dom

Some of you might care about these Canadian sales numbers. It shows Honda sales were down a whopping 16.1% in November. However, Acura sales were up 4.0% while BMW, Infiniti, Mercedes and Audi sales were down.

Toyota awas up 0.1% but Lexus was up 40.9% . I guess you can't stop Toyota in Canada either.

I'm shocked that Honda was down so much, I see Honda's everywhere up here

2004_Acura_TSX

Honda's may be popular in Ontario, but I don't know about other provinces like Manitoba, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec, etc. I see a lot of Hondas and Acuras whenever I am in Mississauga or Toronto.

The Canadian auto industry as a whole looks to be struggling a bit. Kia and Mitsubishi sales are slumping and both are fairly new to the Canadian market and once had big sales. I am guessing the new Toyota Corolla/Matrix is selling well in Canada, it looks like it will dethrone the Honda Civic as Canada's best selling car since 1998. As for Acura, finally, the Canadians caught on with the TSX....now Acura should just get rid of the 1.7EL.

dom

This is a very interesting topic of discussion for me. For those that did'nt know, the Civic is the best selling car in Canada 5 years running and was poised to make it 6 this year. It was also poised to become the best selling vehicle in Canada for 03 beating out both the F-150 and Dodge Caravan. I'm not sure how bad Civic sales are now but the Corolla is definently catching up and may pass it in the coming years if Honda does't make some changes.

Then they can't play those "Civic Nation" commercial anymore !!!! :'(

Theres alot at stake here

crisco

Hey Domn,

any idea of how many TSXs have been sold in Canada? Does DesRosier keep those stats, or make them available to the public?

It would be interesting to see

dom

Not sure on TSX sales figures or where I can find them. Whats DeRosier, never heard of it. I'll do a web search.

2004_Acura_TSX

Try PR News, they list a lot on the car industry and should have something about the Canadian car industry.

http://www.prnewswire.com/

kiteboy

Do they lump the Corolla and Matrix numbers together? I know it's the same platform, but it doesn't always work that way (e.g. Sunfire and Cavalier sales are separate). If they do, what about the Vibe?

2004_Acura_TSX

They do lump together the sales of the Corolla and Matrix, thats according the the sales data I've seen for US car sales. Toyota can make it look like the Corolla/Matrix sells more than the Civic by combining them, understandable because they are based off each other. Although, I have to admit that the styling of the Corolla is better than the current 7th gen Civic.

The Pontiac Vibe is sold separately since its a Pontiac and not sold as a Toyota.

zircon

mazda 3 is going to kick butt also. really nice sedan and wagon.

dom

Are you sure they lump Matrix and Corolla sales together? I know they based off the same platform but they are completely different in every other conceivable way.

I figured Honda had an advantage selling the Civic Coupe and Sedan to the Sedan only Corolla. Toyota called the Solara, the Camry Solora just to keep up with Honda Accord Sales, which is a stargedy that seems to have worked.

combustible1

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Mazda is much more popular up in Canada, with the Protege being the number two subcompact sold, for example. With the update to the much improved (in some ways) 3, I don't see that changing much, further hurting potential Honda sales.

kiteboy

The Matrix shares the same platform, engines and 2wd suspension as the Corolla. They are assembled in the same plant in Cambridge, ON. It's positioned as a Corolla wagon, similar to the Mazda Protege sedan and P5. The 4wd drivetrain and rear suspension are unique to the Matrix.

I think it's fair to lump the Camry and Solara together, given that the Solara really is a Camry coupe with Lexus SC-style body. After all, the Accord's sales are based on sedan and coupe as well.

kiteboy

Did you know that this car is sold in Japan with the Vibe body as the Toyota Voltz, and the Matrix body isn't available?

ecsw

It's very nice to know. I think with the new Mazda3, Honda needs to be careful if they don't want to lose the big pie on compact market.

kenbiddulph

The 3 and Corolla are good for Honda owners. It just means Honda will have to make a better Civic for 2005.

2004_Acura_TSX

The redesign will come in 2006 with Honda's current model life cycle. Honda just needs to look at designing a better Civic and use DOHC engines in all cars, not just in the Civic SiR. I like the '92-95 Honda Civics styling the best.

I wonder if the Acura EL will be redesigned for 2006 now that the TSX is out? I don't really see the point in having it since its basically a Honda Civic, but with more luxurious features and better ride.

dom

I don't see the point of the EL either, unless of course they decide to drop in the 2.0L engine. I'm not sure why they hav'nt actually.

I saw my first 04 EL the other day and I must say its pretty sharp. The front end is much more agressive and the rear is much cleaner. Styling especially from the rear is a huge improvemnet over the Civic IMO. I'd pay an extra k or so for an EL over a Civic.

majormojo

From Acura's viewpoint, it's fairly simple - they sell a ton of them, it is the best selling Acura in Canada. From the customer viewpoint, it's a little tougher to justify. But it is a nicer car inside and definitely quieter than the Civic. It's not a bargain, but the improvements over the Civic are worthwhile, IMO. For whatever reasons, small cars do well in the Canadian market and the EL is pretty much alone as a luxury (or near-lux if you prefer) choice in that segment.

crisco

but now the 04 Civic can be had with the EL's 127 hp engine. So this may bite into the EL's sales a bit.

I've said it before and i'll say it again. If Acura wants to be seen as a legitimate high end competitor for Lexus/Audi/BMW/MB etc, they need to show that their least expensive vehicles aren't directly competing with the likes of a Toyota Corolla (which can be had with leather now).

Don't get me wrong, the EL is a very good car - but it should be badged as a Honda.

Lexus doesn't need an EL competitor to succeed in Canada, so why does Acura??

zircon

Canadians buy small cars because they are taxed to death and must support Sheila Copps' worldwide 1st-class travel (plus she takes 2 seats).

kiteboy

Lexus has the product depth that Acura doesn't. 2 SUV's (RX, LX), large and medium lux sedans (LS, ES), large and small sporty sedans (GS, IS), convertible (SC). Many with a choice of engines.

Acura needs the lower end of the market to maintain volumes to stay profitable. If they got rid of the cheaper models, they would be selling TSX, TL and MDX, which is a pretty narrow band of the market. RL and NSX don't have enough volume to matter. It comes down to the fact that the parent company doesn't have as much variety in platforms to draw from.