Nextourer

fail.

Honda's not gonna kill Acura. It's getting good money for overpriced Hondas. The RL is a good attempt and a worthy vehicle. The problem is pricing. Just because it's expensive doesn't mean people will see it as a premium car. Raising the price by Cdn$15,000 for the 2004 model over the 2003 also doesn't do much for the marketing team, SH-AWD or no SH-AWD.

The TL's gotten heavier and a lot more expensive. The TSX is pretty good but again Acura of Canada has raised prices and it now touches the $40k mark with nav. Don't be fooled by the "new low pricing" for the 09 TSX. Take the (overpriced) Premium Package and you're back to the 08 TSX price with some of the 09 improvements.

The RSX was just a joke. You can't just raise the price by $2k with a mid-life update with no added equipment. Ditto the 1.7EL. The CSX started where the EL topped off.


Yeah, I'm kinda annoyed with the way Acura is adjusting its prices (to make them look more like a premium brand) but people aren't stupid.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

TL shouldn't be killed. All it needs is its previous styling cues with SH-AWD. It'll have the look and finally the drivetrain that people have been complaining about (FWD).

SH-AWD is definitely not an option for the Honda accord. It's suppose to be an affordable family car. Max out the Accord right now and you'll get it close to $30k. No one is going to spend $32k+ for a Honda Accord. It's just not a viable option for the Accord.

The current TL is already a damn large car. It's within the size of the Toyota Avalon..he|| it's even bigger than the RL. Any bigger and you'll have a car the size of the 80s Cadillac. However I dont think it's necessarily a bad idea to offer a larger Honda. Toyota has its Avalon, Nissan has its Maxima, and etc.

MDX should definitely not go to Honda. It's Acura's 'luxury' SUV. Honda doesn't need a vehicle like that in their lineup. The Pilot is already adequate..Honda just needs to make it easier on the eyes.

ffpowerLN

iTrader: (1)

GSteg, the both scenarios that I created are with the assumption of the Acrua brand has already been killed.

Epik151

Are they trying to lose customers to Hyundai? lol

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Ah gotcha. Thanks.

However I still think the MDX shouldn't be introduced to the Honda brand. It just costs way too much for a Honda. Just add in a real 4wd system and call it a day. It already has leather. LOL

rominl

iTrader: (4)

well, i see two problems

1) over the past 6-7 years, i have been lowering my expectations on acura year after year, and yet they manage to disappoint me time over time by delaying and canceling models, or come up with stuff that are worse than previous gen

2) if anything, expectations are also set according to their vision as well. honda wants acura and wants it to be a luxury brand, so expectations are set accordingly. people expect more of a luxury brand

I8ABMR

I am always frustrated with acura because they always seem like they are behind all of the other manufacturers and they dont try to catch up very much. They finally come out with the new TL, but make it AWD not RWD. Theres no direct injection, and now with the 300-306 hp infiniti has uped the stakes to 328hp for the G37 sedan.

mmarshall

I think some of guys may be looking at this through the wrong window. These changes and cancellations, as I see it, reflect economic problems more than any real problems with Acura's marketing, styling, or powertrain configurations (indeed, the V6/SH-AWD systems, IMO, are some pretty nice layouts). However, I won't argue with the new Acura grilles...they are truly a laughingstock.

The S2000 replacement cancellation, for example, seems to be almost totally economic rather than market-related. The S2000 was always a good, though higher-powered and somewhat more expensive, competitor to the Miata. But in hard economic times like this, the average car buyer is not going to go shopping for a nice open-top, 2-seater sports car that is essentially a weekend fun vehicle, of little use during the winter, and can't carry much (that partly explains the heavy discounts I saw a few days ago on the base-model Corvette C6). On top of that, the S2000 has an enormously peaky engine that doesn't give much response at all until you carry the RPM to absurd levels....and then it all comes on with a rush. The average American driver, apart from some autocross enthusiasts, just doesn't drive like that...or wants to.

wmb

Nicely put. Alot of folks here does not see it as economic issue but Acura problem. Every manufacture is effect by this economic downturn. I believe Honda and Toyota sell are down the largest last month.

But I am still very disappointed in Acura for canceling the V8 and RWD sedan to compete.

Also we as consumer can laugh all we want but it's not a good news to us all if a manufacture is backing out of something like this. It meant what to us. It mean that there will be less competition. Acura might be late but if they do come with a V8 sedan, that mean we have more competition among manufacture to do it better and better, so it's a win win for us consumer.

ffpowerLN

iTrader: (1)

Sure let's just blame it on the economy but it's not like Acura was going anywhere before the financial crisis. Let's not forget that they are the FIRST Japanese luxury brand but 20 years later they are still without a V8 and RWD platform.

Just get rid of the Acura dealership networks and merge the products into Honda lineup. This case they can probably price the Honda's version of TL (Vigor) and RL (Legend) cheaper due to lower cost so it'll be more competitive. Heck, I would buy a non-uglified SH-AWD Honda Vigor at $32k...

wmb

It seem that Acura is very hard headed with going to the route of RWD and V8. Now that they realize that it's wouldn't do and very very very late into the game conclude that do in fact needed a V8 and RWD. So they want to enter into the game late with the V8 and RWD. But now with the economy going down it's might not be feasible financially to do it in my opinion so they can it for now. I am not an expert so what do I know about running a car business.

So I would blame the economy for Acura canning the V8 and RWD. Before the economy is in this mess I blame Acura for not knowing what consumer want.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Even in this tough economy, Toyota isn't cancelling the LF-A.

wmb

I don't believe you can compare honda and toyota like that. Toyota is just a much bigger company and can absorb more loss then Honda. Unless I am wrong that their size is not that much of a different. Correct me if I am wrong. Toyota can gamble more than Honda could.

ffpowerLN

iTrader: (1)

Well... apparently Honda is big enough to design and build a jet. Oh, let's also not forget about that robot which falls down when going upstairs...

Dear Honda,

Sure building a jet was always the dream of the founder of Honda, Soichiro Honda but how about taking care of your core business first before pursuing some wild dream of yours huh? When your luxury brand is in a mess what makes your think that going into the aviation industry is actually a good idea? If you thought building a car requires a lot of R&D then boy, I am sure now you know how much more R&D is required to design a jet, even a tiny one like yours.

It's time for you to go back to work, stop fooling around.

Yours truly,

ffpower

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Toyota is bigger, but thats not to say Honda isn't big. They have a larger cash reserve, just not as much as Toyota. However it seems like the only thing Honda could afford is to crank out ugly vehicles.

I'm sure Hyundai has less reserves than Honda, yet they're still able to produce the genesis. We're not asking Acura to build an Enzo-fighting car..just a V8 RWD flagship. As for the S2000, improve it. It doesn't need to be a completely different car.