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I think Acura is one of the stupidest companies on the planet. They should be ruling the luxury car market. They should have never allowed Lexus to become prominent. Just stupid.
Remember the Legend. That car killed it. That car was loved and sought after by Americans. It was sooo sweet. Quality interior. Roomy but with a sense of sport. Good looks. I swooned over it before I did Lexus. Especially the Legend coupe. Ooh wee, what a car. The first Integra was also so cool. ALL OF US SWOONED OVER THE FIRST NSX.
Then they started making their cars more like Honda's. Still are. What a bummer. They don't seem to have a clear direction of what they want to be. A luxury car maker or the Honda company that makes higher priced vehicles called Acura.
I too thought those original Legends were great cars, primarily the second generation Legend, especially the coupe. I think its a timeless car that still looks great today...
Acura and Infiniti really lost their way, Infiniti is fighting back from it, but Acura is still lost out in the weeds...
I too thought those original Legends were great cars, primarily the second generation Legend, especially the coupe. I think its a timeless car that still looks great today...
You may or may not remember it, but, apart from BMW, the Legend offered something rare in that size/price-class....a true 5-speed three-pedal manual transmission. Unfortunately, for the relatively few units sold that way, the clutch was troublesome, and did not have the automatic's stellar reliability. Honda and Acura automatics, back then, despite their reliability, also tended to be unrefined in their shifting.
You may or may not remember it, but, apart from BMW, the Legend offered something rare in that size/price-class....a true 5-speed three-pedal manual transmission. Unfortunately, for the relatively few units sold that way, the clutch was troublesome, and did not have the automatic's stellar reliability. Honda and Acura automatics, back then, despite their reliability, also tended to be unrefined in their shifting.
i had an '87 legend coupe, followed by a '94 legend gs (top model) sedan. the coupe had the 5 speed and the sedan had a 6 speed with stout clutch from the nsx. both shifted wonderfully, and in 80-100k had no issues that i remember. i will never forget selling the '94 legend gs sedan privately to a guy who was SO excited, he couldn't believe he was finally getting the car (as they were quite rare). i went from acura to the 2000 lexus gs400.
i had an '87 legend coupe, followed by a '94 legend gs (top model) sedan. the coupe had the 5 speed and the sedan had a 6 speed with stout clutch from the nsx. both shifted wonderfully, and in 80-100k had no issues that i remember. i will never forget selling the '94 legend gs sedan privately to a guy who was SO excited, he couldn't believe he was finally getting the car (as they were quite rare). i went from acura to the 2000 lexus gs400.
Here's an interesting article on the Legend's reliability. It does mention clutch/brake problems on the 86/87 models, but stellar reliability on most of the rest.
You may or may not remember it, but, apart from BMW, the Legend offered something rare in that size/price-class....a true 5-speed three-pedal manual transmission. Unfortunately, for the relatively few units sold that way, the clutch was troublesome, and did not have the automatic's stellar reliability. Honda and Acura automatics, back then, despite their reliability, also tended to be unrefined in their shifting.
I remember on MTV cribs(back in the day lol) Ludacris was showing off his Acura Legend, it was super clean.
Yeah Acura was great in the early/mid 90's with the Legend and Integra. I know the Integra Type R is now a collectible, they go for $20,000+ now days.
Their cars got a bit frumpy by the late 90's, I thought the TL and RL replacements for the Vigor and Legend were way too conservative and kind of ugly. Acura kind of hit its second stride with the RSX, the TSX, and 3rd gen TL. They went back to sharper creases and away from blobness(the RL still had ugly blob styling), the cars looked great, that generation TL is one of the best looking cars Honda ever built IMO.
The Euro Accord came over as the TSX, another very sharp looking car. I wish we had gotten the Euro Accord wagon as well.
Then the beak came. Once again Acuras were ugly. I think their main problem now days, now that they toned down the beak a bit, is that Hondas are too nice and the Acuras just look like a way to pay too much for a Civic, a Pilot, or an Accord. They're way too similar IMO, especially in the way they look.
Aside from the MDX and RX and maybe the TLX and IS I don't thing the brands get cross-shopped too often. Seems like Lexus is targeting more of the German crowd looking for reliability along with the Toyota loyalist crowd, whereas Acura is targeted at the people who love Hondas and just want a nicer and more stylish one. Sit in any Acura and the interior isn't close to modern day Lexus. The RDX is so putrid I can't believe the execs at Honda let that pass as a "luxury" vehicle.
I too thought those original Legends were great cars, primarily the second generation Legend, especially the coupe. I think its a timeless car that still looks great today...
Acura and Infiniti really lost their way, Infiniti is fighting back from it, but Acura is still lost out in the weeds...
Such handsome and timeless designs! I have to do a double take every time I see these, which happens every now and then since they were such solid and reliable cars.
By 1993, the Honda Accord was available in both narrow body [eg Japan & Europe], and wide body [eg USA].
Except for the 1993-97 and 1997-02 Narrow Body Accords, all other narrow and wide body Accords were available under the Acura name plate.
By 2014, the narrow body Accords available overseas were discontinued, as the Civics grew up in size.
With the exception of the 1997-02 Acura TL Wide Body, all other Acuras have been dreadful; often the original overseas Honda Accord versions were far more stylish.
1993-97 Honda Accord Narrow Body [overseas]
1993-97 Honda Accord Wide Body [USA]
1993-97 Acura TL Wide Body + Long Wheelbase with Longitudinal Engine behind front axle for near 50/50 weight distribution [USA]
I owned a '99 TL that I really enjoyed, an '04 TL that I loved (torque steer excluded) and an '05 RL that I traded after 8 months for an Infiniti M45 Sport, so I haven't considered Acura for 11 years. I decided to give them another chance, so I recently test drove the TLX, and while it is a nice car, I went for a '17 Audi A4. I know the Audi was more expensive, but there wasn't even one thing I liked more about the TLX. I think Acura has lost the plot. Yes, the "glory days" were during the production of the Legend and Integra. They could have been the first Lexus, but they gave up the crown.
11-03-16, 02:56 PM
