Honda Accord Crosstour Facebook Page Disaster
Honda recently launched a Facebook Page dedicated to the upcoming release of their new vehicle – the Honda Accord Crosstour. This CUV derives its design from Honda’s popular Accord model, but takes some design elements from an SUV. After creating their Facebook page and uploading some Crosstour photos, Honda has been absolutely overwhelmed with negative comments about the car’s design. There are many people who just plain hate the new Crosstour design and the Crosstour’s Facebook Page is a public stomping ground for Honda.
To make the situation an even worse PR disaster for Honda, their Manager of Product Planning Eddie Okubo decided to leave a positive comment on the wall, posing as a non-employee, only to be outed by other Facebook users. According to The Garage Blog, “Honda deleted Eddie’s comments citing that they did so because he did not identify himself as an employee of Honda, and is not a spokesperson for the company.”
In a message to its Facebook fans, Honda has since stated:
- Arguably, the two studio photos we posted didn’t give you enough detail, nor were they the best to showcase the vehicle. There are more photos on the way. Maybe it’s like a bad yearbook photo or something, and we think the new photos will clear things up.
- Many of you don’t like the styling: It may not be for everyone. Our research suggests that the styling does test well among people shopping for a crossover.
Yikes. Honda definitely got bitten by the power of social media. We can only wonder if this will have an effect on its Crosstour sales.