Factual,do you remember the commercials when the redesigned Camry came out??
Husband pulls up in bright red Camry. Wife accuses him of cheating on him and points out a lot of men still want to "get with this" pointing at her body.
Husband: "But honey, it's a Camry"
Wife: "That?" (with an incredulous look)
The redesigned Camry was most definitely controversial (and flashy by Camry standards) when it came out. Yet it sold very well.
Acura TL owners liked the simple elegant lines of their cars. Many are completely turned off by the new one no matter how good it objectively is. Sales dropped.
My 09 Sonata has clean, elegant lines according to reviewers who like that stuff. For those who like more flash, the lines on my car are just plain Boring...(yawn).
We simply mirror our preferences and I for one will take the flash of the new model when the time comes
I don't think you can conclusively say that just based on a commercial. When the current 7th-gen Camry debuted, sure it was flashy for a Camry, but it was certainly not controversial. If it was controversial, as I stated with the Taurus, brand loyalty and the reputation of the Camry would have dropped, leading to decreased sales. While the current 7th gen Camry was flashier than the previous 6th gen, it also has some family similarities to the 5th gen Camry. While it was flashy when it first came out, it still looked like a Camry.
This new 6th generation Sonata on the other hand looks NOTHING like the previous 5th gen model. There is zero similarity in the exterior. Likewise, this 6th gen Sonata does not look like any previous generation of Sonata either; there are zero family cues to previous Sonata generations.
I think Factual is possessed of some mild delusion of being the arbiter of sound automotive design. Or else he/she is simply confusing his/her personal preferences with hard and fast rules of general application. The irony is that he dismisses the fairly widespread praise heaped upon the Sonata in this thread as a meaningless predictor of future sales success, yet he somehow holds his personal dislike of the design as meaningful. Whatever. I somehow think Hyundai will just fine with this vehicle.
Jaeger
Done yet with the assumptions and personal attacks
?
I've stated the facts, and if you don't like them, that's your problem.
Those who dismiss or ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
If you dismiss the fact that awkward, overly flashy, or radical designs struggle in the midsize sedan market, then you're just being oblivious to reality, but by all means continue to do so.
If the new 6th generation Sonata does better sales-wise than the previous 5th generation, I will eat my words. If not, well then many "enthusiasts", as well as bloggers and journalists will be served a lot of crow.
I mostly agree. Except I would add that most sdans in the midsize segment stand out "a bit". They all have design elements that set them apart in a small way, but none really manage to be both very successful AND very different from its competitors. Moving to a different class for an example - the Acura TL arguably "looks like no other sedan" in its class. It is also widely derided s being excruciatingly fugly.
Most of the cpmpetitors in the mainstream midsize segment are are instantly recognizable by virtue of their differences, yet remain more alike than not. I can distinguish a Camry from an Altima from a Fusion from a Mazda 6 at a glance - can't you? Yet I wouldn't describe any of those vehicles as "looking like no other sedan!". And understand that I am no Camry=basher. I think it's a good-looking vehicle (particulary in black) and very strong all-'round performer (in SE trim). But standout design in the segment? Nope - I just don't see that at all. I WOULD say that of the Passat CC. That thing is like Halle Berry showing up for soccer practice. All of the other soccer moms suddenly look like... well... a Camry.
And as an aside unrelated to your post, the suggestion that the Passat CC competes against full size sednas may be one of the more ridiculous comments I have seen in a while.
Jaeger
You simply proved my point. Fact is, there are NO other sedans that look like a Fusion or Camry. Whether or not they stand out in traffic or on the streets is irrelevant to this question. The point is, as you yourself admit, you will not mistake a Camry for a Fusion, or an Altima, etc. on the street. Compare this to the new 6th gen Sonata, and it's a little different. It can be mistaken for a number of vehicles, since it mimics and imitates the styling of a number of vehicles.
The only thing ridiculous is your posts that continue to be full of assumptions while lacking in facts.
Here are THE FACTS:
In Canada, the CC starts at roughly 33K. The Camry starts at roughly 25K; the Accord at roughly 25K, the Fusion at roughly 21.5K, the Altima at roughly 24K, and the Sonata at roughly 23K.
For full-size sedans, the Ford Taurus starts at 30K, the Avalon at 39K, the Maxima at 39K, the LaCrosse at roughly 33K, the Hyundai Genesis at 39K. This is keeping in mind all of these cars (with the exception of the LaCrosse) come standard with a V6. The LaCrosse V6 starts at roughly 35K.
A V6 CC starts at
45K. For 33K, you only get a 4 cylinder CC.
Sorry, but the CC does not compete in the midsize segment when it costs 8-11K more than the competition. Even though it might not be considered full-size in terms of dimensions, it is priced like a full-size sedan. It is priced too high for most in the midsize segment to consider it. The V6 CC is priced higher than even most full-size sedans.
I didn't say the Camry looked bloated; I said it looked like a bloated Yaris, as in, it looks like a blown up Yaris, a bigger Yaris. There is a big difference.
I'm in the camp that liked the previous Camry design a lot more than the current one. I hate both the Yaris and Camry design, too bulbuous to my taste.
I find this to be an even more puzzling statement than your previous one. I completely fail to see how the Camry, with it's narrow horizontal headlights and tail lights, as well as overall straight character lines looks like a bloated Yaris. The Yaris sedan itself is somewhat bloated, with it's curvy lines and bulbous, bug-eyed headlights and tail lamps. To claim it looks like a "bloated Yaris" is to infer it looks even more bloated than a Yaris sedan, which is a very puzzling statement.
It seems however that you are convinced that the Camry is bloated, so it is pointless to argue further.
