Is it just me or am I the only one who's disappointed with the direction Acura is going....for instance the future release of the "TSX".....why are they going to a smaller based engine and making a lower priced car while all the other entry luxury brands going w/ more appealing cars....If anything I think Acura would replace the RL or make a badass RL coupe of some sort simiar to that priced in the 40's or low 50's....is it too crowded in that price range and they want to make cheaper cars to appeal to people who would generally buy a nissan maxima, camry, etc...If they go this route then they might as well get rid of the Acura name all together and just have a Honda CL, Honda RL, Honda RSX...

 

im gonna move this to car talk...

...and they say i dont moderate ramblings...sheesh

j/k

 

that is exactly how i am thinking!!!!

sidemarker

 

It's just you...and a select few here...

Why are they going to a smaller based engine? Because that IS Acura. For the most part, Acura was built on the backs of all the Integras they sold since the the begining of the company. The RL might be redesigned soon too. No one is saying it won't be. They may develop more high end cars down the road. But they aren't forgetting where they came from...the market who made Acura...the smaller engine, entry level luxury cars. Like it or not, Acura will continue to make high quality, segment leading small cars...no matter how much you complain about .

This topic has been beaten to death in pretty much every TSX thread on this forum. Lexus does there thing. Infiniti does there thing. Acura does their thing...and THIS IS there thing. So Quit comparing Acura to other company's business model.

 

Honda knows what it's doing in terms of business decisions.....generally they are pretty good. The CL got caught with a odd market but other than that the RSX, TL, MDX have done VERY well.

Simple math........more TSXs will sell than the RL. Honda knows and recognizes that the market for the RL is very small. Those who drive the RL.....aren't looking for "badass". Yes the RL does need V8 power....which it will get when IMA provides 100hp at the wheels and puts it at 300hp while getting 30mpg city.

Acura does NOT compete with the Maxima. The Accord kicks the Maximas ass every year in terms of sales.

You are being to short-sited. The intro of the TSX really opens the door for the rest of Acura.

 

Honda's filling in the gaps of their product line.

 

in addition, where do you think money will come from to develop a "bad-ass" rl?

from the profit of heavily discounted rl's? from the profit-loss of every nsx sold?

the development costs will be paid for by cars like the tsx, tl, mdx, rsx (maybe alittle from the cl). and the tsx, sold at it's price range, will sell due to its price.

audi's bringing in the a3, mb has given us the c-coupe, bmw is bringing the 1-series, volvo has the s and v-40's, jag has the x-type, and vw wants to be a premium brand now...with it's CURRENT line of cheap cars. there are more manufacturers reaching for the lower-end than the upper end, because that is where the volume is.

it's just lexus and infiniti that decided to stay away from the lower end models, but every other premium manufacturer is doing it (except saab, but they only have 2 models anyway).

 

the smallest base engine in the acura line-up is still bigger than the smallest base engine in the audi lineup.

i guess audi should, as you put it for acura, just sell all their cars under the vw brand also.

 

I agree with Zapata, Acura knows what it's doing. What ever they come out with will be a great value for the dollar. When you buy an TL or CL, the only option is navi. Other companies start lower and option you to death. The "everything's included" concept works. That's why I own 2 S's.

 

Never assume that those who run a co that sell more than 1.2 million car a year are stupid... they know how to compete!

 

The RSX/TSX are just the extension of the 2- and 4-door Integra line, nothing more. As far as I'm concerned, the RSX is now equivalent to the discontinued Honda Prelude, being about the same size, weight performance, etc.

Honda knows what it's doing. If you look at the entire Honda/Acura line, from the lowliest 2-door base-model Civic up through the top-end RL, Honda's got quite a broad range of cars and markets, with few, if any, gaps in coverage.

 

Yeah, I personally think Acura should continue development of the CL (read with Type-S). But I'm not in the majority of buyers. Also, I'm not going to be concerned about it at this time. I've got two to three more years of enjoying this ride before finding a replacement. YMMV

 

You know... your post count (as of my post) says 154... but I honestly don't remember you posting like this in all of those posts. You have had some great replies in the last few threads about this stuff. Of course you are saying what many of us have been saying for a while, but your timing has been great in these threads. Of course there are a TON of people who won't listen and get mad at Acura b/c they aren't making an AWD CL to compete with the Evo.... but at least when those topics come up and I have to read them (again), I can look forward to one of your replies :thumbup:

 

this has to be one of the most intelligent threads i have seen in a while. good job!

I think Acura is happy in their entry luxury level category. The know small engines and dominate here. With there impeccable build quality history it is very easy for someone who wants to enter the luxury car market to start at an Acura product. This is a huge market. They want to cater to the largest amount of poeple not the select few who can spend 50K + on a car. This is their niche so to speak. I think that is reflected in their "bland" offend nobody styling as well. They want to appeal to the most amount of customers. Honda is a very conservative company and wants to just sell lots of cars. They know exactly what they are doing. Everyone makes mistakes but Honda makes "hit" products 99% of the time.

 

The shortest response pretty much answers my question
I have owned 4 acura vehicles in the last 5 years and dont really have the urge to go out and buy any other vehicles....But I do wish Acura developed something similar to an M3 or an Audi S4....a higher performance vehicle priced in the 50's so not every kid in High School is driving one but not as far fetched as the NSX....From a consumer's point of view there's not too much variety or maybe there's not much variety that Acura offers in my own preference...

By the way, you guys are giving me plenty of viewpoints....

 

well, maybe you are ready for the next stepping stone!!

 

Whoa, that was good.

BTW, sales do not=profits. For instance, Lexus makes way more money on every LS 430 sold (about 1300 a month I think) compared to a RX 300, their best seller.The Maxima is so good, it competes with the TL, IMO. They both offer the same thing in a different wrapper.

 

The Maxima is so good, it competes with the TL, IMO. They both offer the same thing in a different wrapper. [/B][/QUOTE]

I agree...for performance, reliability, and IMO build quality the Maxima is neck and neck w/ the TL....goes back to if you want the "name plate" Acura or Nissan...

 

Thanks, I appreciate that...especially coming from a moderator.