TL dropped 11%
RL dropped 14%
CL dropped 32%

Ouch! Acura is now surviving on RSX and MDX alone.

A new model is much needed.


http://waw.wardsauto.com/ar/auto_product/index.htm

 

There is a rumor the CL will get axed.

TL sales are down cause the new design is coming out soon.

RL has always been a slow seller cause it's a V6 and FWD.

 

This is the reason why Japanese car companies are shortening their production cycles. If you don't redesign and stay competitive your not going to sell cars. Plain and simple the number will go back up once the TL, RL and CL get their respective redesigns.

If Acura keeps the CL it would have to be a radical departure from the current car. The lux coupe class is get very competative with a new CLK, G35c, IS330c, A4 coupe/convertable.

 

Acutally, Honda went from a 4-year cycle to a 5-year cycle. Following Toyota.

CL will stay. After all they already invested money in the design of new Accord Coupe. It seems to be a waste not to turn it into the new CL. It will lose to A4/330/G35c/IS300c on sportiness. But may be able to play the luxury card like CLK on compete on that level.

TL may not recover either. In my hood, G35 is now everywhere. I'll say 1:1 to TL ratio. And that's 5 years worth of TL compare to 2-3 months of G35 on the road. And if they do start importing G35 AWD, TL will disappear totally in this snowy town.

Acura better not screw up 04 TL. And I want AWD!

 

Considering the TL still is/was the top-selling car in it's class, I'd say an 11% decline isn't all that bad given that it's been out for 5 model years now and is due for a redesign. An 11% decrease still places it in front of a LOT of the competition saleswise.

The RL has been outclassed by the competition for years and is overdue for a redesign, and the CL's sales are somewhat disappointing, but to say that Acura is surviving solely on the MDX and RSX isn't at all accurate.

 

What the Fock man, Acura sales have been through the roof. I don't know what kind of awesome **** your smoking, but PLEASE, the only cars Acura has problems selling are the CL and the RL, but the RL is going to be fully redesigned, and the CL is probably going to be dropped. The TL is the best seller, period. RSX and the MDX sales also help too, but overall Acura is selling cars like crazy.

 

I think he meant sales compared to how Acura did last year. If you look at sales figures YTD Jan-Jul 2002 and compare that for the same time in 2001, you'll see that the TL is down 9.1%, whereas the MDX is up 27.7%. Remember this is just comparing this years' sales to last years'. But yes, you are correct--the TL is still Acura's best selling car. But the MDX is rapidly gaining and if the above percentages stay that way, it will eventually eclipse the TL in sales.

 

Yes, Acuras are selling like crazy...but what the article is saying is that this year they are selling less then what they were selling last year. TL and MDX are Acuras most popular cars, they sell about 3,500 TL and 3,500 MDX each month! RL and CL sales are slower. RSX sales are picking up.

You have to remember last year was '01, this was when the new and partly redisigned '02 TL-S was released. PPL went out to get these, this year the the '03 is pratically the same as the '02.

I think almost all auto makers are having decliine in sales...due to the ecomony... US economy isn't doing so well, buyer confidence it decreasing...so you understand that a decline is sales is not solely dependent on how "well" the car performs.

The second generation TL, starting in '99 was ahead of it's class. and after 4 years production, other car makers (Inifiniti, Lexus) have either catched up or excessed the TL, but the third generation TL will no doubt have its chance to regain its superiority. the G35 is new, everyone likes new things...when the new TL comes out...ppl will start to like those too.

To follow Toyota's 5 year redisign cycle was a very wise choice for Honda. There are several reasons why a 5 year cycle is more "desired" than a 4 year cycle.

People who buy their cars usually tend to keep them for a long period of time...but for ppl who lease their cars, they usually lease it for a 60 month term, which is 5 years...coincidence? When the lease it up, they can go lease the redisigned model which = more $$$ for car maker.

Redisigning a car every 4 years is to ecomonical or very effiecient. As they are just releasing the new model, they are already back to the drawing board working on the next model. Why spend your time redisigning the car every 4 years when all your competitors are doing it every 5 years.

And the last is about warrenty Toyota have a 3 year basic and 5 year powertrain warrenty...so when warrenty runs out, some ppl don't feel comfortable dealing with repairing and maintaning their car, so they go out and trade in for a new one. Honda still have their crappy 3 year basic and 4 year powertrain warrenty...if they made good transmission, they don't have to worry about warrenty and they will give us 5 years. Lexus has a 6 year powertrain warrenty!!

 

I'm a commission salesrep paid on profit and profits are down, and my modest holdings of stocks are a joke, so I'm not rushing out to buy anything. When I bought my TL two and one-half years ago it was another world. Just my 2CW.

 

I have seen exactly one G35 so far in my city of over 1 million (Nashville, TN). My own observations show that 2002/2003 TLs outnumber the G35 atleast 20:1.

 

Where I'm living (Fairfax, VA) I havent seen any G35's, but I'll admit I am not out all that often driving around. However, on my daily commute, I usually see at least 5 or 6 TL's and sometimes 1 or 2 other TL-S's not counting myself.

When I was in NJ last weekend, I drove around quite a bit and I ended up seeing 2 G35's, but I saw a ton of TL's and at least 5 TL-S's.

I'd be surprised to see a lot of G35's on the road already since the car has only been on sale for about 2 months or so right? The TL has been for sale for quite a few years, especially if you include the first generations.

 

Gee, I wonder if Acura's piss poor dealer network has anything to do with these figures?

Especially given the poor economy, and the fact that Honda and Acura have offered NO incentives or rebates on any of their cars, and dealers who work with you with this attitude:

"I'm Norm, I could really give a sh*t if you buy a car from me today, my best price is $500 over MSRP, take it or leave it." While the dealership has the same freeking cars sitting on their lot month after month.

It's tough to sell cars with an arrogant attitide when most dealers are jumping for joy simply at the sight of a customer in the showroom.

I may be looking for a higher end minivan or SUV (I know, but things change when you have a 1 year old and need to haul stuff from Home Depot every weekend.)

Honda and Acura dealers take the attitude that I should be thankful they're letting me test drive the Odyssey and MDX. The Honda dealer actually insisted that I make an appointment, "because otherwise you may have to wait up to an hour."

F' em.

Check with Chrysler.

No prob taking a Grand Caravan or Grand Cherokee out for an afternoon test drive - toss me the keys, "just keep it under 30 miles."

Oh, and there is a $3,000 manufacturer's rebate in effect until September.

No problem with Internet pricing, just offer a fair price, and we'll be happy to work with you.


Gee, wonder where I'll be buying my next vehicle.

I'm sorry guys, I love my TL/S, but Acura simply sucks.

They have no clue how to market their cars (most people have no clue the RL even exists), they have no clue what "customer service" really means (see the majority of feedback regarding Acura dealers here), their car's designs are all over the place (is the TL a sports car or luxury car?), and worst of all, they could care less.

Acura is in the same mess VW was in during most of the 90s, and it took a new CEO kicking some ass to breathe life back into VW.

Unfortunately, I don't see that happening with Acura. The make will always be an "also ran" and looking up at Lexus, Infiniti, and even Saab. It's pretty bad when Chrylser can eat their lunch as well.

 

YTD, the top selling models are the 3 series, C-class (these cars have many variations), the ES 300 and the TL!

 

Here is my take on Acura’s lineup Today:

RSX - Good rounded product and very decent value when you look at what you get, and compare to others in its class. They should upgrade the Type S version with limited slip though next model year or so, but other than that it’s a very nice package.

MDX -Also a good product, and thank god not another Isuzu with "A" symbols on it! Performance is above decent compared to other SUVs in its calss, but other packages like GM's Envoy could also steel my and other people's money away, and offers more of a real truck purpose is such things as towing. I would a add bit more power (20-40), and it would be one of the fastest SUVs up there with the Grand Cherokee, not counting the much more costly v8 X5 BMW of course, and have its HP numbers up their with most of the competition. Though the HP numbers are not that hot on paper, it is swift compared to others though as is though, which should be noted. Its selling well, they just better not fall asleep and not continue to improve on it, it’s in a tuff segment.

TL -Another good product, though is starting to age. Still performs with the best of them, and has a huge bang for the buck factor in its class. A redesign may be needed soon, and Acura should consider RWD unless it has plans for a NEW car between the RSX and the TL, to compete in the hot sport sedan market like the is300, G35, BMW 3 series, Cadillac and many others now do. The car is fine the way it is IMO, but then keep it like Infiniti did with the I30/35 and make another car so the TL doesn’t become a confused sole becoming not really a sports sedan, and really not that much of a quite luxury ride.

NSX -Too old, no longer exciting, nor is the technology behind it. In real need for a complete makeover now as their flagship, not just new headlights. If they want it to make real money off it, they should consider a price closer $60-65G and move the number of units up. If its to be a true flagship and brand status vehicle, then have at least one in each showroom for the public to see in addition to the nation wide dealer makeovers Honda has been doing to make them look the same. Have power at least at 350hp. Other cars (z06 for example) under price it and out perform it in many aspects. Just to point power to weight for examples, these two vehicles are not far off in weight from each other, while one is 290HP and the other is 405. For its size and all this “aluminum” its not even that light at 3100Lbs. GM sold something like 35,000 corvettes this last model year for example, there is a reason for it, and I know why every time I look into my garage

RL -Stupid product for the money and the dumb On Star TV ads won't help them! Acura needs to make the RL RWD and a V8, or at least a strong V6 (super charged maybe) if V8 is asking too much from the boys at Honda. It can't compete with others in its class and looks like an older pathetic Mercedes knock-off. How is it that barge has less power than a TL-S for example. Its a complete joke, and anyone really doing their homework to compare others in this class wouldn't waste their money, and I’m sure comparative sales show it.

CL - Kill this too long in the tooth, nose heavy, too large to be a coupe car. The TL performs just as well, has 4 doors and sells more. Consider making a new CL to fit in-between the two car mentioned above. Other coupes in this market (g35, 330ci) have this car hands down beat on style, and many performance points.

OK, I feel better now

 

Xorg,

Perhaps I got lucky with my experience, but I had the exact opposite experience with Pohanka Acura in Fairfax, VA. I called 3 dealerships one day to test drive a car ...

First was Nissan to test drive a Maxima. The first Maxima dealership I called put me on hold for 45 minutes while they were in a team meeting. The secretary had no clue that they were in a meeting, and it took a nasty e-mail to their Internet Sales Manager to actually get a response. Their sales manager gave me a hard sale and wouldn't let me leave the dealership ...

The 2nd Nissan dealership I called told me if I didn't make an appointment before 11am that it would be nearly impossible to test drive the car because they were going to have so many people in buying cars from them ...

When I called Pohanka Acura, I was told I could show up whenever I wanted, but to call 15 minutes in advance so they could have a car warmed up and ready to go for me. When I actually got there, I was immediately asked if I needed assistance, something that the Nissan dealer did not do for me. (I needed to ask the secretary). After doing the normal "photocopy your license" stuff, I was handed the keys to a TL-S and told to bring it back in 30 minutes but I could drive wherever I wanted and however I wanted.

The car salesman was not pushy, and when I told him I simply test drove the car to make a decision on what car to buy he understood. I told him that I would call him in about a month when I was ready to buy, and he gave me a price quote that he said would be available to me when I was ready to buy.

When I went back to Pohanka to buy the car, I was armed with Internet price quotes from 4 of the 5 other dealers in the area. When I told them the prices I had, they were able to match the best price I had been quoted. All told, I paid a few hundred over Invoice price, roughly $31,375 for a 2003 NBP TL-S with NAVI plus $566 for an OEM rear tail spoiler and $60 for a moonroof visor ($32,000 was my price plus tax and tags).

There currently aren't any rebates for any Acuras, but I have seen 0% financing from local Honda dealerships, and other incentives from Honda. On the same note, I've seen incentives from Toyota, but I haven't seen any from Lexus. I think it sortof goes along with the luxury car names not discounting their cars. And to be quite honest, the Acura dealership I went to was packed most of the time I was there ... There was always at least 1 car, sometimes 2 or 3 underneath their "tent" which are NEW cars for delivery/pickup by new owners. So I don't think the dealership I went with was just desperate for a sale either.

Perhaps you should try another dealership... my experience with Pohanka was a great one, especially for my first new car buying experience.

 

I saw stats a month ago that said TL sales were down 23% over last year...

 

What trips me out is how can american car mfgs keep their models on 7 or 8 year life cycles or longer and people complain if a Acura/Honda is old after 4 or 5? Look at the Grand Prix,Regal (97 design) Seville (98), Astro Van (85 design). Even germans cars keep their designs longer someone answer that?

 

Here is more credible figures from Hondanews.com

http://www.hondanews.com/forms/corp/sales/02july.html

Actually, total Acura sales is up 2%. With MDX make up for the lower volume of TL (+6000 vs -4000).

Acura should be OK as they refresh TL and add 20HP to MDX next year.

Still, I don't think CL should continue unless Acura can come up something as gorgeous as G35c.

 

Manufacturers offer rebates on models that aren't selling worth a **** -- not because they're feeling generous. Does the fact that Acura offers no such rebates tell you anything?

 

Yes, it tells me that they build a solid car and don't have to use gimmicks to sell cars.

 

No...Acutually they are both the SAME statistic. They are just taken at different times. On the "WardsAuto" site, they stated that 32,072 TLs were sold, and that is a 11.1% decrease, while the "Honda" site states that they sold 37,502 and that is s 9.1% drecrease.

"WardsAuto" were taking the numbers for June, while "Honda" are taking numbers for July. To prove this is correct, minus the numbers of TLs sold in July from the total number of TLs sold to Year-to-date 2000, so it's 37,502 - 5,430 = 32,072...which is WardsAuto numbers. The CL and the RL numbers seem to match.
WardsAuto stated the sale figures are for the "Year's First Half" which is Jan through June. While Honda says that "sales for July". There's a difference. So both sites are credible, you just have to look for the details.