Thoughts on the 2011 Honda Accord - Update

Personal File: Been a LONG while since I've posted - been really busy at work - but I wanted to put this chop together at the request of a commentor on the previous Accord post (thanks JustCorey!)

Having more time to think about the design of the Accord and after reviewing JustCorey's comments, I came back to this chop a second time. I've integrated an additional full light bar and turn markers across the trunk instead of a "reflector" stripe that is on the car now. I moved the license plate location down and added more brightwork into the rear end above the license place opening. Everything else I had already done from the last chop tied together nicely with these new updates.

I can't take all the credit however; most of this donor tail light came from the last-gen Honda Odyssey minivan and surprisingly fit the theme. With some modifications and a little bit of custom brushing, I feel this new chop shows more of what the Accord should have looked like with the established Honda DNA.

What do you think? What the Honda designers are doing now isn't working, so I hope they will seriously consider revamping the Accord sometime soon.

All source photos copyright original owners

Thoughts on the 2011 Honda Accord

Personal File: Let me first preface my post in saying my thoughts and prayers go out to the Japanese tsunami victims.

On to the post - I noticed the slight visual updates to the 2011 Honda Accord at the Chicago Auto Show and immediately noticed they added "retro" style tailights bars that go all the way across the trunk lid. This is obviously a nod to older Accord models, however I think adding this feature has made the rest of the existing tail light look sorely out of place.

So what is a guy like me to do? I went in and adjusted the outer tail light and the side beltine to better integrate the new retro tail light additions. To better show these adjustments, I've done something new and created an animated GIF. If you click the image above, you'll now see the changes in animated form.

What do you think - do these mods put the vehicle in better alignment and proportion or should they keep it as is?

All source photos copyright original owners

When did SUVs grow third grilles?

Personal File: Is this another sign of the carpocalypse? All kidding aside - what is going on here? Are three grilled SUVs really necessary?

Design standards have been around for decades - SUVs, and cars for that matter, have an upper and lower grille (unless you are AUDI - who does it all in one!). Inserting an arbitrary grille right between them throws off the design aesthetic.

I hope I'm not seeing a new trend developing as neither BMW X5 and newly refreshed Honda CR-V are what I would call beautiful.

What do you think?

All source photos copyright original owners

Thoughts on the refreshed 2010 Honda CR-V

Personal File: I hit the Indianapolis Auto Show today with a buddy and his family and I happened to notice a few styling changes on the Honda CR-V for 2010. I don't really follow Honda that much but I was surprised that the updates were very subtle. I've never liked this generation CR-V (starting in 2007) and I was disappointed more wasn't done with the 2010 refresh. So in lieu of the new year, I put this little chop together this evening of what I think would have been a proper refresh. I'm going for a little more previous generation front fascia treatment but I think it adds a better top to bottom balance and looks more "put together".

What do you think - better or worse?

All source photos copyright original owners