Honda CEO: smart premium for Acura, not the upper-segment like Lexus & Mercedes
#32
Lexus Test Driver
Here's how I see it:
1) Acura was the first and set the bar high in 1986. These were THE cars to have, from high schoolers, to moms, to business execs, to real estate agents.
2) Honda's CEO is full of BS. Acura has failed or is currently failing fast. There is no getting around their recent downward spiral. He can call it all kinds of names, but the reality is Acura has tried to run with Lexus/Infiniti for many years and has not been able to maintain competitiveness.
3) Peculiar styling, above all other things, is what keeps the masses away.
4) Acuras are very well built, reliable, and hold decent resale.
5) If they don't change their styling direction, I don't see the company surviving more than 3-4 model years.
1) Acura was the first and set the bar high in 1986. These were THE cars to have, from high schoolers, to moms, to business execs, to real estate agents.
2) Honda's CEO is full of BS. Acura has failed or is currently failing fast. There is no getting around their recent downward spiral. He can call it all kinds of names, but the reality is Acura has tried to run with Lexus/Infiniti for many years and has not been able to maintain competitiveness.
3) Peculiar styling, above all other things, is what keeps the masses away.
4) Acuras are very well built, reliable, and hold decent resale.
5) If they don't change their styling direction, I don't see the company surviving more than 3-4 model years.
#34
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Terrible, the mis-management and internal conflict continues at Honda . They should call it "stupid premium" instead to reflect what a mess the management is currently in.
Seriously, Honda should just kill the Acura brand, and call all Acura products "Honda Plus" products and be done with it.
Honda unfortunately was extremely arrogant and stubborn and abandoned what had allowed them to bring such great products to market. Then to make matters worse, they did not learn from their mistakes and this is why they are in their current problematic situation.
Personally, Honda deserves to be nothing more than a lawnmower and bike company as they have repeatedly refused to learn from their mistakes or learn from their past successful products.
Seriously, Honda should just kill the Acura brand, and call all Acura products "Honda Plus" products and be done with it.
Personally, Honda deserves to be nothing more than a lawnmower and bike company as they have repeatedly refused to learn from their mistakes or learn from their past successful products.
Last edited by TRDFantasy; 11-16-10 at 02:44 AM.
#35
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Acura Will Keep Flagship Sedan Conservative, May Add High-End Sporty Vehicle to Lineup
http://blog.caranddriver.com/acura-w...cle-to-lineup/
Makes no sense to start a new thread, in ten years online is basically been a bunch of talking out their butts and producing nothing of remote interest. I have never read so much about nothing.
The launch of the refreshed Acura RL flagship gave us a chance to drill the company’s executives and PR reps with questions about the car’s successor as well as Acura’s latest plans to bring back something sports-car-like to the lineup. The information firewall was up in full force, so we were left to read between the lines. Following numerous conversations with Acura’s ebullient product chief, Vicki Poponi, and others, this is what we can surmise about the top of Honda’s top line.
The next Acura flagship likely will be called RL, not Legend or anything else terribly evocative, and it most certainly will not have a V-8 (we were told to stop asking). A former chemical engineer, Poponi is a numbers person, and she cites surveys that Acura believes disprove any notion that cylinder count is of real importance to luxury customers. “The market is moving to us,” the Acura folks said, citing increasing demand for higher fuel economy as well as the economic downturn prompting luxury customers to rein in their extravagant ways. We also kept hearing statements such as “Honda is a very conservative company,” and “the RL customer is a conservative customer.”
These hints suggest that the next RL will build upon the improvements made for 2011 in the areas of quietness, safety, and material quality, although the car will probably not feature terribly radical styling, nor will it grow all that much. So it won’t be a Lexus LS fighter but more like an Infiniti M fighter. Given that, we would also be very surprised if the next-gen car doesn’t add 25 to 50 horses so it can at least match the M37’s base output of 330 hp. When will we see the next-gen RL? With the current model’s age—and abysmal sales of about 3000 per year—it can’t come soon enough. Nods and nudges from Acura folks suggest that it will arrive very soon, perhaps within the next 12 to 18 months. We think the RL had better be at least a bit flashy if Acura hopes to get newfound attention from consumers in the brutally competitive $45K–$70K luxury-car segment. In this case, erring on the side of conservative may be an error indeed.
Details were far sketchier regarding additional members of the Acura lineup. We were told that Acura will soon introduce something unconventional sometime around the launch of the new flagship sedan. Will it be sporty? Probably. Will it be called NSX? Who knows. Will it be the front-engine supercar we saw lapping the Nürburgring a couple of years ago? No. Although that car was all but finished, according to Acura insiders, it was cancelled—not even shelved—due to Honda’s concerns that it might be crass to offer a $150K–$175K sports car in the face of worldwide economic hardship. However, much of the technology developed for that car will appear in the new car. Whatever it’s called.
The next Acura flagship likely will be called RL, not Legend or anything else terribly evocative, and it most certainly will not have a V-8 (we were told to stop asking). A former chemical engineer, Poponi is a numbers person, and she cites surveys that Acura believes disprove any notion that cylinder count is of real importance to luxury customers. “The market is moving to us,” the Acura folks said, citing increasing demand for higher fuel economy as well as the economic downturn prompting luxury customers to rein in their extravagant ways. We also kept hearing statements such as “Honda is a very conservative company,” and “the RL customer is a conservative customer.”
These hints suggest that the next RL will build upon the improvements made for 2011 in the areas of quietness, safety, and material quality, although the car will probably not feature terribly radical styling, nor will it grow all that much. So it won’t be a Lexus LS fighter but more like an Infiniti M fighter. Given that, we would also be very surprised if the next-gen car doesn’t add 25 to 50 horses so it can at least match the M37’s base output of 330 hp. When will we see the next-gen RL? With the current model’s age—and abysmal sales of about 3000 per year—it can’t come soon enough. Nods and nudges from Acura folks suggest that it will arrive very soon, perhaps within the next 12 to 18 months. We think the RL had better be at least a bit flashy if Acura hopes to get newfound attention from consumers in the brutally competitive $45K–$70K luxury-car segment. In this case, erring on the side of conservative may be an error indeed.
Details were far sketchier regarding additional members of the Acura lineup. We were told that Acura will soon introduce something unconventional sometime around the launch of the new flagship sedan. Will it be sporty? Probably. Will it be called NSX? Who knows. Will it be the front-engine supercar we saw lapping the Nürburgring a couple of years ago? No. Although that car was all but finished, according to Acura insiders, it was cancelled—not even shelved—due to Honda’s concerns that it might be crass to offer a $150K–$175K sports car in the face of worldwide economic hardship. However, much of the technology developed for that car will appear in the new car. Whatever it’s called.
Makes no sense to start a new thread, in ten years online is basically been a bunch of talking out their butts and producing nothing of remote interest. I have never read so much about nothing.
#36
Lexus Champion
Even their bikes have devolved into also rans, having their lunches eaten by much quicker, nimbler brands from Japan and Europe. They were always known for their solid engineering, but not raw performance. Remember, back in the 60's and 70's the cycle range was known by, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda". It worked back then, but the world has come a long way.
#39
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Acura Will Keep Flagship Sedan Conservative, May Add High-End Sporty Vehicle to Lineup
http://blog.caranddriver.com/acura-w...cle-to-lineup/
Makes no sense to start a new thread, in ten years online is basically been a bunch of talking out their butts and producing nothing of remote interest. I have never read so much about nothing.
http://blog.caranddriver.com/acura-w...cle-to-lineup/
Makes no sense to start a new thread, in ten years online is basically been a bunch of talking out their butts and producing nothing of remote interest. I have never read so much about nothing.
The market is moving "towards them"? Luxury customers want more fuel efficient vehicles? What sort of delusional thinking is going on over at Honda/Acura? Each vehicle in the Acura lineup is either average or one of the worst in terms of fuel economy in each of their segments.
As for something "unconventional" being offered in the future, I seriously have my doubts that it is anything worthwhile.
Even their bikes have devolved into also rans, having their lunches eaten by much quicker, nimbler brands from Japan and Europe. They were always known for their solid engineering, but not raw performance. Remember, back in the 60's and 70's the cycle range was known by, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda". It worked back then, but the world has come a long way.
Yes, Honda may have been known for solid engineering long ago, just like they were known for innovation long ago. None of these things apply that much today IMO.
Besides, don't companies like Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and even BMW offer solid engineering in the bike world?
#41
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Honestly, sometimes you can't tell with Honda/Acura. They talk about the same things over and over because they never make up their mind. They talk for years and years with no real progress on the product side. Therefore, even two different articles could sound the same.
Good point. They really are delusional if they think the market is moving "towards them" or that Acura has a fuel-efficient lineup.
Good point. They really are delusional if they think the market is moving "towards them" or that Acura has a fuel-efficient lineup.
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