James

Me and my friends were talking about Luxury cars, and how we don't consider the name ACURA to be one that you'd brag about. We all think it's kind of an ugly name, I mean Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, they all sound very, how should i put it, rich? Acura sounds kinda low budget in our opinion. But thats just our opinion...

TSX_Pgh

I know what you mean. When I visited my parents and showed them my TSX, they kept saying, "What a nice Honda!" It was driving me nuts. No offense to Honda owners, but damn, if it was a Lexus or Infiniti, they wouldn't be saying, "Nice Toyota," or "Nice Nissan."

Keep in mind, Acura was the first spin-off luxury brand for Japanese cars, and when it first came out, it was just known as a nicer Honda. I think the other two took note, and did more to separate the entities. Also, this may not make any sense, but the more I look at the Acura symbol, the more I realize how similar it is to the Honda symbol. IMO, Lexus and Infiniti have done a much better job differentiating their brands.

I think some of this may contribute to some of your discussion. All in all, F it, the TSX is a hell of a car, and every time I drive it, I'm smiling like I just had the best lay of my life.

KC 2004 TSX

I don't know about that but I really like my car too.

phile

I think the name Acura sounds prestigious, same for Lexus. I guess it's the way you say it, "AK-cur-rha" is the way I've always heard it pronounced.

I think Infiniti is the one that doesn't sound prestigious at all, no matter how you say it.

James

That's how you say Acura? We all say AK-KYOO-RUH

ySL

it's becuz japanese will never be as prestigious as european, mb/bmw will always be > than lexus/infiniti

and this applies to how even saab/audi are seen as more presitigous than our precious acura

Fooman

To me, prestige is equated to money.

And personally, prestige doesnt come to mind in any of those auto companies that you mentioned, unless you look at each car's cost individually. .

Afterall, you can pick up a BMW 318ti or the Mercedes hatchback for cheap and those cars are definitely NOT prestigious, but unfortunately some people probably buy those cars just so they can say that they drive a Mercedes or BMW. Big whooping deal. I actually laugh at them. They are ugly and I'd rather be driving an Accord. A BMW M3 is a different story.

The same goes with Lexus. The only car that looks remotely good is the IS300. The other cars in their lineup are disappointing. And Lexus will always be Toyota and Acura will always be Honda. Okay, I'm ranting now.

phile

Where are you from? I've never heard anyone pronounce it like that, especially the "ruh" part. Maybe it's because I'm from Jersey.

2004_Acura_TSX

I agree with James on this topic. I am thinking about converting my TSX into an Accord Euro R.:o

kenbiddulph

Acura brings up images of "Accurate, Accuracy".

Just take a look at the Acura badge. Looks like a certain measuring instrument doesn't it?

bob shiftright

I say "Hon-DUH"!

I've gleefully pointed out the logo that's printed on all the windows to friends who have two Ack-your-AHs.

It's interesting if people can't tell the quality of something they purchase except by the label.

Mercedes sells a lot of econocars, taxicabs, police cars and trucks. BMW sells police cars and motorcycles. I doubt that anyone gets arrested and handcuffed in Amsterdam, tossed into the hard cast plastic rear seat of a BMW police car and says: "WOW, what a fine luxury car!".

And there's no Lexus LS 430 in Japan, yet. It's still sold as a Toyota.

jcg878

Makes sense to me, I see the same thing (calipers or not).

I don't think there's anything wrong with the name Acura. I think any negative 'non-prestigious" connotations associated with it are transferred from the perceptions that many have about the brand. It's Acura's fault too, they haven't done nearly enough to move it up the prestige scale if they really want to.

ricecake

Yes, but why spend money on focus groups, re-branding, and marketing when you can spend money on research, development, and engineering?

I personally could not care less about prestige, unless that prestige absolutely equates to a guarantee that the car is well-engineered and tested, but that is just my . It depends on who you talk to--if the people you are talking to get their impressions from rap lyrics, movies, and other popular media only, then you are bound to only hear about Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes.

I don't know, maybe I am being elitist, but when I see someone driving a lower model of a "luxury" brand vehicle, I get some slight satifaction knowing that I got a better value for my money.

LeMasseHammer

I was wondering about that, because I pronounce it "ACK-yerr-uh" but the prim and proper lady that answers the phone at my dealership pronounces it more like "Akera" (with no distinguishable Y sound)

oo7bondgrrl

A-kera or A-kira? Either way, that's odd. I've always said Ack-yer-uh, emphasis on the first A.

Anyway, around these parts you either have a BMW, or you are a complete loser. This is the common opinion among 17 - 23 year olds around town, not the old people who really need to be driving the Bimmers. I have one of the nicest sedans in the area, and at one point I had one of the nicest and fastest cars around, but I am still a loser.

jcg878

Well, the only reason to spend money on things to up your image is obviously to do just that... and I'm not saying they should do that, but it sure seems to me that they want to be seen higher-up the lux scale then they are now. On that note, they haven't played their cards right. Do I care? Nope, I bought one despite its pseudo-lux image and I it.

I think the only tangible advantage to having a prestigious car - besides neigbor envy - is potentially high resale value, which Acuras seem to have anyway. BMWs have great resale value even though many of them are not wonderfully reliable and are expensive to fix.

edit: It's an ACK-yer-uh to me also

junk5681

The name Acura isn't bad, but its impossible to maintain prestige when you sell a $19k car (rsx), which Lexus, BMW, and MB don't do.

b0h

stop fussing
ack-cur-ah is alot better than the name pawn-tee-ack or ohs-moe-biel

DEVO

when i see lexus i see toyota... when i see infiniti i see nissan. when i see saab i see gm... when i see volvo i see ford. when i see jaguar i see ford.

i have yet to see something original come out of toyota. i wish they would stop trying to be like mb.

teombe

Just think of Acura as ahead of it's time... MB has tested the waters with a $25K C-Coupe. They're thinking about selling A-class vehicles in the U.S., which fits right into that $19K target

BMW is going full steam ahead with what they (and yes, I've talked to their product folks in Germany) themselves call a "Golf-Fighter". If you're going to make anything to compete with a VW golf, it damn well better not cost more than $24K.

jcg878

I'm not a fan of that coupe. They should stay in the upper echelon, b/c if the C-series coupe is an example of what they're going to bring here they should stop right now.

On the other hand, I hear it is selling well so I'm sure they'll keep cheapening that lineup. Maybe DaimerChrysler will rebadge the Neon as the Mercedes-Benz Xenon, of the X-series

ender

Prestige hmmm.... BMW and Mercedes both have taxi models in Europe...
THey used to be prestigious but now it associated with the uninformed and the " I've arrived crowd " who in their right minds would even consider looking at BMW or MB version of the TL they have nothing to compare to it.

STC

iTrader: (1)

hahhaaha. Honda and Acura emblems look alike. I wonder why?
The Toyota and Lexus looks similar too. and the Nissan and Infiniti emblems looks alike too. What was your point?

u need to get laid more then.

James

i found out what it means!

Names hatched by NameLab, often neologisms or newfangled expressions, are stitched together by combining relevant morphemes into words that gain meaning. A consumer shopping for a sporty sedan, for example, implicitly knows that the morpheme acu, which Bachrach used to name Acura, means precise or with care.

phile

Then it really should be Accura.

briny319

Thats not exactly true, BMW is coming out with the 1 series and i think the 2 series. Which will be around 20k.

TSX_Pgh

STC, I think the Acura symbol is more similar to Honda's than Nissan to Infiniti (NISSAN in a circle compared to the "Infinite" road in a circle), or Toyota's round T to Lexus' sharply angled L. Just an observation on my part, and like a post said above, if you know your cars, you know who produces what. Again, just an opinion/observation, no big deal.

To me, it doesn't matter because I just wanted the most car for the money. In my mind, Acura is an excellent brand, and their cars back up the name. The initial question that started this thread was overall public perception of Acura, and due to a few reasons, most notably price, Acura is probably perceived as the lesser Japanese luxury brand. I don't agree with that idea, but I can understand why the discussion exists. Still, when compared to Lexus and Infiniti, I think Acura's have the nicest models, especially the MDX, TL, TSX, and maybe the new NSX if the pictures I've seen are accurate.

Also, I get enough action as it is, the "lay" comment is just an expression, not to be taken literally!!!!

larchmont

I thought it was great.

junk5681

Sure, they already sell these in Europe, which is why the BMW name in Europe has nowhere near the prestige it has here. BMW, MB, & VW are the Ford, Chevy, Dodge of Europe. And once you go in to the lower brice brackets, you can never get the prestige back. Cadillac is trying to reclaim their status as the luxury standard, but they will probably fail. The XLR is a great car, but who is going to pay $75k for a Cadillac?

tsx-mdxman

Sorry, I have to differ with you here, having lived in England and Germany as a kid...BMW and Mercedes still maintain lots of snob appeal (only very slightly less in Germany itself) all over the continent. The Chevy, Dodge, etc, of Europe are Opel, Vauxhaul, Ford, Morris, etc, etc. Though there are more BMW's and MB in Germany per capita than I've seen anywhere else on the planet (perhaps because the "homegrown" is not as expensive there as it is outside of the country), that hasn't diluted their prestige much. Also, the entry level models themselves may not carry much prestige but I don't think they harm the overall image much. Their purpose is to suck in young buyers and brand them for life.

junk5681

Perhaps I should have said that BMW and MB are the Cadillac and Lincoln of Europe. All I know is that the last time I was in Munich the taxi cab that picked me up at the airport was a BMW.

phile

Only in the major cities like Paris. tsx-mdxman is correct, in the lesser known European towns and cities, it's Opel and Renault and all the other less prestigious brands that are used as taxis.

SPUDMTN

Hmm...technicalities, I know, but I've heard that the Infiniti logo is actually Mt. Fuji. Heard that in one of the big car magazines...anyway...on subject:

I think that the name Acura sounds plenty prestigious. Say it in a deep, sophisticated voice (as if you were on a commercial) But any name can sound prestigious if you take on higher-than-average prices... For goodness sake--BMW: nothing more than a series of letters, yet has plenty of brand-cachet

jcg878

Good point, but on the other hand lux car companies seem to think that letters are pretty prestigious - TSX, 325i, SC430, etc. Do any of them have names anymore??

I guess the use of letters forces us to say the brand name each time we talk about a car. When you tell someone you have a TSX or ES330, how many of them know what you're talking about? But Acura TSX or Lexus ES330 is another story.

Junkster

Now let's not say things that we are going to regret here... VW might be the Honda of the Euro market, I'll go for that, but to simplify the european car market in that way is ridiculous.

The Ford of the Euro market is... well, Ford, and they have some great cars in europe that we don't get to sniff here in the States. A Chevy equivalent would be something like Renault or Rover which make cars for the masses. BMW is considered a great car in europe and this is shown by how many M series cars you'll see in the continent. A Dodge would be something like Vauxhaull or Rover again.

And yes, every maker is now dropping down to the sub 30k market because of one thing... future market share. The baby boomer generation is on the tail end of their spending, and the people in the 30's (gen x) is now the target market in terms of spending. Think about it then, what type of a car can a 30 year old actually obtain? A sub 30k car would be the perfect braket for the general public. Add to that most people stay loyal to one brand for years at a time if they have a good experience with the car. Hence, Caddie and MB, who have average consumers in the ages of 50's and 60's, need to invest in their future survival by attracting new consumers into their line. And since these companies are getting into the act, others are not far behind.
Let us not forget the wonders that BMW 2002 did for their image as a hip young car during the 60's/70's, and created the entry-luxury market.

Personally, I think it's great that all the companies are going to offer entry cars that are actually in my price range, and that I might actually like to buy.

Junkster, who thinks Acura has a head start in this segment.

gilboman

.

it's more than letters...Bavarian MotorWerks sounds pretty good doesn't it?

bob shiftright

Note the "M" in the grill. BMW donated several of these to the South Carolina State Police when it opened it's plant.

phile

I don't know if you were kidding, but anyways, it's Bayerische Moteren Werke, translated as Bavarian Automotive Production.

MoMocedes

I have the C230 Coupe by Mb and I never really choose it. My mom and dad suprised me with it at work and I was like DAYUM!! what are you guys thinking, but you get used to it. Hell when i first saw it I was disgusted that mb would make something like that. But it grows on you like the cool thing is the panoramic sunroof. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a car in the 28k range. O and the also have a 6speed and they are all supercharged thats what I like the most out of it

duugk

I enjoyed seeing the "cleaner" in the movie Pulp Fiction, driving up in his "Acura".

I feel sorry for all the folks out there who need a certain kind of brand name to compensate for their inadequacies. Especially all the poor saps in the bimmers. Personally, I like the fact that Acura is seen as "just a nice Honda". I have always enjoyed "sleeper" type stuff. You know, hidden and quiet competance or even excellence. Like the Titan football team in the last couple of seasons, not a single pro bowler but man, they kicked ass for most of the season. (I am a Seahawks fan by the way. Not looking for sympathy here either.) Cal Ripkin is another name that comes immediately to my mind. Look up his baseball career stats. Outstanding reliability, performance, plus he doesn't do the Deion Sanders dance after every play.

Quiet excellence, that to me, is what Acura is all about. It's not about humiliating your neighbors or showing off how much cash you can throw around.

I don't need a certain emblem to be cool. I don't need to impress the 18-23 yr old crowd, or any other crowd for that matter so....don't scratch my Acura.