big Three has endured a roller-coaster ride of successes and failures. Looking at the Cerberus-owned Chrysler of today and the Chrysler of 1979, not much has changed.

1979 saw Chrysler begging the government for money, and now we see that history does indeed appear to be cyclical. Over three decades the company has not done much more than get sucked toward bankruptcy, come back up for a brief moment, and then immediately get sucked under again like that poor girl in the opening scene of Jaws.

It is hard to pinpoint the exact "uh-oh" moment for Chrysler; there are a few. After what appeared to be the end of troubled times with the introduction of the LH-Series cars (nicknamed the Last Hope), Daimler-Benz swooped in to buy Chrysler (for a moment forget that "merger of equals" mumbo-jumbo). This entire period, however, was a bit of a mess for both parties. While Chrysler offered relatively attractive models at the time, poor fuel economy and poorer quality of materials led to lackluster sales.

Then Mercedes tried rummaging through its own closet, first for parts and then entire platforms. Even this could not rejuvenate Chrysler in consumers' eyes, leading to Chrysler's unceremonious sale into the hands of its current owners, Cerberus Capital Management. Under Cerberus one could argue that Chrysler is at rock bottom, still hemorrhaging money and now with no magic closet to rummage through other than its own. Where did everything go wrong?

Ages ago Chrysler was a brand known for its radical designs. The boys from Chrysler would appear on the show circuit brandishing their weapons of choice: insane concepts never meant to appear on public roads. Then, when dared to build these absurdities, they actually did! The executives (apparently fans of Field of Dreams) realized that if they built them, buyers would come. That was fifteen years ago, and I can still remember going down to the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealership as a child to sit in a Viper or Prowler. These were the cars that brought people into showrooms.

Today, the thought of walking into a Chrysler dealership is just depressing. The excitement options have dwindled, along with the money to build them. Chrysler LLC'S best-selling product is a Dodge Ram, and the brand's best–selling vehicle a minivan. Thrilling. This is a company not only with boring models, but a company that has seemed to lose its originality as well.

Once upon a time the question on everyone's mind was, "What craziness is Chrysler bringing to the show this year?" Now, all that goes through peoples' minds at a Chrysler booth is a collective groan of disappointment. One such groan came last year, when Chrysler rolled out some not-so-revolutionary electric vehicles based on – gasp - a Town & Country minivan, a Jeep Wrangler, and a Europa borrowed from Lotus. Hardly the cream of the automotive crop.

If it makes it through the next year, Cerberus will need to get some new ideas. As in, yesterday. The lesson to learn from the bungled and ill-received Sebring/Avenger failure is this: when trying to make a vehicle appealing to consumers, design by committee is not an option. No offense to the top-tier management-types versed in finance and economics, but you did not go to design school. Stick to your quarterly reports and let the professionals do their jobs. In fact, think of the design studio as a shark-infested pool. Do not go in the water.

But there is a ray of light yet; the Italians are coming! Hopefully this supposed partnership with Fiat will buy Chrysler some time (and that small car platform everyone is dreaming about), something it desperately needs to bring some flavor back into its brands. Chrysler, it's time to get out of the boardroom and hit the pavement. It's time to find out what consumers are looking for and to bring it to them. Trust me. If you build it, they will come.

By Phil Alex,Via Carscoop

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