eric

Does anyone know if the CL has lived up to the hype that Acura made: the best selling luxo coupe in North America? Anyone have numbers??

mrdeeno

the only real competition is the 3-series...i know for damn sure that the c70 and sc300/400 didn't sell well last year (2001).

last i looked (before 2001 end) i know it was a little over 25k, but i don't know if acura reached it's projection of 30k or not. but last i checked was in november, so they may have sold 5k cars in december.

anyone with real #s?



[This message has been edited by mrdeeno (edited 04-18-2001).]

dboy619

I know it certainly wasn't what they were projecting... To take over the top sport coupe position from BMW.

To me it seems like Acura didn't put as much hype into marketing the CL as it deserves.

It doesn't make sense when Acura wants to increase market share.

vuduvida

Here ya go: From the beginning of the year to the end of March '01, 5,145 CL's have sold while for the same period, BMW sold 22,238 3-Series (but that includes everything from the 323 to the M3). If you consider just our direct competition for the 3-Series (the 325Ci and 330Ci Coupe), 4,271 units have sold so far.

Here are all the numbers (for calendar year 2000):

Honda/Acura: http://www.theautochannel.com/news/p...ess033475.html

BMW: http://www.theautochannel.com/news/p...ess033463.html


Latest sales numbers (up to March '01):

Honda/Acura: http://www.theautochannel.com/articl...03/017945.html

BMW: http://www.theautochannel.com/articl...03/017913.html

mrdeeno

how many cars were sold from feb (i think that's the cl intro) 2000 to feb. of this year?

vuduvida

I'm not sure. All the monthly sales stats are available at that site. Just put whatever criteria your looking for in (2000, february, acura, cl, sales) and do a quick search. You'll have to do a couple searches though to get year 2000 stats and then through Feb '01.

mrdeeno

ok, for sales from (beginning of) march 2000 to dec 31, 2000 (9 months): 24667 cl's

from jan 1 2001 - (end of) march 2001, they sold 3925.

total cl's sold in 12 month period: 28592 cl's (i htink my math is right). that's for a 13 month period, so i'm guessing mid 27k's for a 12 month period. acura's projection i think was 30k, so they missed it by a couple thousand, but are pretty close (c'mon, it was a guesstimate).

i'm not exactly sure if i should've started in feb. or march.

i couldn't figure out how many 3-series coupes were sold in 2000. anyone? anyone?

EricL

Do you mean all coupe models, with the exceptions of convertables?

e.g. 323Ci, 325Ci, 328Ci, & 330Ci


------------------
Silver 2001 CL-S with NAVI

• Mud guards
• Wheel locks
• Toyo T1S 235/45ZR17-97W* Proxies on 17x8" SSR Competition wheels (48lbs less than stock)
• Kevlar/SS Brake lines ordered
• Comptech headers & sways ready
• Silver AEM CAI ready
• 8 coats of Zaino magic

mrdeeno

yeah, all coupe models, 'cuz there actually are pretty much only 2 coupe models available at any 1 time.

and when we say cl, we mean clp and cls, so it's only fair.

EricL

OK, for the 323Ci, 325Ci, 328Ci, + 330Ci through year 2000 (based on the link provided and no convertibles)...
7364 + 1923 + 3364 + 4714 = 17,365 (year 2000)

Add in the convertibles (no 328ci w/conv.)
5797 + 2224 + 5120 = 13,141 (year 2000)

Total of both for 2000 = 30,506

I may have missed something about what can and can't be sold during the year, but I used this link:

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/p...ess033463.html

And used the "Year-to-Date 2000" column.

...???...




------------------
Silver 2001 CL-S with NAVI

• Mud guards
• Wheel locks
• Toyo T1S 235/45ZR17-97W* Proxies on 17x8" SSR Competition wheels (48lbs less than stock)
• Kevlar/SS Brake lines ordered
• Comptech headers & sways ready
• Silver AEM CAI ready
• 8 coats of Zaino magic

e1828

So the Acura CL series came pretty close to bwating the bimmer 3 series in a year's time.. although I have a feeling it will not be so close in the 2nd year

------------------
2001 Satin silver CL-S
* no navi, spoiler, mudguards
* wheel locks, full front mask
* fenderwell and door trim

mrdeeno

i dont' think you should count convertibles.
it's a different class of car...like sedan, coupe, cabriolet, etc.

so if that's correct, then acura did it. if you really want to count convertibles, acura still got really really close.

i think it may be a better year this year actually...the way the market is, less people will be able to afford to cough up an extra $10k, $5k which is for the name.

mrdeeno

i think acura knew it would do pretty well against most of the competitors.

the c70 was an alright car, but it's a volvo...a name that means safety, even though the car tried to present a different image (conflicting personality?). yeah, it had a manual, but it was fwd, it costs more, and it had 1 less cylinder. it even had a prominent role in a movie! but i think it's fate is sealed after 2002.

the mb clk is also too expensive (10% of the price was the name). it wasn't that fast...even the v8 is only a few milli faster than ours if that. yeah it had rwd, but it was overkill on luxo and not enough on sport...and when you lean too much to luxo, you want more doors (at least 2 more). and then it was hard to get (it was my first choice (clk430)...but i had to pay $50k and wait 2 months?! no freakin way!)

so the only real competition was the 3-series. but it costs a lot more, again you're paying for a name. but because there's no psychological problems with the car, it does pretty well for its price.

so there you have it...the volvo is the kid that didn't take any risks in high school, didn't raise his hands much, just studied and did alright, and when he got to college, he put on a front that he was a badass, but people saw right through him. (after 3 years of college, he has a nervous breakdown 'cuz people were making fun of him about how fake he was).

the clk was the kid in college that came from a really really rich family, but put on a front that he was down to earth and normal (but again, people saw through him and knew he was fake). (by the way, this kid graduates, but after 6 years...he changed majors from computer engineering to psychology).

the other, the 3-series coupe, does well because of no conflicting personalities...it knows it's a sporty car, and shows it with rwd and a manual available...but then again, it's like that college kid with rich parents, he goes to a good school and is on the football team, but struggles through classes 'cuz of that damn hangover last night (monday). he graduates too, but he was a psych major from the beginning.

the cl-s on the other hand, is a kid from a middle income family going to the same college and studying hard and doing well and only partying on the weekends (which, by the way, starts thursday).

what the hell am i talking about?

FDao

Excellent analogy mrdeeno! Quite witty!

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Frank
01-S White/Parchment
Comptech Sways & Springs