Acura still struggling to find its direction and identity
11-02-09, 07:56 AM
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Acura still struggling to find its direction and identity
That's hardly news to most of us, but an article from Automotive News describes it quite well:
Acura reverses product plans
By MARK RECHTIN AND JASON STEIN
Acura is reversing course in North America as the brand suffers through the shift from high-performance luxury vehicles and the cancellation of its V8 and rear-wheel-drive programs.
There is "a certain level of confusion" about Acura in the marketplace, Honda Motor Co. CEO Takanobu Ito told Automotive News at the Tokyo auto show. "We are in the midst of big changes. We've changed the direction of research and development."
It appeared that Honda finally had acquiesced to matching top-tier luxury brands with V8 and rear-drive vehicles--only to scrap those plans after the Lehman Bros. collapse and the economic tumble that followed. That has sent engineers and designers back to the drawing board, Ito said.
'Low-growth period'
"Pre-Lehman, we did have the idea to produce more multicylinder engines," Ito said through an interpreter. "I see the future of Acura as a merger of BMW and Audi--something between high technology and high performance."
As a result of this midstream change, Acura will be in a "low-growth period of developing new products," Ito said.
"We were thinking that we could come up with glamorous, gorgeous products that would sell. Now, our premium products will be expressed in advanced environmental technologies, rather than glamorous things attached to the product," he said.
The change has unsettled Acura dealers who recently invested in fancy showrooms designed to compete against Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus.
Eighteen months ago, Acura dealers were promised five additional products, which would have given them a total of 10 nameplates. But all that has changed.
Acura dealers were informed of the reversal at last week's national dealer meeting in Chicago.
Multifranchise dealer Dave Conant, who built an Acura store in Mission Viejo, Calif., said he admires Acura's candor about its predicament but says many dealers may not be able to wait out the transition.
"The direction of product will be completely different from where it was a few years ago," Conant said. "The previous direction of shooting for being a Tier 1 luxury brand is not going to be the same."
Dealers have blanched at the brand's flailing to find its niche among performance, efficiency, luxury and technology. At American Honda Motor Co.'s urging, many dealers recently had built Taj Majal showrooms, which opened just as the recession hit.
Acura is suffering through its fourth straight year of declining sales. A brand that once sold more than 200,000 units annually will be lucky to sell half that number this year.
Not that the product pipeline is barren. At the dealer meeting, Acura executives revealed that a wagon version of the TSX--a reskinned version of the European Honda Accord wagon--will arrive next fall. It joins the ZDX crossover arriving this winter, but both products are low-volume additions and are not expected to make much of an impact in the market
'Sensible luxury vehicles'
Acura officials hinted at a return to the entry-luxury segment to compete against the BMW 1 series and Audi A1. Hybrid vehicles also will be part of the plan. No timelines were given for those vehicles.
"They talked a lot about smart, efficient and sensible luxury vehicles, not big, in-your-face luxury cars that don't make sense," said Jim Brown, general manager of Ron Tonkin Acura in Portland, Ore. "They said there will be a new product introduced every year. ... But there also is a delay in the pipeline."
http://www.autoweek.com/article/2009...NEWS/911029995
Acura reverses product plans
By MARK RECHTIN AND JASON STEIN
Acura is reversing course in North America as the brand suffers through the shift from high-performance luxury vehicles and the cancellation of its V8 and rear-wheel-drive programs.
There is "a certain level of confusion" about Acura in the marketplace, Honda Motor Co. CEO Takanobu Ito told Automotive News at the Tokyo auto show. "We are in the midst of big changes. We've changed the direction of research and development."
It appeared that Honda finally had acquiesced to matching top-tier luxury brands with V8 and rear-drive vehicles--only to scrap those plans after the Lehman Bros. collapse and the economic tumble that followed. That has sent engineers and designers back to the drawing board, Ito said.
'Low-growth period'
"Pre-Lehman, we did have the idea to produce more multicylinder engines," Ito said through an interpreter. "I see the future of Acura as a merger of BMW and Audi--something between high technology and high performance."
As a result of this midstream change, Acura will be in a "low-growth period of developing new products," Ito said.
"We were thinking that we could come up with glamorous, gorgeous products that would sell. Now, our premium products will be expressed in advanced environmental technologies, rather than glamorous things attached to the product," he said.
The change has unsettled Acura dealers who recently invested in fancy showrooms designed to compete against Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus.
Eighteen months ago, Acura dealers were promised five additional products, which would have given them a total of 10 nameplates. But all that has changed.
Acura dealers were informed of the reversal at last week's national dealer meeting in Chicago.
Multifranchise dealer Dave Conant, who built an Acura store in Mission Viejo, Calif., said he admires Acura's candor about its predicament but says many dealers may not be able to wait out the transition.
"The direction of product will be completely different from where it was a few years ago," Conant said. "The previous direction of shooting for being a Tier 1 luxury brand is not going to be the same."
Dealers have blanched at the brand's flailing to find its niche among performance, efficiency, luxury and technology. At American Honda Motor Co.'s urging, many dealers recently had built Taj Majal showrooms, which opened just as the recession hit.
Acura is suffering through its fourth straight year of declining sales. A brand that once sold more than 200,000 units annually will be lucky to sell half that number this year.
Not that the product pipeline is barren. At the dealer meeting, Acura executives revealed that a wagon version of the TSX--a reskinned version of the European Honda Accord wagon--will arrive next fall. It joins the ZDX crossover arriving this winter, but both products are low-volume additions and are not expected to make much of an impact in the market
'Sensible luxury vehicles'
Acura officials hinted at a return to the entry-luxury segment to compete against the BMW 1 series and Audi A1. Hybrid vehicles also will be part of the plan. No timelines were given for those vehicles.
"They talked a lot about smart, efficient and sensible luxury vehicles, not big, in-your-face luxury cars that don't make sense," said Jim Brown, general manager of Ron Tonkin Acura in Portland, Ore. "They said there will be a new product introduced every year. ... But there also is a delay in the pipeline."
http://www.autoweek.com/article/2009...NEWS/911029995
11-02-09, 08:00 AM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
11-02-09, 08:05 AM
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Same ole story we have heard for years and years and years. We could have avoided all this by just listening to what I said all those years ago. lol. I said 3 weeks ago dealers were freaking pissed they invested all that money in upgrading dealerships based on the promise of going Tier 1 and instead, I have heard a car is coming BELOW the TSX. Now that Canadian dealer that dropped Acura for Kia looks like a true genius.
I told you so
Not sure how they are talking about sensible luxury with the awful in your face styling. They are talking about fuel efficiency and their newest vehicle gets 16/22.
Overall, like I said before they will never be a true luxury brand and will do a good job as a niche brand and being a brand Civic owners can move up to. If they would shut the hell up instead of basically lying the last decade, people wouldn't mind that at all.
lol
The new Acura symbol
11-02-09, 08:09 AM
#6
Lexus Test Driver
The sad part is they are a niche beand with no niche The V8 and the RWD projects were all half ares, they should have just finished it. If Lexus can spend millions on the LA-F in the middle of a recession, Acura can finish making a V8 engine.
The V8 and the RWD projects were all half ares, they should have just finished it. If Lexus can spend millions on the LA-F in the middle of a recession, Acura can finish making a V8 engine.
11-02-09, 08:10 AM
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Lexus Champion
Trending Topics
11-02-09, 08:19 AM
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Super Moderator
Reading about cars they'll never buy, talking/boasting about performances that they will never achieve themselves, & complaining about the prices of exotic cars & their "value" even though they are not even remotely in the market for them 
, etc. ......
11-02-09, 08:23 AM
#9
"I see the future of Acura as a merger of BMW and Audi..."
I find it ironic that Acura, of all luxury companies, is planning to define themselves as the techno-savvy company when they introduced a car with a 6AT this year as Lexus and BMW moved into 8 speeds. BMW and Mercedes have hybrids in the worlds, Lexus is king, and Acura has zero. What kind of base do they plan to build that image off? Parent company Honda who has really never build a successful or class leading hybrid?
With all of the jokes that we make, this is actually sad in reality. The company is struggling and it sounds like the problems are getting more serious. The remodels cost dealers millions of dollars and the only new products they can expect are the TSX wagon and ZDX...while their sales are down 50%. I truthfully wonder how sustainable Acura is right now.
11-02-09, 08:23 AM
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. Hey I didn't cancel the move up to Tier 1.LOL, I am sure a very high % of internet car forums users/car magazines readers are doing exactly that everyday Reading about cars they'll never buy, talking/boasting about performances that they will never achieve themselves, & complaining about the prices of exotic cars & their "value" even though they are not even remotely in the market for them , etc. ......
Reading about cars they'll never buy, talking/boasting about performances that they will never achieve themselves, & complaining about the prices of exotic cars & their "value" even though they are not even remotely in the market for them , etc. ...... What are you taking about? I can get an old Integra, turbo it for only 5 grand and it will be faster than a LFA and I would have saved 360k
11-02-09, 10:05 AM
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Pretty sad indeed. Looks like Acura will continue to be nothing but a North America-only "Honda Plus" brand.
Why do keep incorrectly referring to the LFA as the "LA-F" 
? It's LFA, no hyphens, no rearranged letters, just LFA.
Agreed. Given some of the really questionable decisions Honda has made over the years, I would not be surprised if Honda actually shuts down and cans the Acura brand in the next few years.
Honda's plans to make Acura worldwide, to expand the brand to other markets like Europe and Japan have been put on hold "indefinitely", which probably means never.
The irony is that once the economy picks back up, "sensible" luxury cars will not be that popular. In a strong economy, people are going to want more "in-your-face" luxury cars once again.
Just like Honda made a poor decision releasing Acuras with "in your face" styling right in the middle of this recession, IMHO this will also end up being a poor decision of reworking their product line and releasing "sensible" luxury cars when the economy will be stronger.
Honda is doing a really poor job of predicting the market and taking a long-term view of things.
? It's LFA, no hyphens, no rearranged letters, just LFA. When you have to define your brand in the context of others, that is probably a big part of your problem. This company has no idea who or what they are...all of the changes in philosophy and direction, styling gets more and more extreme, dealers are told to remodel their stores for 5 new products and then they see 50% sales declines and the company says, "SORRY! We changed our mind!"
I find it ironic that Acura, of all luxury companies, is planning to define themselves as the techno-savvy company when they introduced a car with a 6AT this year as Lexus and BMW moved into 8 speeds. BMW and Mercedes have hybrids in the worlds, Lexus is king, and Acura has zero. What kind of base do they plan to build that image off? Parent company Honda who has really never build a successful or class leading hybrid?
With all of the jokes that we make, this is actually sad in reality. The company is struggling and it sounds like the problems are getting more serious. The remodels cost dealers millions of dollars and the only new products they can expect are the TSX wagon and ZDX...while their sales are down 50%. I truthfully wonder how sustainable Acura is right now.
I find it ironic that Acura, of all luxury companies, is planning to define themselves as the techno-savvy company when they introduced a car with a 6AT this year as Lexus and BMW moved into 8 speeds. BMW and Mercedes have hybrids in the worlds, Lexus is king, and Acura has zero. What kind of base do they plan to build that image off? Parent company Honda who has really never build a successful or class leading hybrid?
With all of the jokes that we make, this is actually sad in reality. The company is struggling and it sounds like the problems are getting more serious. The remodels cost dealers millions of dollars and the only new products they can expect are the TSX wagon and ZDX...while their sales are down 50%. I truthfully wonder how sustainable Acura is right now.
Honda's plans to make Acura worldwide, to expand the brand to other markets like Europe and Japan have been put on hold "indefinitely", which probably means never.
The irony is that once the economy picks back up, "sensible" luxury cars will not be that popular. In a strong economy, people are going to want more "in-your-face" luxury cars once again.
Just like Honda made a poor decision releasing Acuras with "in your face" styling right in the middle of this recession, IMHO this will also end up being a poor decision of reworking their product line and releasing "sensible" luxury cars when the economy will be stronger.
Honda is doing a really poor job of predicting the market and taking a long-term view of things.
