Honda spinning off Acura as stand-alone division in bid to wake up brand
03-12-14, 04:04 AM
#16
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* In USA the situation may be different but here i cannot see a single Honda i'd choose over the competition. For example the Accord is expensive for what you get, the interior is weird all i see is a massive steering wheel when sitting in the driver seat and the base engine is the very old and unrefined 2.4L with their ancient 5-speed auto. YIKES
When you price the top of the line RLX at $60k and you have to offer 8-12k off to make it sell (poorly), you have a problem
03-12-14, 05:43 AM
#18
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Apparently, Accords are much different, here. We get the CVT on 4cylinder accords and the 2.4 you are referring is far from unrefined. Honda doesn't make, nor have they ever made, an unrefined 4 cylinder engine. The 2.4 now includes direct injection but even before that the 2.4 has always been a world class 4 pot. If there's one thing Honda can do right, its build a magnificent 4 cylinder. NVH from 2.4 is superior to nearly all other 4 bangers on the market.
But regarding the previous 2.4L it was / is buzzy as hell and lacked low end pull. Toyota's 2.4L 2AZ-FE had less power on paper but it was a very torquey engine with much less noise and none of that annoying buzz the 2.4L Honda produces.
03-12-14, 05:54 AM
#19
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It depends on the specific variant of the 2.4L, and whether they've gone all out with fancy motor mounts and balance shafts or not. I had a 2004 Accord for a rental once, and was not the least bit impressed with the engine. I think they took the balance shafts out of that one for better fuel efficiency, and expected people to buy the V6 if they wanted a quieter and more refined car. But the same exact engine in a 2002 CR-V that I test drove where it was explicitly stated that it had dual balance shafts, was smooth as silk and super refined, and no V6 option to upgrade to of course. So it can be "world class", but it depends on the application and whether they've gone all out or not or if they're just half-assing it. I guess they figure most people either don't care or won't notice the difference and they can advertise better mileage and save some money, so they strip the fancier things out of volume models. But in a mini SUV the engine is going to be pushed a lot harder and there's no V6 option, so they put the "world class" trimmings back in. Or something like that.
03-12-14, 06:06 AM
#20
So lets imagine that these people in charge now, had no input into Acura yesterday (which isnt true for sure).
What can they significantly change, when they just released most of their lineup?
What can they significantly change, when they just released most of their lineup?
03-12-14, 06:47 AM
#21
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They ought to pull the RLX from the Acura lineup, rename and rebrand it as a Honda Legend and price it about about $40-45k fully loaded and stop pretending it competes with the Germans which it doesn't, and then come up with something completely new for the Acura flagship.
03-12-14, 06:53 AM
#22
They ought to pull the RLX from the Acura lineup, rename and rebrand it as a Honda Legend and price it about about $40-45k fully loaded and stop pretending it competes with the Germans which it doesn't, and then come up with something completely new for the Acura flagship.
03-12-14, 05:55 PM
#23
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It depends on the specific variant of the 2.4L, and whether they've gone all out with fancy motor mounts and balance shafts or not. I had a 2004 Accord for a rental once, and was not the least bit impressed with the engine. I think they took the balance shafts out of that one for better fuel efficiency, and expected people to buy the V6 if they wanted a quieter and more refined car. But the same exact engine in a 2002 CR-V that I test drove where it was explicitly stated that it had dual balance shafts, was smooth as silk and super refined, and no V6 option to upgrade to of course. So it can be "world class", but it depends on the application and whether they've gone all out or not or if they're just half-assing it. I guess they figure most people either don't care or won't notice the difference and they can advertise better mileage and save some money, so they strip the fancier things out of volume models. But in a mini SUV the engine is going to be pushed a lot harder and there's no V6 option, so they put the "world class" trimmings back in. Or something like that.
03-13-14, 04:16 AM
#26
Pole Position
03-13-14, 04:21 AM
#27
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This is why I despise Honda sometimes. Their penny pinching tactics are getting old. Not having any balance shaft in some of their cars LOL, SOHC engines, no full size spare, lack of proper sound insulation and amongst other things that are destroying the brand. Also their flimsy sheet metal & very thin paint coats don't help either.
lineups, from all manufacturers. Some car makers do it better than others and that's what sets them apart.
IMO, Honda seems to do a better job at it than most. Can't argue with the flimsy sheet metal, though.
03-13-14, 06:18 AM
#28
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This is why I despise Honda sometimes. Their penny pinching tactics are getting old. Not having any balance shaft in some of their cars LOL, SOHC engines, no full size spare, lack of proper sound insulation and amongst other things that are destroying the brand. Also their flimsy sheet metal & very thin paint coats don't help either.
03-13-14, 07:30 AM
#29
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The paint is the worst. Almost every single 6th generation Accord that I see (1998-2002) needs a new paint job. Older Accords and every other make of car from that era are all fine. Pay premium money and you can't even get a proper paint job that lasts 10 years. My neighbors have one that's mostly been garage kept, and it needs a paint job too. Inexcusable. So far the newer generations seem to be holding up on paint, so it might have just been that generation with the terrible paint.
12 years old, 150k miles, and it stays outside all day, every day, in the hot Florida sun. It's never been repainted and the paint still looks factory new. It is well maintained.
03-13-14, 08:01 AM
#30
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Looking at CR's Reliability History from their annual Owners Survey there doesn't appear to be any major issues under the Paint/Trim heading. This is going back to the 2007 model year. In fact, it's pretty solid on all of their models running Average to Well Above Average.
