Isn't that crazy, SebringSilver?! It seems like you and I are both looking for the sportiest style and the best features, and yet, Acura just won't give both to us!!! It has to be one or the other... Crazy indeed...!!!

 

Maybe the marketing lead at Acura is secretly working for BMW?

 

Maybe they looked at the 1G PMC, saw that they're still sitting on dealer lots, and thought "nah, nobody wants the sportiest and most luxurious, we made it and nobody bought it".

Ignoring for a second that dealerships are doing their very best to not sell those cars...

 

I think those PMC editions should be what they lead with. I mean, Acura basically does the opposite of what every successful luxury brand does, which is to launch with an “Edition One” or similarly named car that has literally all the goodies for a price that’s slightly discounted compared to what it would cost to assemble all those options piecemeal. You want your most loyal supporters, the early adopters, to be your sales rep basically by giving them your best so they help you spread the word. By the time Acura launches their PMC Edition, all the early adopters already bought the more pedestrian version and even if they weren’t disappointed with the car they most likely are no longer in a position to buy another of the basically same car.

 

Since Last few years Honda has been getting better features in their car than Acura, not sure what's happening. The Entertainment system is best in Accord(usability wise) but they decided to go with the stupid Touchpad. If the Accord's 2.0 can be tuned to get same output as the TLX I dont see any value add in paying for TLX other than badge and small comfort materials.

Honestly Stinger would be a much better buy than the Type-S with more power and better luxuxy (the newer one). Even the new G70 would be way more luxurious and powerful than the Type-S

 

That seems to be some weird Japanese thing, Nissan does the same thing. Their Lower tier cars have more features than their infiniti's. Same with Toyota, a Camry had more features like Car Play etc while the IS didn't have it until recently. Infiniti also just started offering Car play and AA when the Maxima had that in their cars along with cooled seats , more colors and better seats. It's ridiculous. The Q50 still doesn't have Cooled seats lol.

 

Historically, Lexus has had the fancier features trickle down to Toyota, but for infotainment related things I think they’re taking a more conservative approach and waiting to see how it fairs in the Toyotas before bringing them up to Lexus. Also bear in mind they Lexus owners tend to be much older, and older people tend to be less technically savvy, which could be why Lexus is hesitant to add the latest and greatest infotainment tech to their cars.

 

Yes and Koreans seem to have nailed it down to a science. what works remains common and they just change the luxury features and looks to match the segment. Their steering, MID and entertainment system is common through out their entire line(baring small changes) and they only play on other features based on the class of the vehicle. KDM is the new JDM

 

Korea crept in seeing the obvious weaknesses. They will eventually take over the Asian market. Toyota, Nissan and Honda are messing up badly

 

It's important to realize that the mid-size family sedan segment is EXTREMELY competitive. Manufacturers can't really afford to skimp on features in this segment. Put it this way, if BMW and Mercedes have a lower-end brand competing with Honda and Toyota, we would be seeing the same thing.

And this is why people buy more Accords and Camrys than BMW 3 series, A4, or C Class. These mid-size family sedans are undoubtedly way better value than the compact luxury sports sedans.

Back in the days, the luxury brands can differentiate themselves from the lesser brands by offering more features. With less brands offering the same features, the premium brands are now offering nicer interior and performance. For instance, with premium brands, you can get branded audio systems (i.e. Honda brand vs ELS), nicer, authentic materials (normal leather vs milano perforated leather with stitching), better suspension setup/tuning (double wishbone vs strut), more sophisticated AWD system, more sporty or elegant styling, etc.

If all you care about is features and bang for the buck, look no further than the Honda Accord or camry or sonata. They will meet your needs.