Is the RLX a failure?
#201
Suzuka Master
The tougher sale for Acura will come with the TLX. Assuming a feature set at least as good as the Accord Touring, and a higher level of fit and finish with the same warranty as the RLX, who is going to buy the RLX then? It will be hard enough for the TLX to compete with the Accord, so they can't price it at too much of a premium. That will leave a large gap up to the RLX. Only the SH-SH-AWD will offer a compelling feature on the RLX but that will be a premium price. And I bet that will find its way to the TLX eventually.
The RLX is a nice car, there is just no compelling reason to buy it at that price.
My issue will be that had Acura stuck to its normal routine the TLX would be shown in New York in April and released over the summer. With all the buzz that it is pushed until next January with a March 14 release means I am out of my lease by September, even if they let me extend I doubt they will let me extend 6 months. The RLX does not appeal to me in pics, the TLX is an unknown, so I can either opt for something else or jump on a 13 TL AWD which is being heavily discounted right now and drive it for 2 years then try and switch out to a TLX.
#202
It is not about whether $50K is too much to spend on a car. I'm sure there are cars where the market supports that kind of price. I just don't think this RLX will be supported at that price in the market. If you gave $50K to everyone who walked into that autoshow and told them they could buy any car they wanted, after looking at what their money could buy, I doubt many if any would have picked the RLX. $50K can buy you a lot of car.
If you want to compare the top of the line Accord to this RLX-Navi they honestly don't compare well. Just look at the two pictures you posted. Would a consumer get the impression that one was worth $16K more than the other? Probably not.
They have similar interior space and similar features.
The RLX has PAWS but millions of cars are sold around the world every year that don't seem to need rear wheel steering so that is not going to be a compelling feature.
Is the RLX a nicer car? Sure it is, but not by as much as the price is asking. In the end the market will decide. As for the two vehicles you picked, the 5-series outsells the RL 100 to 1 and the GS about 50 to 1 (the ES is about 100:1).
Even the 7-series which is beyond the RLX's class outsells it 10 to 1. So even at discounted prices the market does not support the RL's price. I don't think the RLX will change that ratio by much. Sure there will be a few who will like the car enough to buy it. There might be some excitement early on for the car, but I bet that will die off quickly. If you shop around your $50K you'll find a lot of cars that offer a lot more value.
As for resale value... ask anyone with an RL about that. Or just ask KBB.com. After 2 years the RL only retained 50% of its value while the older 2012 Accord retained 59%. I suspect the new one will be at least as good if not better.
The tougher sale for Acura will come with the TLX. Assuming a feature set at least as good as the Accord Touring, and a higher level of fit and finish with the same warranty as the RLX, who is going to buy the RLX then? It will be hard enough for the TLX to compete with the Accord, so they can't price it at too much of a premium. That will leave a large gap up to the RLX. Only the SH-SH-AWD will offer a compelling feature on the RLX but that will be a premium price. And I bet that will find its way to the TLX eventually.
The RLX is a nice car, there is just no compelling reason to buy it at that price.
#203
Summer is Coming
Fully agree on this. Assuming the TSX + TL = TLX they have a $15K price spread to fill and they need to better the Accord by a decent amount otherwise the warranty is the oly difference. I can't see them leaving out AWD of some type, I just hope they don't just put basic AWD like the RDX, the TLX needs to offer SH-AWD, if not the Sport Hybrid AWD. Problem is, if we assume the Sport Hybrid is more costly than standard SH-AWD and they don't want to overlap the RLX much then the TLX loaded needs to top out not far from where it is now, say $48K MAX. How do you differentiate the TLX from and Accord and not eat RLX sales, or decontent the car to turn off the TL loyalists? And you ahve all the competition in that class. I guess you can leave off Krell, assuming they use the newer ELS that would not be a big deal, but while I love the current ELS, they need to step it up a notch. Competition is great for us consumers, but Acura is at an interesting inflection point. With TSX and TL sales in the tank they need the TLX to be more than a home run, they need a grand slam and they need it soon with the new IS and Q50 coming in this summer, even the new MB CLA and ATS all will want to kill the TLX.
My issue will be that had Acura stuck to its normal routine the TLX would be shown in New York in April and released over the summer. With all the buzz that it is pushed until next January with a March 14 release means I am out of my lease by September, even if they let me extend I doubt they will let me extend 6 months. The RLX does not appeal to me in pics, the TLX is an unknown, so I can either opt for something else or jump on a 13 TL AWD which is being heavily discounted right now and drive it for 2 years then try and switch out to a TLX.
My issue will be that had Acura stuck to its normal routine the TLX would be shown in New York in April and released over the summer. With all the buzz that it is pushed until next January with a March 14 release means I am out of my lease by September, even if they let me extend I doubt they will let me extend 6 months. The RLX does not appeal to me in pics, the TLX is an unknown, so I can either opt for something else or jump on a 13 TL AWD which is being heavily discounted right now and drive it for 2 years then try and switch out to a TLX.
I think the price on the SH-SH-AWD will be so high that it will sell very few. You aren't going to buy a $65K+ car for the gas mileage. And there are other AWD cars in that price range that will be more appealing. They will have to leave AWD in the TLX as an option. But it may be the simplified version like the RDX to reduce costs and increase FE. Here in TX I don't need it so no big deal for me. I'm just hoping they package the car with the features I want or Acura will not have anything in their line up for me.
#204
Suzuka Master
They will have to leave AWD in the TLX as an option. But it may be the simplified version like the RDX to reduce costs and increase FE. Here in TX I don't need it so no big deal for me. I'm just hoping they package the car with the features I want or Acura will not have anything in their line up for me.
#205
Suzuka Master
To follow up on the Super Bowl Ad miss, this is interesting:
http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/07/auto...html?iid=HP_LN
The CLA commercial made the CLA the most researched car on the web Monday. And they get slammed because car is not out until September! As I said, if Acura had a decent marketing firm and they pulled the car to a 2.15 launch they could have generated some buzz from a Super Bowl ad and generated traffic to the dealers.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/07/auto...html?iid=HP_LN
The CLA commercial made the CLA the most researched car on the web Monday. And they get slammed because car is not out until September! As I said, if Acura had a decent marketing firm and they pulled the car to a 2.15 launch they could have generated some buzz from a Super Bowl ad and generated traffic to the dealers.
#206
To follow up on the Super Bowl Ad miss, this is interesting:
http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/07/auto...html?iid=HP_LN
The CLA commercial made the CLA the most researched car on the web Monday. And they get slammed because car is not out until September! As I said, if Acura had a decent marketing firm and they pulled the car to a 2.15 launch they could have generated some buzz from a Super Bowl ad and generated traffic to the dealers.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/07/auto...html?iid=HP_LN
The CLA commercial made the CLA the most researched car on the web Monday. And they get slammed because car is not out until September! As I said, if Acura had a decent marketing firm and they pulled the car to a 2.15 launch they could have generated some buzz from a Super Bowl ad and generated traffic to the dealers.
#208
#209
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Mainstream TV advertising isn't really worth as much as the cost anymore, especially with alternative, more focused methods of advertising. Oh well.
#210
Summer is Coming
With a 30 sec Superbowl add this year costing about $3.8M that is a ton of money for a low volume car. Acura does need to advertise their brand but that is a lot of money.
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BDoggPrelude (02-08-2013)
#212
I seem to recall reading/hearing that at the time they felt the ad was important because the brand had been so quiet with the events of 2009-2011 and that since there hadn't been a significant introduction since 2008 and some excitement was necessary. So it is likely that A) they didn't get their money's worth or B) it accomplished what they wanted and it wasn't necessary again. Either way, in the entire company history it was the first ever so (IMO) it's not as if there was a tradition of ads and this year was the first without one.
#213
Summer is Coming
That was also an unusual ad because Acura never advertises future cars. At least not that far in advance. Now if they spent $3.8M this year advertising a future TLX that might have been money better spent. Something to keep TL and TSX owners hanging on until that car comes out.
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