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There's a new article that talks about how due to Honda's success they are taking less risk in their designs. The author concludes that this may come back to bite Honda in the *** in the future.

What do you think?

IMO...
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." But certainly enough people has complained about the uninspiring look of the new Civic Si/Si-R hatch. The new CRV is still just a box, and actually looks more like a mini-van than the old one. Meanwhile, the competitors are jumping backwards to make good looking products. e.g. Mazda Protege5, Nissan Altima, heck even the Hyundais look pretty good these days.

 
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I personally don't think they they have taken lots of BIG chances like some of the other companies. Honda has taken chances with the S2000 and the RSX, but other than that they are staying pretty much true to what the American market wants. Even the redesign of the accord is still bland. Lots of car companies are afraid to take new steps for bolder redesigns after lots of flops. Most of the most popular car companies are still bland in my eyes, Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, and Chevy. I think some of the best designers out there would have to be Jaguar, BMW, and Nissan.

 
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all i gots to say is Honda Dualnote

Honda styling is clean not bland.

Audi's designers have been coming with the freshest designs IMO ie the new Lambo, Bugatti, TT, Avantisimo, and A4

Nissan's designers are just a bunch of d1ck riders

 
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i like the new body it almost looks like an accord. If you shave you emblems it could be confused

 
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BWM is probably one of the best designers out there. I can't find any fault in the lines on a 3 series, and the X5 is one of the better looking SUVs out there.

Nissan is getting better. Although their history is full of ugly rear ends. The current Sentra is evidence of this.

And I much perfer the "bland" look of my Honda than the "daring" Aztek.

 
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<< And I much perfer the "bland" look of my Honda than the "daring" Aztek. >>



amen to that! the Aztec is hideous!

 
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There's one thing I don't get. When Honda is earning that much $$, it's this the perfect time to try a few sidesteps that would otherwise be too risky. Let's say a Civic Coupe Convertible ? Or a new CRX ? Bringing back the Accord Aerodeck ?

I have to agree that the design is conservative and clean if you look at the Accord and Civic and perhaps the CRV and Odessey too. But the RSX and S2000 and the whole Type-R range are far from conservative. I think there's a good balance at Honda. Perhaps if they tip it a bit more too the experimental side, it would be just right.

I bought my car because I wanted something different then the rest of the crowd. We don't have anywhere near as much Civic's here in the Netherlands as you have in the US, that's why I think it's something different. Just today I was behind the first Coupe at the traffic light in 1 year after the car's release. In that 1 year I've only seen 4 other Coupes, but never in motion.

 
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the companies doing the daring designs are the one's trying to play catch-up to honda's sales...
ie. mazda's new youth oriented designs...nissans blacked out headlights and clear tailights all are trying to grab a piece of honda's market share..


simplicity always comes thru in the end...

btw....i think the Si/SiR design is quite unique...and it'll definitely be the trend as witnessed by their concept and euro cars...

 
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<<

<< And I much perfer the "bland" look of my Honda than the "daring" Aztek. >>



amen to that! the Aztec is hideous! >>



dont forget the pt cruiser[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-puke.gif[/IMG]

 
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well one thing i've noted is that honda designs last a long, long time.

Take older model prelude, accord, civic, etc. and match them up with cars of that year... the best looking ones are the hondas! in terms of design anyways. Personally when i first got to the honda lot - i was there to look at Accords... I didn't much appreciate the new look of the civics... but all it took was a few more visits and a test drive of the civic to make me completely love the design. That guy needs to visit the honda lot more often... I think they are some of the best looking cars around. at the same time, they aren't some of these shocking vehicles that will make us wonder in 5, 7, 10, 12 years "why the hell did i buy something this fugly???"

 
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i think honda has a very clean, smooth design with their cars. simple, yet elegant.
If they went any simpler, it'll looks bad, and if they over did the design, it would also look bad.

 
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The styling was one of the major attractions about this car to me. Even my old 94 civic still has a contemporary and clean look to it. to the boys & girls at HONDA!!!!!!!!

 
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I agree that Honda's styles may not be daring, but they do last a long time. Many of us still find the CRX cool! Other car companies seem to make outlandish styles to try and hit a good nerve in the market. Everyone is trying out the sport wagon scene (protege 5, matrix, vibe). The SUV was the 90's now the sport wagon is the early 2000's. Honda's even though may be somewhat bland they do last forever!!

 
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That part I agree. Honda design still looks good after 10 years.

 
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I think if someone asked me to describe Honda's style, I would say that it was "understated elegance". Like many of you guys just said, Honda's style ages very well. It may not be flashy like some of the recent offerings from other carmakers, but Honda's usually do not look out of place even if they are 5, 6, or 7 years old. The flashier the car, the more likely it will look tacky and be out of style down the line. For example, some people like the new styling for the latest Hyundai's. I gotta say, I have always thought Hyundai overdoes their styles. And I'll bet you anything these Hyundai's will look like something out of the 80's in a few years.

So one reviewer doesn't like Honda's styling? Well, that's one person's opinion, right? And he sure as hell doesn't speak for everybody, seeing as how the Accord and the Civic came in 1st and 3rd for best-selling passenger cars in the US for 2001 (with Camry 2nd).

And check out what another car reviewer had to say about our Civic coupes: link

 
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The new civics are the best! The odd time a perfect stranger would come up to me and tell me how they like the car. Thats a good feeling.

 
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When the 6th generation civic came out! Me and my friends doesn't like the look of it. We thought the headlight is too big like a bumble bee. Coz where use to generation 5 civic where it has a kinky headlight. Small trunk and everything. Well when time goes by more and more parts are coming out for the 6th generation civic. Me and and my friends thinks that the 6th generation civic is a hot car. Specially when the Si came out. Well same as 7th generation civic when it came out we still disagree for the looks of the 2k1civic cuz the back is too high or we dont like the tail light. But well here I am one of the owner of 7th generation civic. The beauty of Honda is you'll apreciate their design overtime. not just by look at first sight it's something there that you gonna love their car for a very very long time.