Was speaking with the service manager this weekend and he made the comment that due to poor RL sales (<300/mo), Acura is suspending production until demand picks up.

Makes sense, but has anyone else heard this?

 

Almost all car manufactures are slowing down production, or stopping where they can. Did you see the inventory piling up at the ports? Huge.

 

I have heard similar rumblings, and who has seen any inventory around?

It would not surprise me as the plant where the RL / LEGEND is built in Saitama is due to shut in 2009 for refurbishing and retooling. A new plant, nearby is also due to open in late 2009 along with a new engine plant as well.

My guess is that the new plants will produce the next gen RL and the V8 engine to be offered (along with othe Honda products as the RL and the V8 are low volume products for entire plant utilization).

Honda is so tight lipped it is tough to call.

But with the reports of all those 09 RLs that where built early in 2008 and sitting in the ports....I wonder where are they now?

 

I heard that too, my salesperson told me there's no RL available until sometime soon.

 

Makes sense to me if true. Why build what you "ain't" selling? Further, now that the SH-AWD TL is out, who would buy an RL anyway? And next year it'll have a 6MT? It would make absolutely no sense to buy a 2009 RL now, other than if you wanted some of the higher-end features not available in the TL.

Any links for this info yet?

If true: 2G RL.....it's too bad Acura never seriously marketed ye....hopefully the 3G RL will be a swing and a hit!

In a different vein....I wish Honda would FINALLY stop S2000 production so the value on mine can increase!

 

Bob
Don't plan on the S going up in value, too many out there and no torque, I used to have one , loved the handling and response..

 

I posted this somewhere already, but, my dealer has no 09 RL's in stock and said he's having a hard time finding one for a customer. They have none inbound either.

 

After seeing the 2009 RL for the first time on sunday, I like it. I couldnt stop staring at it. There were two 09 RL on the lot.

 

Honda to Cut Production by Another 18,000
Thursday November 20, 5:31 pm ET
Honda says it will cut North American production by another 18,000 vehicles

NEW YORK (AP) -- Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will cut its North American production by another 18,000 vehicles, citing the industry wide drop in demand for new vehicles.

Honda spokesman Ed Miller said the cuts are on top of others announced earlier this year and bring the automaker's total production cuts since August to 50,000 units.

Miller said 12,000 of the cuts will be made at Honda's plant in Lincoln, Ala., which makes the Odyssey minivan and Pilot sport utility vehicle.

The other 6,000 will be made at a plants in East Liberty, Ohio, which makes the Element, CRV and Civic; and Marysville, Ohio, which makes the Accord along with the Acura TL and RDX, Miller said.

Honda said it won't need to make work force changes as a result of the cuts. Production will be slowed at the Lincoln plant, while the plants in Ohio will be shut down for an additional two days around the Christmas holiday, Miller said.

Tough economic conditions and tight credit markets have cut into auto sales across the industry this year, forcing many automakers who produce vehicles in the United States to cut production.

With the cuts, Honda said it now expects to produce about 1.41 million vehicles in North America for the fiscal year ending March 31, down from 1.44 million in fiscal 2007.