DETROIT — Honda calls the design of its new Pilot prototype "evolutionary," but many consumers are panning the styling of the proposed 2009 Pilot that debuted at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show.
In fact, it seems that in a styling-conscious market where sleek crossovers rank as some of the hottest vehicles, the chockablock 2009 Pilot might end up fitting like a square peg into a round hole.
It's way too early to sound a distress signal for a vehicle that is still several months from introduction, of course. But some participants in chats on Edmunds.com, for example, recognize that Honda's continuation of a very squared-off rear end in the Prototype is a compromise aimed in part at accommodating the third-row roominess that has been one of the strongest differentiators of the current Pilot.
And the prototype Pilot design "scored lousy" with consumers who were surveyed several days ago by CNW Research, said Art Spinella, president of the Bandon, Oregon-based automotive-research concern. Pilot garnered "about 7.5 on our 12-point scale for exterior styling, which stinks for a new vehicle," he said. Typical such scores are 8.7 to 9.0." CNW surveyed several hundred consumers in Detroit, Los Angeles and Chicago using Honda press materials from the Detroit show and video of the Pilot prototype that was obtained from Honda, Spinella said.
"Mostly, people said it was boring — there was nothing distinctive about it to them in a positive way," Spinella explained. Even more ominous for the new Pilot, he said, is that consumers surveyed "were not really crazy about any particular part of the exterior. Normally you don't see that with a new car; some feature will turn them on. But this [lukewarm reaction] was pretty much 360 degrees."
Honda can't afford to make a mistake with the 2009 Pilot. Pilot was introduced in 2002, and sales climbed steadily, to 152,000 units in 2006; then they dropped precipitously last year, by 23 percent, to 117,000, according to data compiled by Edmunds.com.
What this means to you: If you're a Pilot fan, consider trying to get a deal as the '08s are closed out, on a vehicle whose styling, at least, won't be made obsolete by its replacement. — Dale Buss, Correspondent
In fact, it seems that in a styling-conscious market where sleek crossovers rank as some of the hottest vehicles, the chockablock 2009 Pilot might end up fitting like a square peg into a round hole.
It's way too early to sound a distress signal for a vehicle that is still several months from introduction, of course. But some participants in chats on Edmunds.com, for example, recognize that Honda's continuation of a very squared-off rear end in the Prototype is a compromise aimed in part at accommodating the third-row roominess that has been one of the strongest differentiators of the current Pilot.
And the prototype Pilot design "scored lousy" with consumers who were surveyed several days ago by CNW Research, said Art Spinella, president of the Bandon, Oregon-based automotive-research concern. Pilot garnered "about 7.5 on our 12-point scale for exterior styling, which stinks for a new vehicle," he said. Typical such scores are 8.7 to 9.0." CNW surveyed several hundred consumers in Detroit, Los Angeles and Chicago using Honda press materials from the Detroit show and video of the Pilot prototype that was obtained from Honda, Spinella said.
"Mostly, people said it was boring — there was nothing distinctive about it to them in a positive way," Spinella explained. Even more ominous for the new Pilot, he said, is that consumers surveyed "were not really crazy about any particular part of the exterior. Normally you don't see that with a new car; some feature will turn them on. But this [lukewarm reaction] was pretty much 360 degrees."
Honda can't afford to make a mistake with the 2009 Pilot. Pilot was introduced in 2002, and sales climbed steadily, to 152,000 units in 2006; then they dropped precipitously last year, by 23 percent, to 117,000, according to data compiled by Edmunds.com.
What this means to you: If you're a Pilot fan, consider trying to get a deal as the '08s are closed out, on a vehicle whose styling, at least, won't be made obsolete by its replacement. — Dale Buss, Correspondent
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ralfaro says:
04:59 PM, 01/14/2012
Where can I get those rims?