Topic: Mid-life 'freshening' faux-pas

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Sometimes manufacturers try to correct their stylistic errors in the original version/model year of a new vehicle, or just respond to critic or consumer criticism of styling cues, (or just want to keep competitive) with mid-life freshenings of vehicles.

Not all of them a positive though. I can think of many mid-life freshenings where the new one looks worse than the old one (IMO). For me, such vehicles would be changing the Impreza from bug-eyed to conservative headlights, or the new Accord's rear end, etc etc etc. There are many examples, tho not many are coming to mind now. Oh, oh, definitely one that qualifies is the new '06 Forester - what a hideous front end there is on that thing - and the clear rear tail lights aren't flattering either. Ugh, and I really loved the '05.

Anywho, was surfing the ToyotaUSA.com site and they have photos of the freshened Sienna up. http://www.toyotausa.com/sienna/index.html?s_van=GM_TN_SIENNA_INDEX I don't really like it. Looks really elongated - Toyota seems to want to apply the Prius/Yaris headlights that extend up into the hood and down into the bumper to everything. The bumper now looks like a giant slab of smooth plastic and the cut-outs for the fogs are inky-dinky. I much prefer the current one, even if some didn't like the high headlights and grille.

What's your take on the '06 Sienna? What are some of your examples of re-dos that look worse than the car they're supposed to improve upon?

[tenpenny]

Unless that looks a whole lot better in person, then I'd say someone at Toyota needs a smack on the head.

[mrthompson]

Wrong.....wrong.......wrong.   

[wing]

Makes it look less tall, certainly better than the GM SUV's with the pig snout.  But it does look odd.

[hondasalesguy]

sirAQUA:

I have been selling the Accords since well before the 2003 model debuted in fall of 2002. Many people found the taillight treatment of the 2003-2005 Accord to be less than attractive. Bustle butt, bubble butt, droopy butt, many other criticisms were levelled at this car. So with the MMC Honda wanted to change the overall look of the car without doing anything ridiculously costly since an all new Accord is only 2 years away. So they went with a traditional taillight look, not extending the lights onto the trunk. Many other cars have used this look, in fact when you think of it, how many things can you really DO with taillights? Either they are on the fenders or else they extend onto the trunk. If they aren't on the trunk, with the low liftovers people expect these days, they have to be somewhat triangular in shape.

In the past month I have seen at least 80 - 90% of people who came in and commented on the Accord restyle say that they like the new look more. You can't please everybody, but I doubt Honda could make the ass end of the 2006 Accord look worse than the MAJORITY of people thought of the 2005's rear treatment.

[Snowman]

WTF…..Toyota is moving from bland to offensive. Yuk!

[Wetson]

sirAQUA:

 Bustle butt, bubble butt, droopy butt, many other criticisms were levelled at this car.

I laughed out loud when I read the descriptions you put in.   I can kind of see the droopy butt point of view... But... I like the rear end of the 03-05 Accord.  Although it's a bit bland it's simple and understated.... somewhat eloquent.

[Bullet Blue]

I agree SAM. Another that comes to mind is the mazda6. Looks much more tame now.

Let's see, I'm sure I can think of more too. The Nissan Sentra refreshioning is a little questionable to me with the big signature belt buckle. Also the freshioning for the Freelander is odd looking to me as well. That front facia with the added plastic cladding doesn't do anything for me.

[hondasalesguy]

at what point will Toyota not bother putting hoods on their cars, and just go with 2 ginormous headlights that take up all the space from the firewall to the bumper..

i hope those lexan headlight covers are as bulletproof as the manufacturers say they are...

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Haha on the giant light bar! The new Sienna looks spacey enough for it!

I like the LED's in the new Accord tails, but it looks more generic than before. Also, the lines don't seem to flow as well into the tail of the car like they did. But I realize most people probably react more positively to the new tail lights, so it's mostly just me. I do like the front more than before tho 

BB, I thought the same about the Mazda6 until I saw it. I quite like it! The alloys with the black centres look kind of cheesy, but I like the darkened tail lights, and new fog lights... the GFX package is less in your face but still works well. Actually, was impressed with the look. Mistakened a plain 'ole 6 Sport Hatch for a MazdaSpeed6! I'm with ya on the Sentra tho - tried to take the big dignified corporate grille and apply it to a small car rather unsuccessfully.

[Arthur Dent]

I'm with ya on the Sentra tho - tried to take the big dignified corporate grille and apply it to a small car rather unsuccessfully.

I almost bought a SE-R Vspec the year they did that but it was the toothy grill that stopped me. Yuck.

[a4_tom]

Another example is 2nd facelifted 9-5. Both the original and 1st facelifted looked sleek, clean and Swedish. The 06 3rd facelifted looked tacky and cheap.

[johngenx]

And here I thought we'd misplaced a thread about menopausal women...

[DriverJeff]

Well SAM, here we go again, you and your complete lack of good taste is showing through. 

I find the adjustments to the Accords butt to be an improvement over the saggy-diaper-bum of last year's model. 

For worst mid-life refresh ever, we need look no further than the Chevy Upyerasslander.  Good god, that is an abomination!

[ovr50]

Well, styling being very subjective, I am another one (with SAM on this) that finds the new Accord's rear to be less attractive than the '05 models. I find the new one bland and very generic. Not a step forward IMO.

[mdxtasy]

I also prefer the previous Accord's bum.  I like the saggy diaper look....

Most mid model refreshes are very subtle and a light change here and a spoiler there....it's really not that big a deal.  The Sienna has always looked odd to me since it first came out.  The lights looked huge then and they do still now.   I notice a bitmore of an angular look to it....kinda melting into a Quest. 

[Shnak]

I love what they've done with the Accord and I would actually consider buying one now while there was no way that I would have bought the 2005 and down one...

I also really like what they've done with the Pilot. It makes it look more agressive and mean. The CR-V is really the vehicle that needs the most updating out of their complete lineup now... I've waited for its refreshment for 2-3 years now... Come on Honda... you have to go all out with the CR-V and compete head on with the bigger RAV4 and its 4-cyl and V6 engine choices... Put the 3.0L V6 engine from the Accord into the CR-V, equip it well and stick a 32-34k price onto it, and it would be a deal really hard to pass up!

[sirAQUAMAN64]

I still find the CR-V very classy looking in upscale guise. It's very compact yet roomy and off-roady but not cute. It's not mid-size, but not dinky. The dash I'm not a huge fan of, but interior is somehow minivan-spacious-like - not literally, but that's the feeling.

The Upyer-whatever full frontal was redesigned purely because the GM vans were horrendous in crash testing, and while GM wouldn't shell out to design an all-new van they couldn't continue as-is. The 'SUV/Crossover Sport Van' thing was a marketing gimmick designed to disguise the truth for why the extra length/strengthening was necessary as far as I'm concerned.

[smainville]

An Accord should not look like a Buick, therefore I really like the new look for 06 and that leaves the Sonata looking that way.  Agree Shnak the Pilot looks awesome.

[JD]

I think Nissan needs to completely redesign the XTrail... It's sales are floundering around the globe, it's butt ugly, and has some of the harshest, cheapest, ugliest interiour bits of any car I've ever had the (mis)pleasure of being in...