Define Iconic

I'm not usually a language prude, but for some reason I'm really put off by the use of "Iconic" to refer to the Gen II Prius. Just seems pompous and too much like marketing speak, which is probably where some people from here picked it up (i.e., from Toyota marketing materials and news releases). Here is the definition from Webster's New World College Dictionary (2005):

icon·ic (ī kän′ik)
adjective
of, or having the nature of, an icon
done in a fixed or conventional style: said of certain statues and busts
Etymology: LL iconicus < Gr eikonikos < eikōn, an image: see icon

icon (ī′kän′)
noun
an image; figure; representation
any of various stylized figures, as displayed on a microcomputer screen, representing available functions or resources
EASTERN ORTHODOX CH. an image or picture of Jesus, Mary, a saint, etc., venerated as sacred
any person or thing that is revered
someone or something regarded as embodying the essential characteristics of an era, group, etc.
Etymology: L < Gr eikōn, an image, figure (in LGr, sacred image) < IE base *weik-, to resemble > Lith į-vỹkti, to happen, become true

I'm guessing most people wouldn't describe the Prius as being done in a "fixed or conventional" way. There may in fact be some people here who revere and venerate it as sacred, but that may be a bit much for some of us! So I guess that leaves it as the embodiment of the essential characteristics of something or other. Hmmm. I guess what they really mean is that the basic shape/design being discussed in such detail in another thread has become a pop culture symbol for green cars. Personally, I just find it confusing and not useful to refer to Gen II that way, so I'll stick with Gen II. Oh and while I'm at it, I think HyCam is much more colorful and endearing than "TCH"!