YEH

^ Again, changing the issue - lol!

Must I remind you again? (The answer is of course, as your tiny pea brain can't retain anything.)



Increased incentive spending sure hasn't helped RLX sales, in addition to Acura dealers willing to sell at even a loss.

And these days, sedans are a hard sell, even on newer models.

One can easily get $15k off a 740i without even trying.

On track for failure?

Genesis is on track to sell 20,620 for the year (and probably more with the addition of the G80 Sport and that's not even counting the G70 or any crossovers).

And Genesis sells a good bit more in Korea (sold nearly 70k worldwide last year).

Please, posters on other luxury auto brand forums are already taking Genesis more seriously than Acura.

oonowindoo

That is what you like? You missed the important part!

Costco

Word has it, NASA has Honda's R&D department on retainer for consulting to improve international space station functionality.

Good work, Honda team of groundbreaking aerodynamics and reliability!

20 year old technology still competitive in today's market despite sales numbers showing the complete opposite

TacoBello

Uh... Yeah, I'm glad you totally pointed out why the RLX is NOT selling.

the RLX is not selling due to it being 7-15 years old in many regards, yet it is demanding current car pricing. Even the sport hybrid technology is seemingly unreliable- just listen to the current owners who are seemingly suffering unfixable issues they are having... Random issues in power cutting out, mixed actual fuel economy ratings between owners, etc. Not every RLX owner has these- but it's enough to make others question spending that kind of money on a car. That's why you are seeing a total of only ~1300 units per YEAR.

and DUH, of course the Genesis sells for less when used. It doesn't have the same brand cache or brand name as others. Yet. But Genesis owners KNOW this. And it's something they consider before ultimately buying. And ironically, it seems to not bother them as much as RLX owners, judging by sales numbers.

Anything else?

SSFTSX

RLX incentives are 10% of its price but it does not tell what Lease rate it was sold and what is actuall built cost as technology behind is more than 10 year old.
i like its understated smaller foot print design of RLX and not the stupid design of Genesis.

TSX69

Acura?s Better Call Saul Partnership Includes Weekly Los Pollos Hermanos Training Videos With Gus Fring ? Adweek

Acura’s Better Call Saul Partnership Includes Weekly Los Pollos Hermanos Training Videos With Gus Fring

Brand's also bringing mysterious driver character back for trivia

By Jason Lynch

April 4, 2017

The training videos, featuring Giancarlo Esposito's Gus Fring, will appear weekly throughout Better Call Saul's 3rd season.AMC

The return of Gus Fring, 1 of Breaking Bad’s most memorable villains, and his Los Pollos Hermanos fast-food chain in the upcoming third season of Better Call Saul is the gift that keeps on giving for AMC’s marketing and ad sales team.

Since January, the network has been teasing the addition of Fring, played by Giancarlo Esposito, to the Breaking Bad prequel (Season 3 premieres on April 10). In January, AMC announced the character’s return via a faux ad for Los Pollos Hermanos (the spot, which actually aired in Albuquerque, N.M., where Saul and Breaking Bad are filmed and set, was conceived by Esposito himself). More recently, the network built a pop-up Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant at SXSW. The restaurant surfaced again in L.A. last week and will appear next week in New York. Now AMC has enlisted its longtime Saul partner, Acura, to sponsor a weekly series of webisodes featuring Fring, who introduces animated management training videos for Los Pollos Hermanos workers.

The 2-minute spots star Esposito and touch upon a lesson of the week, which will relate to that week’s Better Call Saul episode, with occasional glimpses behind his placid exterior as the criminal mastermind underneath (“Someone is always watching!”). The videos, which will feature the Acura logo, were developed by AMC’s promotional team and will appear weekly on AMC’s website and apps, YouTube, and social media. Adweek has the exclusive look at the 1st video:

You Tube

They are part of AMC’s expanded partnership this season with Acura, which has been a sponsor of the show since before its Season 1. “They’re fans as well, which makes the process so much easier,” said Scott Collins, president, advertising sales, AMC Networks.

While the Fring videos will likely attract the most fan attention, the true centerpiece of Acura’s partnership this year is its weekly branded content webisodes, which feature the return of the mysterious driver character from Acura’s previous sponsorships of the show.

The driver character is back for 10 spots, which will air during each episode and feature the Acura NSX. The spots will direct fans to play in a bingo trivia game on the show’s digital and show platforms, which will culminate at the end of the season in the release of a 3-minute video featuring beloved Saul characters from earlier in the show’s run.

The videos, which were created with Saul’s production and writing team, feature Easter eggs for both Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad. “That was particularly important to Acura as they partnered with us; we don’t want to violate any authenticity [around the show],” said Melissa Wasserman, svp, client solutions and integrated marketing, AMC.

The ambiguous driver character “feels like he belongs in the environment of that world, but you’re just not sure what time or space that he’s actually traveling in or what his intent is,” said Wasserman.

Last season, the driver appeared in a custom Acura spot for Saul’s Season 2 premiere, kicking off a Twitter sweepstakes in which viewers could win a trip to Talking Saul at the end of the season. He was 1st spotted in a video to help launch Season 1, which showed him driving in the desert, a reference to the show’s Season 1 key art.

Acura has expanded its partnership with AMC each year. When the network 1st announced it was making the Breaking Bad prequel, “Acura recognized a unique opportunity to align the brand with this massive cultural event,” said Phil Hruska, manager of media strategy, American Honda. “From the show’s start, Acura has tapped into a devoted fan base with appreciation for great storytelling, intriguing characters and attention to detail, and we continue to see great social response from the show’s passionate fan base.”

Because Better Call Saul is a prequel, Acura is not able to integrate its new vehicles into the show. AMC has similar restrictions on its other period series like Halt and Catch Fire and Turn: Washington’s Spies. But, Collins said, “we overcome these with really creative executions around the show.”

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

i dont care about stupid trying to be hip and getting commercials or tv shows in pop culture..ie; agent shield and gus fring...
JUST MAKE GOOD CARS, ACURA!

fsttyms1

Even when it was first released the RLX didnt sell in the numbers the Genesis is selling at. And.... to you, a car that can barely sell 100 units a month, has a understated footprint is a better car and not a stupid design?? I think sales numbers alone dont agree with you. You are a the epitome of a FAN BOY. Give it up.. The Genesis is far more classy and elegant compared to the RLX and with far better overall looks and road presence.

fsttyms1

As usual, this shows they still dont get it from a marketing standpoint. You can hire all the actors/people in the world to help you sell, its not going to make a difference if you dont make a product thats desireable and people want.

AZuser

Why are we not surprised you like the "dead on arrival" design of the RLX over the Genesis.

biker

How about that Clarity.....

TSX69

How Acura Built Its New TV Campaign for Mobile CMO Strategy - AdAge

How Acura Built Its New TV Campaign for Mobile

By E.J. Schultz. Published on April 11, 2017.

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In Acura's new campaign, it's hard to tell what moves faster -- the car or the ads themselves. The marketer crammed roughly 50 unique images in each 1 of its 5 30-second spots and about 25 images in each of its 7 15-second ads. Each scene shot is vertically and layered into the TV commercials by dividing the screen in 3.

The colorful mishmash -- which includes flashes of random images like a sci-fi superhero in a red metal suit {InfraMan!} -- is aimed at giving Acura's new 2018 TLX luxury sedan a modern, youthful feel. But the campaign, called "What a Ride," also has a more practical goal when it comes to Acura's media buy: The visuals are shot vertically so they are easily transferable to mobile ad formats. And Acura purposely avoided celebrities and spoken dialogue so that it can adjust the ads on the fly to adapt to market conditions. The so-called modular approach means that if, for instance, Acura wants to tout all-wheel drive in cold-weather cities, it could easily toss in that message in a quick scene without rejiggering the entire ad.

"We also can see what combination performs best over time. Or if we are hearing feedback in terms of other attributes of the car that we may not have predicted, it's very easy for us to cut it and have that option available quickly," said Ed Beadle, senior manager-integrated marketing at Acura. "If you are relying on the schtick of some heavy talent spot with comedy and plucky one-liners, it's very difficult to try to adjust that messaging."

This type of flexible approach, including vertical visuals, has gained in popularity across the ad industry as brands seek to make ads that are suitable for TV and mobile, where viewers often encounter spots with the sound off. It is proof of how much mobile players like Snapchat and Instagram Stories -- which use vertical video ad formats -- are influencing creative approaches.

Agencies on the Acura campaign include MullenLowe Los Angeles for creative and RPA for media buying. (Acura is owned by Honda, which recently shifted media duties to RPA.)

Acura executives declined to detail the media buy for the TLX campaign because they said it had not been finalized. But Mr. Beadle said digital will account for roughly 40% of the spending. Acura also confirmed it has prepared 6-second ads and that the buy includes Snapchat ads and Facebook's Canvas ads. "When you shoot this way from the beginning, you are already prepared so that you can adapt to any channel that is relevant," he said. "Flexibility is a key strategy for this campaign."The TV spots, which will break at the end of May, are backed by the song "The Movement" by Kid Ink. Acura plans to debut the new TLX campaign at an event today at the ArtBeam venue that near the New York International Auto Show, which gets underway this week at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Pop singer Elle King is scheduled to perform Acura's event.

The TLX launch comes at a critical time for Acura as it seeks to reverse declining sales and battle industry dynamics in which car sales have been hurt by surging demand for trucks and SUVs. Acura car sales fell 28.5% in the 1st 3 months of the year to 9,806 vehicles, according to data compiled by Automotive News. Acura's SUVs, the MDX and RDX, fell by 8.4% and 9.9% respectively.

In a January interview with Automotive News, Jim Morino, chairman of Acura's dealer advisory board, called 2016 a "tough year," citing the Takata airbag recall situation that "caused havoc in all of our lives." He also said dealers have had "some very candid conversations about aggressiveness of advertising and awareness for Acura," but credited Acura with "changing that message so that it's more aggressive than it has been in the past."

The TLX campaign is under the larger "Precision Crafted Performance" marketing platform that Acura launched in early 2016. Its goal is to give the automaker's marketing a more consistent feel with a youthful, optimistic tone.

"We have to establish a great foundation for ourselves and get our brand out there and get everybody to understand who we are," said Jon Ikeda, VP-general manager for the Acura Division of American Honda Motor Co. "Once people understand a little better and get clarity of what we represent and what we are doing, then I think the sales side will come."

TSX69

American Honda Reports April Sales with Record for Honda Trucks - Acura NewsAmerican Honda Reports April Sales with Record for Honda Trucks

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May 2, 2017

• Honda Division sales up 1.2 percent for first four months of 2017
• CR-V posts fifth straight record month, up 26.6 percent for the year
• HR-V sets new April record, up 25.5 percent for the year
• Civic and Accord sales remain strong with retail customers
• Acura TLX sales jump 39.1 percent in April

TORRANCE, Calif. – American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported April sales of 138,386 Honda and Acura vehicles, a decrease of 7.0 percent from year-ago results. The Honda Division saw a decrease of 6.3 percent on sales of 124,254 vehicles, while Honda trucks were up year-over-year, posting a 1.2 percent gain on sales of 61,114 units. Acura Division sales of 14,132 cars and SUVs were up from last month and were led by the TLX sedan with a 39.1 percent jump in April versus year-ago results.

Honda
With strong truck sales and sustained, steady demand for cars continuing in April, Honda Division sales grew 1.2 percent for the first four months of 2017. The Honda CR-V and HR-V continued their record-setting ways, both posting record April sales, as the Ridgeline pickup also posted solid April results of 3,186 units, and Pilot continued to experience strong demand in the face of constrained supplies.Despite the market shift toward SUVs, Honda saw continued strong retail demand for cars, with Fit recording sales of 4,871 units, Accord posting sales of 26,938 units, and Civic again topping the 31,000 mark, with virtually all sales coming from individual, retail car buyers.

• Honda trucks had a best-ever April, gaining 1.2 percent on sales of 61,114 units
• CR-V led truck gains with an April record of 32,671 vehicles, up 13 percent
• HR-V set a new April record, rising 22.4 percent on sales of 8,527
• Ridgeline sales surpassed 3,100 units in April
• With another strong sales month of 31,211 units, Civic was easily the best-selling passenger car in America on a retail basis for the first four months of 2017
• Clarity Fuel Cell posted 34 sales for the month, pushing total deliveries to 126 units

"While there seems no end in sight to consumers' love affair with trucks and SUVs, we continue to keep a focus on passenger cars to maintain a balanced sales mix in the retail marketplace," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president of the American Honda Automobile Division. "Our efforts to build more Honda light trucks at our plants in North America are paying dividends with sales records for both CR-V and HR-V."

Acura
Acura division sales of 14,132 units were led by TLX, which posted its best month since October 2015 on sales of 5,258 units, up 39.1 percent from last April, following a strong first-quarter marketing campaign. Next month TLX will receive an additional boost with the launch of the significantly redesigned 2018 model, with three distinct variants including a new V6-powered A-Spec model, adding aggressive new styling to the performance luxury sedan.

• TLX recorded its best-ever April and 2nd best month ever on sales of 5,258 units, up 39.1 percent over last year
• Acura light truck sales remained strong with MDX and RDX combining for sales of over 7,845 units, with the launch of the new 2017 MDX Sport Hybrid expected to boost sales in the months ahead.

"We're seeing our new marketing efforts resonate with buyers with TLX posting strong sales in a tough segment," said Jon Ikeda, vice president & general manager of Acura. "With the new 2018 TLX launching next month, including the all-new A-Spec model, we look forward to broadening our appeal with performance-focused buyers."

AZuser

Good month for TLX. MDX and RDX down? Surprising that every model is down year over year except for the TLX. I wonder what incentives were like since MMC goes on sale next month. Maybe they were having a clearance sale or worse... people saw how horrible the new grille was and bought up the pre-MMC?

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I'd imagine Acura wants to get rid of the pre-MMC TLX to make room for the new model. I think there are some good deals to be had right now.

The NSX had a pretty big jump from 37 units in March to 91 units in April. What's the discount like for it?

I'd expect the other cars in the line up to drop as they are pretty much near the end of the model cycle.

RPhilMan1

Extensive TV commercials for the TLX as well. And they're actually quite good commercials.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Really? Acura has good commercials??

nist7

Wow, huge jump for TLX. Maybe seasonal uptick in car sales as spring/weather warms up and the tax returns are coming in....

oonowindoo

^ or heavy discount on the Pre-face lift models...Once the MMC ones are on the lot, you can expect instant drop in sales due to little to no incentives. Oh and also the fact that is a TLX

biker

Go Clarity.

oonowindoo

What the hell is going on with Oddy?

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I'm not sure if it's seasonal, I think it's just the incentives...look at how others in its class did last month:

Class 7,821 +38.5%
TLX 5,258 +44.5%
3series 3,494 -25.4%
ES 3,400 -20.5%
A4 3,246 +8.8%
MKZ 2,658 +24.8%
Q50 2,559 -30.3%
IS 2,154 -15.7%
LaCrosse 1,983 +9.4%
ATS 1,405 -19.1%
S60 982 +14.3%
XE 742
Giulia 634

RPhilMan1

No joke for some reason in the past week or two I have seen several Giulias on the road each day. It's like they came out in droves all of a sudden.

kurtatx

If the Giulia can survive the first wave of reliability concerns, they should be okay. I'm starting to see them a lot as well.

Civic2TSX

I've seen 2 in the past week. It's smaller than I expected but it is definitely a head turner.

JAB00

The ILX and RLX need to be scrapped and they need to start over. The ILX is not even a gussied up Civic. The top of the line Civic looks better than the ILX. If Acura is going to bring a subcompact sedan like the ILX it needs to be premium and to be able to compete with A3, CLA etc. The Honda Accord is nicer and more premium looking than the RLX. That thing needs to be completely redesigned. It should be standard SH-AWD. No one in their right mind will pay for a FWD platform in that segment.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Even if it has SH-AWD standard, that's still a FWD platform.

And FWD platform is fine considering the Audi A6, Caddy XTS, Volvo S90, and Lincoln Continental are all on FWD platforms with FWD being standard (yes including the Audi A6).

Check out the sales for this segment:
Eclass 4,059 -16.9%
5series 3,113 -30.1%
A6 1,508 -6.9%
G80 1,083
Continental 1,003
XTS 914 -39.9%
CTS 873 -34.6%
GS 597 -38.1%
S90 484
Q70 443 -19%
RLX 106 -29.4; hybrid 22 +20.2%
MKS 21 -96.8%

You've got the usual top 2 from MB and BMW. After that, there's a good mix of FWD platform and RWD platform cars.

The main problems of the RLX is its bland styling, lack of powertrain options, and high starting price.

When you look at the Continental, the S90, the XTS, and even the A6, they are start at $45-$47k. The RLX? $54k. That, IMO, is the biggest problem. That starting price immediately pushes people away - they won't even look at the RLX. I don't quite understand how they are offering a huge @$$ MDX with a starting price of $42k, but make the RLX to start at $54k. Perhaps because the RLX is made in Japan. If so, that's bad product planning, should've produced the car in NA and make the car start at $43k for a base model.

MSZ

Acura never wanted a RL successor in the first place, Honda Japan needed a Toyota Crown/Nissan Fuga competitor in their market, so they forced Acura to "take one for the team".

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Yea, that's my understanding as well. Shame.

TacoBello

Does the Honda version of the RLX come with the sport hybrid technology also?

SSFTSX

you know the drill for for Yeh.

MSZ

They don't even offer the non hybird model in Japan.

??????Honda

YEH

You're not telling me (much less anyone else) here something they don't already know - chump.

Really not much Hyundai can do until the political flap wanes and the PRC stops inflaming its citizenry over THAAD.

But hey, weren't you the dimbulb who stated there was no boycott?

Japanese automakers went thru the same thing a couple of years ago and yet, I didn't feel the need to post about declining Honda (or Toyota or Nissan) sales in China (it was what it was).

The China market, unfortunately, is privy to the machinations of the PRC govt. - hence, Kia recently announcing plans to build a plant in India (where the market isn't as easily manipulated by the govt. and there is less potential for political strife btwn the 2 countries).

Not surprisingly, you fail to point out the bad news when it comes to Honda/Acura.

In the EU, passenger car registrations are up 8.4% for the 1st Q.

But Honda sales are down 11.1% (42,581 or a measly 1% of market-share).

H/K sales are up around 9% (254,687 or a 6.2 market-share).

Heck, Kia, alone, has 3x the market-share in the EU as Honda.

And in the US, just about every Acura model was down for the month, even its crossovers - w/ the brand down 15.1% for the year.

As I had stated before, Acura had somewhat of a free ride w/ its crossovers as there wasn't much competition when it came to FWD-based crossovers.

Now, there's a lot more competition w/ more on the way (Cadillac, alone, has 3 more crossovers in the pipeline).

YEH

Yes, there is a market for FWD-based luxury sedans, but one has to keep in mind that sedans like the XTS, Conti, S90 and RLX are all full-sized, FWD-based sedans priced in the mid-size segment (the A6 is a bit different having a longitudinal layout, but even then is still priced below its RWD German competitors and there is word that Audi is going to discontinue offering FWD on the A6).


Totally on point.

YEH

Never particularly cared for the G80's design, but the G80 Sport takes it up a notch.



The next gen G80 should get sheetmetal more to my liking on the basis of the New York concept being the design direction for Genesis.




The G80 Sport has just started trickling into dealerships and there are few who have already had a chance to test them out (current Genesis/former BMW owners) and on first impression - like what Hyundai has done to suspension tuning and steering (granted, there is only so much one can do for a car as heavy as the G80; the G70 will be more of a true sports sedan).

Even with a declining sedan market, wouldn't be surprised if the addition of the G80 Sport bumps up G80 sales.

I'm sure the resident troll has some excuse as for why the G80/G90 YTD have a combined 6,554 in sales whereas the RLX has a whopping total of 399.

Wouldn't have high hopes for the next gen RLX (that is, if there is going to be a new one) if this is the new face of Acura.



Uggh - that's even worse than the beak.

SSFTSX

why you writing non sense about Europe. Honda CRV has 9speed auto in UK while here it has CVT. Honda CRV cost more than BMW X3 comparably equiped with less warranty and no maintaince. honda has tremendous R&D advantage.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

According to EPA, here are the interior volume figures:
RLX: 102 cu.ft
A6: 98 cu.ft
XTS: 104 cu.ft
530i: 99 cu.ft
S90: 98 cu.ft

The Conti and XTS are full-sized based in EPA, but the RLX is still a mid-size, as are the S90 and A6. The RLX is really expensive though.

I get where you are coming from though. I think these FWD just need to be priced lower. The RLX is the opposite of that....

YEH

^ Yeah, the RLX has a little less interior space than XTS and Conti (but depending on the breakdown, could have about the same rear passenger space but less trunk space), but when the RLX launched, Acura was promoting it as having 7 Series passenger room for the price of a 5 Series.



Only person on AZ who has posted nothing but nonsense has been you.

Stop changing the topic and throwing out red herrings and answer these questions.

1. Why are Honda's sales in the EU so low - and falling in a growing market?

Honda not only sells far less than H/K, Toyota and Nissan in the EU, but sells less than Mazda.


2. If Acura is so great, why are sales down 15.1% for the year?

And it's not just b/c of the sedans, but the RDX and MDX as well.


3. How can Acura be a luxury brand when it has only sold 399 luxury sedans for the year?

SSFTSX

come back once you learn engineering and return on investment. Acura has one third of offerings of Audi and Acura has lowest incentive once you look at the total package
EU growing market? you need to examine your head. EU has large fleet sales and huge bargain basement incentives.


Fleet Sales Drive Economic Recovery in Western Europe - Articles - Global Fleet - Articles - Automotive Fleet

Fleet Sales Drive Economic Recovery in Western Europe

Kia targets fleet in Europe ? International Fleet World

Kia targets fleet in Europe

YEH

^ DING! WRONG!

Everyone targets fleet in Europe (even MB, BMW and Audi).

A big share of the market are autos subsidized by an employer or corporate cars.

And even then, still wouldn't explain the 3x market share, Kia alone, has over Honda.

As for engineering and ROI, know that I know more about those things than you.

As for Honda, the reason why they haven't properly been investing in their Acura brand is that they knew that they wouldn't be getting a good ROI - which is also the reason they abandoned their plans for RWD and a V8.