Honda is now in full-on damage control mode over the Accord Crosstour Facebook fiasco, a PR catastrophe that will likely be discussed in college marketing courses for years to come. As you probably know by now, the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour quickly became a bubble-butted piņata after its global unveiling via Facebook, where social media users get to vent their spleens have their say, and what they had to say, in a nutshell, was "Ugly!"

The situation became more embarrassing when Honda got snagged deleting select comments from the stream, including one from a pro-Crosstour individual who wound up actually being a Honda product planner. Unfortunately, he neglected to identify himself as such before posting. Honda finally saw fit to respond to the awkwardness with several paragraphs of PR boilerplate that included, among other things, an explanation that the car's really not all that ugly, you see. It simply doesn't look good in the pictures that were posted initially, and new shots would be forthcoming to "clear things up" on the matter of the car's apparently regrettable styling.

Well, those new Honda Accord Crosstour shots are up on Facebook now. Do they help? Frankly, we don't think so. Sure, the car's more red, but it's no less the homely hatchwagon. We've added a new poll after the jump, so let us know if your minds have changed as a result of the new images.

Whoo boy! We would not want to be on the business end of the Honda whip this week. In case your head has been in the sand, Honda put up a Facebook page showing off their new Crosstour. General reaction was, to put it Orwellian terms, ungood. What's the problem with social media marketing if you're a corporation? You give up control of your message. As it turns out, sometimes you even give up internal control, too. Which is exactly what happened when Honda's light truck product planning manager Eddie Okubo posted a defense (or is that a defenestration?) of the much maligned new CUV without divulging the company he works for. Well, he got caught.

In a novel/strange/unprecedented move, Honda has gone and posted a clarification on its Crosstour page – about everything. Here's the short version, all bullet pointy like:

• The images that everyone thinks are the second coming of the Aztek are actually akin to bad yearbook photos. Put another way, the Crosstour is better looking that it looks.New photos will set you all straight.
• This isn't the European Accord wagon (as cool as Honda knows the Euro wagon to be) because it's an Americanized version of an American Accord wagon. i.e. bigger.
• This next part bears copying and pasting, "Many of you don't like the styling: It may not be for everyone." Though, Honda thinks among CUV buyers, the Crosstour will do well.
• Honda can't give out any more specs – sorry
• Finally, Eddie's comment wasn't removed because Honda was embarrassed by it. His comment was removed because he violated a policy concerning personal opinions on Facebook.

And there you have it -- the odd state of PR in the Facebook/Twitter age. Our thoughts? Defending a vehicle's design on Facebook isn't smart chess. Meaning that unless the comments are turned all the way off, you're just inviting buckets full of further negative comments. Don't say you know how "cool" a car that you don't sell here is and then not sell it here. If it's so cool, why can't we buy one? It's probably best to provide more than two photographs, especially two that you admit are ungood. Assuming a Crosstour Facebook page could be a good idea, people need more to chew on. Finally, poor Eddie. Full response from Honda after the jump. Thanks to everyone for the tips!