Tell that to the people who bought the mid-90s taurus wagon.
More seriously, though, there isn't just positive and negative on the appeal scale. For most consumers, I'd bet the 'meh' is a wider area than either "Heck yeah!" and "barf..."
Only the dumbest of consumers would walk away from a sweet deal in this economy, just because they're neutral on its appeal. The price, the functionality, the strength and reliability of its competitors. Plenty of people drive a car they don't hate, but don't find particularly appealing.
As for the question in the thread's topic, there are a dozen ways to say it, but I'd use the football expression. Prevent defense only prevents you from winning.
It's a much different game once you start playing not to lose instead of playing to win.