2010 Honda Accord Crosstour

2010 Honda Accord Crosstour – Click above for high-res image gallery We hadn't been parked but a minute or two when it happened. After about a half an hour wringing out our test subject on what few curvy stretches of road suburban Detroit had to offer, we opportunistically pulled into a roadside fruit stand to snap a few photos before our ride got any dirtier. It was at exactly this point that a Lincoln MKZ rolled up, a window whirred down, and two gray-tufted heads popped out. "What is it?" inquired the couple in boisterous unison. Silence. "It's the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour," we eventually blurt out, my co-driver sounding suspiciously apologetic. "It's... it's gorgeous!" The late-sixty-something man isn't being facetious – in fact, he's gushing – taking his hands off the Lincoln's wheel and gesturing as if to reinforce his sincerity. If we're lyin,' we're dyin.' "It's absolutely beautiful." More silence. "Really? Would you like to take a closer look?" No sooner had we extended the offer than said window was rolled up and the MKZ hurriedly shepherded into a parking spot. Moments later, our curious seniors were all over Honda's latest like first-in-liners at an early bird all-you-can-eat buffet. They took in its daring fastback profile, sized up its cargo hold, fiddled with its power seat controllers and gooshed its soft-touch plastics. Not only were they clearly impressed, they loved the way it looked. %Gallery-76990% Photos copyright ©2009 Chris Paukert / Weblogs, Inc. Having established that Ashton Kutcher wasn't about to spring forth from behind the stand's display of pumpkins, we stood back and watched, surveying the scene while chatting with the stand's owner. Even though the proprietor would later confess to not liking Hondas (her husband being a retired General Motors lifer and all, that kinda thing just wouldn't be right), she had been kind enough to oblige our photography and she seemed to be as curious as we were. We admit it: we did not expect things to go down this way. And in our defense, neither did Honda. You are the Target Market You see, earlier that same morning, we attended a press conference and walkaround with company officials, and as it turns out, our elderly snoopers aren't who the Crosstour's blunt prow is aimed at. According to Lee DaSilva, senior product planner, the model is targeted at both fifty-something Baby Boomers that find themselves with newly empty nests and Gen Y types who are just starting their own families. Our admirers were clearly neither. However, given their newish MKZ, they probably had the educational and financial credentials that Honda has bogeyed, and besides, it's often true of niche cars that they end up selling to vastly different audiences than the one that was originally intended. Just ask Scion. Or Honda's own Element buyers. Beauty is in the Eye of (Other) Beholders Regardless of The Lincolns' ardor, it's clear that Honda is facing considerable early pushback with its newest nichemobile. Advanced marketing efforts through …
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