HONDA GETS THE WHOLE CROSSOVER THING TERRIBLY WRONG WITH THE ACCORD CROSSTOUR

Looking back on the good ol' days of domestic dominance in the automotive industry, some analysts point to certain global economic and manufacturing factors as the reason behind the Big Three's market share. Those in the know suggest that GM's supremacy; Ford's control; and Chrysler's command of North America had much more to do with product - good product.

What led to their collective downfall? Why, the lack of good product of course. Don't shout anything from the mountaintop relative to GoodCarBadCar.net and the demise of Honda (the world's largest proprietor of internal combustion engines), but let this still be said: one would think Honda could have learned from these historical events and not produced something as calamitous as this Honda Accord Crosstour you see here.

Is the Civic about to lose its crown as the best-selling car in Canada? Not likely. Will the Accord still sit at the top of the heap with Toyota's Camry as the best-selling cars in the USA? Rest assured. Is the CR-V suddenly not the best-selling SUV in America? Last I checked, CR-Vs still sold like popsicles on a hot summer day in Toronto. Nevertheless, this Accord Crosstour is ugly enough to do three things.

Firstly, vehicles this ugly run the risk of appearing in The Bad 8 or The Bad 8 Supersize. After that, the Accord Crosstour is unattractive to the point where customers will struggle to see its merits as one of the best sedans but with more space. Finally, the Accord Crosstour is so misshapen and disfigured that it could hurt the image of the other vehicles in Honda's showrooms.

And I ain't joking.

CADILLAC CHARGES LARGE PREMIUM FOR CTS SPORT WAGON

Over the next few days and weeks, Cadillac's CTS wagon will begin appearing at Canadian General Motors dealers with a sticker price of $44,325. All-wheel drive versions have a base MSRP of $46,950. Compare this with a CTS sedan's base price of $40,485 and you'll come up disappointed.

Like the CTS you know and admire (somewhat), the "Sport Wagon" is available with 270 or 304 horsepower. Some would argue that the wagon provides more stunning visuals - nobody can argue with stats that say the wagon is nearly twice as cargo-carrying capable. Without taking into account slight changes in standard equipment lists or the "dealer may sell for less" nature of the present economy, the CTS Sport Wagon's surcharge stands at $3,850; a sum not at all unlike that charged by a few competitors listed below.

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$4,400 - extra cost consumers pay for an Audi A4 Avant 2.0T Quattro over and above the $38,300 Audi charges for the A4 2.0T Quattro

$1,600 - extra cost consumers pay for a BMW 328i xDrive Touring over the MSRP of a $42,500 price of the BMW 328i xDrive sedan

$1,500 - extra cost Volvo buyers pay for a Volvo V50 2.4i beyond the $31,695 Volvo charges for the S40 2.4i

$1,500 - extra cost in the MSRP of a Volkswagen Passat TrendLine wagon over the that of the Passat Trendline sedan

-$850 - savings produced by the MSRP of the Hyundai Elantra Touring L under and beneath the $15,845 Hyundai charges for the Elantra L sedan

$500 - extra cost Mitsubishi charges for the extra capacity of the Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback GTS above the $22,998 MSRP of the Lancer GTS sedan

HYUNDAI'S ROCKIN' AND ROLLIN' IN CANADA LAST MONTH

Hyundai's trek toward the top of the automotive selling heap continues with an amazing month of August in Canada. The only bad news revolves around the Sonata and the Azera, both of which suffered tumbling sales compared with August of 2008. For all the Numbers regarding Hyundai Canada's month of August, keep reading. Check out other Sales Stats posts here and read everything there is to read on Hyundai here.

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2,888 - total jump in Hyundai sales this August over August of '08, a 38.4% gain which produces 10,418 vehicles sold and Hyundai's best August in Canada ever

2,667 - total Hyundai Accent sales in Canada for August, a slight drop from 2,866 Accents sold in the same period of 2008

19.2 - percentage gain in Hyundai Veracruz sales, marking the difference between 104 sold last August and 124 sold last month

75.8 - percentage drop in sales of the Hyundai Azera - down to just 8 sold in total - while the Genesis sold in numbers greater than combined Azera/Genesis sales from last August

630 - total Hyundai Sonata sales in August, barely more than half the number of Sonatas Hyundai managed to sell in Canada last August

9.1 - percentage drop in Tucson sales in August, down from 766 to 696, not bad considering the Tucson's replacement is on the horizon

2,540 - total Hyundai Santa Fes sold in August of 2009; an 84.1% leap from the 1,380 sold in August of last year

91 - total Hyundai Genesis sedans sold in August; favourably contrasted with the 30 sold by Hyundai at the end of the summer break last year

286 - total Hyundai Genesis coupes sold in August; more units pushed than the combined total of Hyundai's three other "high-end" vehicles: the Azera, Veracruz, and Genesis sedan

124.1 - percentage increase in sales of the Hyundai Elantra sedan; 1,231 more Elantras were sold this August than last

3,325 - total sales of the Elantra nameplate include the sedan and the Elantra Touring

5,992 - combined sales totals for the Elantra, Elantra Touring, and Accent in the month of August 2009, more than the whole of Hyundai sold in Canada in January and February of 2008 and January of 2009

SATURN IS DONE IN CANADA

From Autoblog comes news from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's French division, Radio-Canada, that Penske will cause Saturn to cease in Canada.

General Motors-owned Saturn, transferring into Roger Penske's hands, only sold through 60 dealerships in Canada before everything went kaboom this year. Apparently, half of those dealers had already decided to forego continuing as Saturn sellers. Near GoodCarBadCar Towers, one local Saturn dealership had only a handful of used vehicles on their lot just a few days ago. Now comes this news: Saturn appears to be done selling cars in Canada.

Just 20 years ago Saturn was telling Canadians that they'd "reinvented the automobile". Rather obviously, Saturn hadn't reinvented anything but the buying process - to a degree - and was forced to sell aging models.... for a very long time. Now that Saturn's lineup is starting to resemble something competitive, General Motors has severed its bond and Penske is saying, "U.S. Only".

EXPANDED FERRARI 458 ITALIA GALLERY

Ferrari has slightly expanded its portfolio of 458 Italia pictures. This is one of the best-looking modern Ferraris and is thus essential viewing for all citizens of the planet. The Good Car Guy has already shown a comparo of photos between the 458 and its predecessors, the F430 and 360 Modena. You should also take a look at the previous Gallery of 458 Italia pics here for context... or something, while also listening to the sound of its V8 in this video.

GCBC GALLERY OF THE NEW FORD TRANSIT CONNECT

The newest section of GoodCarBadCar.net is officially released beneath this text. Ford's Transit Connect is the first vehicle to be showcased in a GCBC Gallery, not totally different from the typical Gallery section (usually provided by netcarshow.com) but distinct in its real world nature. GCBC Galleries will be full of images of vehicles in their natural settings, not with the aid computer generated imagery or the best possible lighting. Today's subject, as mentioned already, is the Ford Transit Connect.

As a small alternative to the Dodge Sprinter or the gang of Ford Econolone/GMC Savana/Chevrolet Express, the Transit is priced in the high $20Ks in Canada but should return significant fuel savings while. Equipped for people, the Transit shouldn't be unpleasant at all. Your kids would love the space, if not the pace of the 136-horse 2.0L.

EXCHANGE 9500 AIRMILES FOR $2000 SMART FORTWO REBATE

Hearing of $2,000 discounts on a $15,000 car is far more joyous than a $4,000 discount on a $45,000 car. Imagine this, in addition: Mercedes-Benz Canada offers you a $2,000 "Mobility Rebate" on any new 2009 smart fortwo then you exchange Air Miles Reward Miles for another $2,000 discount.

Is 9,500 Air Miles for a $2,000 vehicle discount the most lucrative option for your rewards? Probably not. The price of airline tickets for a typical 9,500 Air Mile flight would be significantly more than $2,000. Nevertheless, the thought of a ridiculously low car payment is enticing.

Sobeys, Sport Chek, Shell, BMO, and Century 21 are just a small group of businesses that allow you to collect rewards for free, if you so choose. Turning those rewards into a smart fortwo rebate doesn't sound like the best use of your reward miles, but it doesn't sound like a bad idea, either.

All of a sudden the $14,990 smart fortwo pure is a $10,990 vehicle. Or, the $18,250 smart fortwo passion can be priced like a pure with the $4,000 discounts sucking the price down to $14,250.

The $2,000 rebate from Air Miles ships inside two weeks and can be used on leases and purchases of fortwos in Canada.