Mokos23

When Honda started Acura back in 1986, what were their first lineup of cars?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing they only had 2 cars?

1. Acura Legend and 2. Acura Integra?

Also, when did Toyota start Lexus and Nissan start Infiniti?
Do you guys remember the Lexus Es250 and Infiniti J30 :P

21_in_az

im am driving a j30 wright now, cause of my car being in the shop!

hahaha, GOD I WANT MY CAR BACK!

vwong

You're correct. Acura only had the Legend and Integra back in 1986.

Both Lexus and Infiniti were introduced (I believed) in fall of 1989 as 1990 models. Lexus had the ES250 and LS400 only, while Infiniti had the G20 and the Q45 only.

Brad

Didn't Infiniti have a 2-door car that competed with the Legend coupe, or did that come later? It was also available in convertible form.

justinjsw

Acura was introduced to the US in March 27, 1986. The lineup started with the Legend sedan and Interga 3-dr coupe and 5-dr sedan. A year later the Legend coupe was introduced.

mtnkill

Did anyone on this board have one of the original Acura models? What model year did they start with in March of '86? Were they considered '86s or '87s? I had a hand-me-down 87 Integra LS 3dr 5-speed. Red. Loved, loved, loved it. Drove it until ~200k miles and traded it in back in '96 for about $1100.

DEVO

i remember the integra special.

Mokos23

Thanks for all your help. I did remember one of my dads friend had an 87 legend, very nice interior and didn't look anything Honda like at all. But, then if Acura started in Mar. 86, how did Lexus catch up and is now beating Acura if it started in 89/90?

I think the infiniti coupe was called the M30, cause i saw one a few months ago and i'm like, never seen that car, i know it wasn't new cause the car paint was faded.

ABP-CL9-TSX

You forgot to mention the M30.

1989, Infiniti had both the Q45 and M30 coupe and convertible. In fall 1990 Infiniti released the G20 as a 1991 model.

phile

That's one of the sore spots in Acura's history. They allowed Lexus to surpass them in every way...luxury, power, marketing, and dealer service. And then they got rid of the Legend, the car that started it all. I don't care what Acura has to say, IMO the RL is not a successor for the Legend and it totally derailed Acura's claim as a sporty luxury marque, especially after Acura launched the NSX.

vwong

Thank you. I totally forgot about the M30, the car I liked back then.

Brad

Well, the RL is exactly a Legend in markets outside of the US and Canada. It's the Honda Legend. "Acura" is a creation of Honda's marketing department. Acuras are not better than Hondas. They are all Hondas but with a marketing label on them.

It's a shame that Honda/Acura marketing abandoned totally good names--like Legend, Vigor, and Integra--in favor of an alphabet soup of names. Unfortunately, Honda/Acura marketing had nothing better to do than to copy-cat the alphabet soup type of naming schemes that some European makes use, including Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, etc. It escapes me what benefit the alphabet soup naming schemes offer consumers. They are harder to remember if you're not quite focused on Acura's model line-up.

phile

I know that. But that wasn't what I meant when I said the RL is not a successor to the Legend.

rethottsx

spent 3 days in the awatukee area in phoenix last month and saw at least 5 tsx's in the area...i live in the palm springs area
and i am one of only a hand full. of course phoenix is much bigger and all but still its as common as an accord almost from what i
saw....keep rockin!


reDhottsx...hate that i mistyped on registry and can't correct it!


04 tsx,milano red/6mt/navi
04 mdx touring/navi

jcg878

Isn't it apparent? Who knows what a TSX, a LS, or a 325 are? But an Acura TSX, Lexus LS, or BMW 325... forced brand recognition when the model is mentioned.

jcg878

The history of Acura:

http://www.acura.com/about/abo_hert_index.asp

dnb

Email or pm the admins --- IIRC, they've changed user names for one or two members.

gomez_regina

I'm not sure if anyone else has answered this question, (I admit it...I have a short attention span & don't like reading past 1 page...lol) but I heard about this on Car & Driver Television...

The reason car companies have gone to the "alphabet soup" system of naming cars is to add prestige to the brand. For example, you seldom ever hear anyone talking about their "BMW Z3" or their "Mercedes Benz C-35-SE"...usually, it's just their "BMW" or their "Mercedes/Benz". So, they want people to say, "I drive an Acura"...not "I drive a EL/RSX/TSX/TL/CL/MDX".

So, there's an answer for ya!

jcg878

Is there an echo in here or I am suffering from a larchish post-invisibility??

MattB

The J30 is a great car to drive. It shares a chassis and engine with the 300ZX coupe. A little weird looking, but fun to drive.

TypeRS

Yeah, Acura suffered with the RL. THe last gen Legend was the best looking Acura ever made, IMO. Some ppl even wanted to bring the "legend" nameplate back.

Lexus outperformed Acura in many ways. Lexus had a big media campaign to promote their cars and it worked very well. Plus, they promoted a high-class image (like Mercedes has) whereas Acura was attracting youngsters with their Integras so it kinda devalued the prestige of the Acura brand. Also, u gotta consider that Toyota's reputation was quite high so it was easy for Lexus to attract customers. At the time the LS400 was technologically advanced too.

Acura never and still to this day, had a luxury vehicle to compete against the full-size premium luxury sedans. I'm sorry, but no way Acura will move up if it doesnt consider RWD and V8+ engines. They've always taken the conservative route and their designs have to improve. THe TL and TSX are step in the right direction, but they hafta get rid of tat 5-point grille cuz it's really limiting on the designs...even Mazda does a better job designing better looking cars with a 5-point grille. And also they need a car to compete with the 5series, GS...

sheik28

1SICKLEX

Taken from Acura's website.

The MDX is cool, not incredible or anything. But including the MDX, Acura's history (which they wrote themselves) shows that for 9 years, they didn't have a focking clue. They went from 1991 to 2000 in explaining Acura's history.

Acura came out with the Legend and Integra in 86 but never really understood the luxury car market.
Lexus came out in 89 with the ES 250 (replaced in 2 years with the ES 300) and the LS 400.
Infiniti, we all know their sad story. Heck do they have a history?

Can't speak for the others but Lexus then:
1989 ES 250/LS 400
1992 ES 300/SC 300/400/LS 400
1993 GS 300 added
1995 New LS 400
1997 New ES 300/LX 450
1998 New GS 300/400
1999 New LX 470/RX 300/
2001 New LS 430/SC 430/ES 330/IS 300
2002 New GX 470/IS 300 manual/sportcross
2003 New RX 330
2004 RX 400h
2005 New AWD GS series/IS coupe/sedan/convert

This is not including any 3 year freshnings etc. So Lexus always has something going on pretty much. And never any misses. If they did not totally hit their target, they came close. Or learned and did not repeat their mistake.

coolio

Lexus only came out in 1989, but the reason they went ahead of Acura was that the LS was so well perfected. If you compare the LS to the other cars that were out at that time, there is no comparison. Lexus did not start in 1989, but they worked on the LS for 8 years starting from 1981, which is why they were so successfuly. And nissan found out in 1986 or 1987 what Lexus was doing and rushed into making a Q45. And we all know how bad that Q45 turned out to be!

justinjsw

Blah Blah Blah...we all know how well Toyota/Lexus is doing...and good for them. They got their act together. But to say they can't do no wrong is so far from the truth. Everything works in a cycle...its great to be number 1 but then you are the target...the big bulleye.

The upcoming 06 GS is nothing to jump for joy about...design wise. I actually wanted to trade in my GS400 for the 06 till I saw the pictures...now Im not so sure anymore. The SC430...enough said. ES330 bland is not the word. GX470 nobody is jumping thru hoops to get one of those. IS300...3 Series Killer? I don't think it scared BMW much... You want excitment Lexus is not where one heads to right now. Refined yes...fun no.

Honda is like a sleeping giant...trying to wake up. If any company out their can match toyota quality wise its Honda. Frankly I hope they both do well. For every Barry Bonds you need a Sammy Sosa.

Mokos23

When will Honda/Acura wake up then, cause I just read numbers and Nissan/Infiniti is catching up to them in sales #'s. Acura needs to make AWD options on their cars? I would.

justinjsw

Infiniti was behind by over 50,000 cars sold last year to Acura and that was with Acura having the 03TLs for a good 10 months and the TSX not hitting the market till April, all these and Infiniti having a banner year with the G series. The past 3 months the 04TL has out sold the G35 by a margin of almost 2-1. Is that what you call Infiniti catching up? Thats almost like saying Acura is catching up to Lexus...which we all know is not true. Infiniti's FX series love affair with the public is pretty much done...thats why you see them advertise for 3-5k off sticker. The Q nobody wants nor the I35 or the QX4...the M I don't want to even go there. The only car people line up for is the G coupe. So to say Infiniti is doing great...I totally disagree. I should know I spend 2 days a week at the Infiniti dealership...the salespeople there are looking for part time jobs thats how bad it is.

Total sales figures for Infiniti and Acura the last 3 months...

G35 Sedan- 9,070, TL-16,497
G35 coupe-6,649, TSX-5,466
FX 35/45-8,030, MDX-14,893

Within the next 12 months...
Upcoming for Infiniti redesigned M, new full size SUV.
Upcoming for Acura new RL, new compact SUV, redesigned MDX, RSX.

Infiniti catching up? I think not.