http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhK_yTtCgOA

Outsider brings fresh ideas. Vicki Perponi. 45 years old, executive at auto supply firm. Owns BMW, Infiniti FX, Wrangler. Doesn't know what it is.
Cliff Notes.

1.Debuts in 1986, first luxury Japanese brand.
2. One year later (I didn't know this) 1987, luxury car sales leader in the United States. Also #1 in JD Power for customer sat. (109k sales)
3. Being first is the leader! What happened?
4. Acura paradox. Lexus comes 3 1/2 years later.
5. Good idea. New V-6 Legend. Big mistake, cheap 4 cylinder Intergra.
6. 1987. Honda's 6k-16k in price. Intergra 10k-12k in price, in the middle, not a luxury car. Legend was 20k-26k. Should never have brought the Integra.
7. Dealer problem. Telling Acura we need a cheaper car to sell, we cannot sell just expensive cars.Friendly enemies (dealer/manufacturer).
8. Lexus did not make same mistake. V-6 ES, V-8 LS. Avg price in 1989 of a Lexus was 29k. Lexus in 2005 sold over 300k cars, Acura 209k (only 50% more with many more models than in 1987 when they sold over 109k cars)
9. Lexus sells nearly 50% more and more profits as lineup costs more.
10. As Lexus went up, Acura went down.
11. 20 years too late, Acura V-8. Have to keep brand focused.
12. Wal-mart stands for cheap, trying to sell expensive. (he went on a tangent, lol)
13. Lexus stands for luxury. What is an Acura? I don't know. They have to find that and excel at it.



Overall, nothing new here but I think he could have pointed out some successes like the new TL and MDX and maybe go into them offering SH-AWD and expanding on that.

 

It's a harsh but accurate assessment. Acura refuses to correct their
mistakes, but that could also be because they do not have the resources
to compete with Lexus...

 

V8 Acura??

 

A harsh opinion certainly, but ultimately a correct one. Acura doesn't really stand for anything. The Acura brand has no real identity, just a confused one.

I think he meant to say 20 years and STILL no V8 Acura . Sure rumours continue, but it will be years (at the very earliest) before we see a V8 Acura.

 

NSX.


No, wait. That was a V6...

 

Lol...I always counted an Acura as a rebadged Honda with a quieter engine

Though I did see a TL type-S today...that car was niice

 

Acura today is a tad step above a Honda.

RSX: I wanted something a little nicer than a Civic.
TSX: I wanted something nicer than an Accord.
TL: I like the way it looks and didn't want a 3 series or IS.
RL: Good sedan for$50K, but don't need to impress anyone,
MDX: I wanted something nicer than a Pilot.

Essentailly, I think most Acura owners are Honda loyalists who will only buy Hondas.

 

That video was a bit harsh, but its lessons can apply to anyone including Lexus. It also offers hope for Acura because after all there is a suggestion--stand for something. Acuras stand for luxury as well, but perhaps not as obviously as Lexus or Mercedes.

Recently Acura introduced their new slogan, "Advance." Infiniti around the same time also introduced their focus slogan, "by design." So both companies now have a rallying point for the brand that they didn't have.

Also, I read that focus groups/surveys didn't like the association that was used when Acura launched, it was something like "Acura...the luxury brand of Honda." The association with Honda so directly in advertising didn't help build prestige, because Honda was associated with economical vehicles. That may have helped Lexus; although their ads did have "a division of Toyota Motor Sales" in tiny subscript at the bottom of their ads, and an early brochure does mention Toyota/"parent company" once, the focus was and still is..."The Pursuit of Perfection."

One other point---first can often be on top, but sometimes the person who gets to a market first does not succeed as much as someone who comes along next, and figures out how to package the product/market it better. In some ways Lexus may have benefitted from Acura's launch before it. But today I think Acura has room and potential to grow as the #2 Japanese luxury brand in sales.