mmarshall

Lets wait and see what the TSX SportWagon is like when it comes out next year. Although I haven't seen it except in pictures, right off the bat, it looks like a pretty nice product.......much better-looking than its borderline-ugly Crosstour cousin. If they put the SH-AWD on it as an option, it may (?) pick up a number of customers that are p***ed off at Subaru for dropping the AWD Legacy wagon......those buyers don't want (or need) the extra ground clearance of the Outback wagon.

IS-SV

Agreed, wait and see is the way it will have to be with Acura. Even a TSX AWD sportwagon is hardly ground-breaking news, although it's based on a decent car at least. In the US the sportwagon market has consistently and historically been small (just a statistical sales fact).

I8ABMR

I cant believe that Subaru dropped the AWD from the wagon. When i lived in Boston they were the standard car for every mom with kids. That was a pretty stupid move. Are they doing it for fuel economy

LexFather

While its nice they are going to bring it, in America wagons have low image and are not wanted. This will hurt them, not help. I doubt they sell any more than the ZDX, 6,000 units. That is again, 2 a month per dealer. With AWD not being offered, that hurts as well. Wagons ARE NOT the answer.

Nope. SH-AWD just sounds silly to most, most can't explain it and their advertising hasn't been effective. To most AWD is AWD. ATTESA, Quattro, etc...all the same to people.

If your best selling point is NAVIGATION, you are in trouble.

Exactly.....its not a place for high morale and people thinking the company is on the move. Acura has confused not just its fans but its employees. Acura is spinning their failures by coming up with these terms "Tier 1, Smart luxury" etc.

The G Man

The TSX remain Acura's only decent product. Is this what the future hold for Acura? Selling a bunch of compact cars and calling themself a luxury car company?

Fizzboy7

You are totally right. Bringing in a station wagon will hurt the company even more. The U.S. does not buy wagons and hasn't since the 80's. This will be another total waste of funding that could have gone for something more important. Makes me wonder what type of people are actualy running this company. It's going from bad to worse with no one being held accountable for the recent styling failures and product decisions.

IS-SV

Trying to keep the wagon discussion on topic (w/TSX sportwagon on the way), US sales traction for wagons has been consistently poor. The only exception (with decent sales numbers) seems to be the Outback with it unique offroad and utility attributes. Even the A3 (which I happen to like and is somewhat common here) has sold at a slow pace.

Of course we can speculate as to why wagons in the US are a tough sell. But if Acura's latest and greatest news is the TSX sportwagon, good luck.

The G Man

The new outback is a cross between a wagon and a SUV. I guess even Subrau is following the anti wagon trend.

LexFather

Mind you Acura has lost their value proposition as the TSX price has climbed to the old TL pricing. No thanks.

Not to mention they have a ZDX, RDX which is a small lifted wagon and now a TSX wagon?

Let me add to more confusion, the Crosstour will be EX level only, V-6 only and priced square in the 30-40k range. If the TSX is an I-4 for the same price, seriously WTF?

bruce van

So basically Acura will now go head to head with Hyundai for the "Smart Luxury" segment.

We'll see what car buys will flock to once Hyundai starts rolling out over more cars that manage to get people's attention. I hope Acura has something rolled up it's sleeve we don't know about.

The G Man

Hyundai will turn the Japanese big 3 into the Japanese big one pretty soon. I just dont see Honda and Nissan surviving the Hyundai's full court press.

joe80

i don't know about Honda yet, but I can certainly see hyundai passing Nissan in sales within next 3-4 years.

mmarshall

Outside of Saab and Subaru, that is correct, but those two companies have a history of popular hatchbacks/wagons. But your point is still taken.....Saab has never been very big in the U.S. to start with, and GM alienated a nuymber of traditional Saab customers by eliminating those hatchbacks.

mmarshall

It's hard to classify the new TSX as a "compact". It grew substantially with the redesign last year, and it is now arguably a mid-sized car.

IS-SV

Yes, Saabs wagon numbers are so small that they are not worth mentioning when discussing current market, leading to where they are at today, not good.