Not so long ago and you could count on nearly every Honda and Toyota having about the most bland, conservative styling on the road. Critics charged that the cars were boring and mere appliances. But car buys didn’t seem to mind, sending many of these appliances to the top of the sales charts.

Still, these companies learned from Detroit’s failure that you can’t wait for sales to decline before you do something about it. And they are aware that the differences in reliability between their cars and others aren’t as broad as they once were, so at some point the cars might have to sell for other reasons. The response from both companies: more daring styling.

The latest Acura MDX, Honda CR-V, Scion xB, and Toyota Camry all take stylistic risks that Honda and Toyota did not traditionally take. The new MDX has strong wheel arches and a shield for a grille. The also new CR-V has a bi-level smiley grille and a half-moon side window outline. The 2008 xB adds a healthy dose of FJ Cruiser to the old xB mix, sacrificing the original’s airy cabin in the process. And the 2007 Camry got bangled.

In all four cases the companies risked disaster. Such radical changes risk alienating current owners. How have they played out?

The new Scion only reaches dealers this month, so it’s not possible to say yet. Visit an MDX or CR-V forum, though, and you’ll find many current owners who strongly dislike the new designs. 

Nevertheless, the new MDX is selling as well as the 2006 did last year despite much higher transaction prices. (According to posts at the most active Acura MDX forum, factory-to-dealer incentives on the 2006 resulted in transaction prices that were often well below invoice.) And, with over 17,000 sold, the CR-V was the best-selling SUV in the United States in April. This even though it is now the only major player in the compact SUV segment to not offer a V6.

Camry sales have mostly just held steady, but capacity could be the limiting factor. Subaru’s U.S. plant has begun producing Camrys, so we’ll soon know how many Toyota can move given a sufficient supply.

Overall, Honda’s and Toyota’s bets have been paying off. And when bets pay off, gamblers tend to up the ante. So we could be seeing even more adventurous designs from them in the future.

Just not the 2008 Accord. Spy photographers caught the new sedan recently, and it appears that Honda played it safe with its core product. Well, there’s always the space-age Civic.