TampaRLX-SH

I was reading Wikipedia's definition of the Honda LEGEND.

It states that in 2008 the Acura brand will be introduced into Asia and Australia. The Honda LEGEND would be re-branded & badged as the Acura RL.

Now I DO understand making Acura brand a global name would elevate Acura on the brand recognition scale. It MIGHT help justify the high cost of a Honda by introducing the Acura brand as a premium (as it was 1st done in North America).

But how would our RL badge fare overseas? Interesting situation. It is somewhat opposite of why the RL does not appeal in North America (no V8, RWD, size, etc). The LEGEND is too pricey to be a Honda in the rest of the world.

If the RL does not have appeal in the US since it was designed to have global appeal, perhaps it would succeed as an Acura RL elsewhere?

Thoughts?

SpicyMikey

I never got pulled into this argument about dropping the Legend name. Seems to be the least important aspect of buying a car. Now if the car was called "death trap" or something like that, then I could see it hurting sales. But it seems the argument is more based on sentiment to the original "legend" name. That's important to existing older customers but probably has zero influence for new buyers. New buyers are the ones Acura needs to attract. We already know what a great car the RL/Legend is -- no matter what you call it. At least that's what I think.

By the way, I read about Acura going global also. Great news. That's certainly a first step in the right direction for marketing the brand.

TampaRLX-SH

I do agree with you on most points Mike. I know I personally have impressions of the LEGEND name. It was my 1st exposure to Acura and it has embedded a very positive admiration for the brand.

I would argue the point as to the name meaning less to younger buyers. There is a FIERCE admiration for older Acura LEGENDs in the youth market. The name does carry weight.

Similarly Ford backed off killing the MUSTANG, and less passionately will return TAURUS. Chevy revives CAMARO, Dodge CHARGER, the list goes on. These have appeal to the youth market AND baby boomers.

It would be odd for the Honda LEGEND to miracurously become the Acura LEGEND. So in reverse of we bitch about in the US, it may work. In order to capture the high pricepoint for this vehicle in the global maket, Honda needs to distance itself from the Honda brandname, and unfortunately the LEGEND badge.

Hocus pocus...we have Acura RL. Big money please.

SpicyMikey

I can see your point. Using the Legend name certainly couldn't hurt to draw on it's legendary" past.

However, keep in mind when you take a car global word-names can work against you. Sure, it has a naturally positive meaning in English, but what about German, etc. In Asia it would mean nothing! That's one of the things that makes these cryptic number/letter names so useful -- and why they've gotten so popular in this ever increasing global car market. When you use numbers and letters you don't have to worry about naming your car "Nova" and trying to sell it in Spain where No va means "no go"