"lowest level acura for the name (RSX doesnt count, nobody can seriouisly believe that's a car that should belong in any brand that sells itself as luxury)..which i obviously do not think so (more like target atleast )"

Here in Canada their is talk of dropping the EL and the RSX to elevate Acuras Luxury status. Also my manager disagrees with me that the RL had better come out this year and that new nsx should come out earlyer than a couple years from now. I think that just because they are low volume cars they create a buzz in the auto industry. I think that the longer they wait the more they will lose the interest of possible TL, TSX, and MDX buyers who want to say "I bought a tl from the company who designed the nsx" or in contrast not everyone can afford the m-5 but what a great deal that m-s is.

sorry m-3

Acura should make the front styling of their cars more distinct styling like Lexus and Infiniti are doing to distance themselves from their parent companies. For instance the G35 doesn't look like any Nissan except a little like the new Maxima, but the Lexus Gs300 doesn't look like any Toyota at all.

Holy crap, NO! Lexus and Infiniti have ugly front ends. You start getting too distinct...you start getting fugly. And I don't think Lexus is the epitome of distinctive styling. The ES looks so much like the Camry, it makes me want to barf...the LS looks too much like the Avalon to me...and don't even get me started on the LX470/Land Cruiser similarities.

The only Honda that looks like an Acura from the front is, oddly enough, the Honda Odyssey. No other NA Honda uses the penta-grille, nor has a crease running down the middle of the hood, which are Acura's family looks. It's sort of like how all BMWs have the kidney grille, angel eyes and Hofmeister kink in the C-pillar.

If anything, it's Lexus that doesn't have its own distinct styling. At least all (newer) Infinitis have that distinctive large chrome grille; with Lexus, there is no styling trend that is noticeable across the lineup, unless you count the pulled back headlights on the ES, GX, SC and LS...which can also be seen on the Camry, Camry Solara, 4Runner, Corolla, Matrix and RAV4.

so you're saying that acura conservative styling is the way to go? for us Tsx lovers of course the styling of the Tsx will grab our attention, but to other drivers on the road, don't you think the styling of Nissan's cars, G35 and Z will catch the attention of other drivers unlike Honda's cars which have bland styling?

I think the styling of the Acuras will stand the test of time. The TSX will still be cool 10 years from now in my opinion.

I wish Acura was a world wide brand, not just N. America. I wonder what drove them to do that and why Lexus went world wide.

is infiniti a worldwide brand too like lexus?

I think they're waiting to see if Lexus suceeds. Lexus, until now, has only been available in NA and Europe. From what I've read, it has not been the sales success in Europe like it has been in NA, specifically in the USA. And Honda, while big here, isn't very big in Europe either, so that tells me they're even less likely to launch Acura over there.

Of course, this is all just my speculation.

"Edgy" styling is subjective. I see a Honda/Acura and I think "that's a nice looking car". I see a G35 and I think "it's got it's high points, but over all, it's ugly." Conservative styling appeals to a broader audience. And like duugk said, Acuras will look good years from now...Infiniti's styling will look dated real quick.

Besides, you start thinking aggresssive styling is a must and soon we'll have more and more vehicles like the Aztek.

Nope though there are talks of bringing it to Europe in 3 years.Lexus started up slowly but is gaining speed. One of the main reasons why is People have been buying the used Lexus, 10 year old cars more reliable than new Benzs, Jags, BMws etc. And the gospel is spreading ad people start to buy the new Lexus cars as they are happy with their car.

With Benz cars even more unreliable, BMW styling not a hit with Euro customers, Lexus has a good chance of gaining some ground. But in Europe things are different.

Smaller roads.
Hella car taxes
Much higher gas costs
No parking
Sport is the key, blah is a no go

Japanese cars they love, WRX STi, EVO (any EVO), NSX-R, new 350Z, RX-8, IS 200.

Hey, those are Japanese cars I love, too!

You mean like that over-the-top TL A-Spec?

Wrong. Lexus is still not a big player in the European luxury market, especially against the Germans. I know you're a Lexus fan, but at least look at the facts and not make things up.

This will not be easy, Mr McCullough acknowledged, highlighting the German market as particularly tough to penetrate.

"About 850,000 prestige cars are sold each year in Germany, only 10% of them are imported," Mr McCullough said.

"So it's' very tempting to look at the German market and say there are 850,000 opportunities to sell a car, when in reality there are 85,000.

"The German mindset is very much pro German products, and the German customer has to justify his purchase of any other kind of product in the way that as a Brit you would have had to do in the 1970s."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2360111.stm

A more recent article:

That's a problem for Toyota Motor Corp. (TM ). The company's smooth-driving Lexus sedans sprinted from zero to luxury-market leader in the U.S. during the 1990s, overtaking German rivals Mercedes (DCX ) and BMW -- as well as Cadillac and Lincoln -- by offering better quality and service at a lower price. But Lexus is going nowhere fast in Europe: After 12 years in showrooms, last year it registered sales of just 21,156 cars -- down 11% from 2001 -- compared with more than 234,000 in the U.S.

Harder, though, will be conforming to the European concept of luxury. Americans love comfort, size, and dependability, while Europeans think luxury means attention to detail and brand heritage. "The biggest selling point for Lexus is that it doesn't break down," says Philipp Rosengarten, analyst at Global Insight Inc.'s automotive group. That's not enough to succeed in Europe. Instead, Lexus needs to create a desire to own the car -- and even with plush dealerships and extended warranties, it has kilometers to go before reaching that goal.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...8013_mz001.htm

You talk about brand loyalty for German cars but last year in Germany, Japanese manufactures outsold all of the German manufactures. They might not have been all luxury vehicles from Japan but it is only a matter of time for the Japanese luxury cars to be outselling German ones in Germany.

Care to back that up with proof?

And you might want to re-read the article again. I'm not talking about the Hondas, Toyotas, Mazdas and Nissans from Japan. I'm talking about Lexus, the only Japanese luxury brand in Europe as of now, which the article, and the brand loyalty comment, is referring to.

I guess not. :dunno:

A Toyota Spokesman said Lexus could sell 350,000 vehicles annually, within the next five to six years, assuming continuing expansion of the luxury sector.
About 12 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. now are classifed as luxury, up from about 8.8 percent less than five years ago, the spokesman said. Lexus has about 14 percent of the luxury market.
Toyota earns about 80 perent of it's operating profit in the U.S. The automaker is aiming to sell as many as 60,000 Lexus cars in Japan by 2006 through 180 dealerships. Toyota also is planning to open Lexus dealerships in china in 2005.
In Europe, Lexus sales have amounted to only about 20,000 annually, a tiny sliver of the continent's luxury market. Toyota has been caught without diesel-engine capacity, which many European customers prefer in luxury models.
The automaker hopes to triple Lexus's sale on the continent by 2010, in part by offering diesels and hybrids.
"It's just a matter of time before Lexus busts through the Teutonic" preference in Europe for BMW and Mercedes, said Jeff Kuhlman, a Cadillac spokesman.


phile, you are correct. Thanks for making me do my HW.

No problem.

Acura.com Live Chat
 

i got an email about this as well, interesting to see what honda's future plans are

We can watch them avoid questions about which cars are going to get IMA and when :D

Yeah, if it's anything like those "Chat with Celebrity X" chats, your question only gets posted after it's been screened and approved for asking.

Yes ... some of us were on for the TSX chat back in the day and the list of questions is sent in and they choose to answer some of them. But it was a pretty fun group ... we can even plug acura-tsx.com :D

Honda sees 2004 Acura U.S. sales rising to 184,000
 

Honda sees 2004 Acura U.S. sales rising to 184,000 - - - Reuters / April 08, 2004 - - Source: Automotive News


NEW YORK -- Honda Motor Co. Ltd. expects its Acura division, its North American sales arm that posted record 2003 sales, to boost sales by more than 7 percent to 184,000 units this year as several luxury car and sports utility models take hold, an executive said on Wednesday.

"Sales have been going through the roof," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of sales for American Honda Motor Co., said at the 2004 New York International Automobile Show.

Acura is off to a good start this year after reporting as 29 percent jump in first quartrer sales. The division had record monthly U.S. sales in March with 17,310 units sold, driven by the TL sedan, the MDX sports-utility vehicle and the TSX sports sedan.

Colliver was in New York to introduce's a prototype for the 2005 model of the Acura RL luxury performance sedan, which will hit dealer showrooms this autumn. The latest version features all-wheel drive, Acura's most powerful engine ever at 300 horsepower and other new technology.

Colliver said he expects U.S. sales of the RL will reach 12,000 to 15,000 units in its first year.

"It's going to be a little more," he said. "We're going to feel our way into the (more-upscale) marketplace. We have the ability to increase production."

Isn't this just a chat about Honda and the environment?

Yeah - boring stuff like their plans for hybrid and fuel cell technology is all :D Hey man ... they will plant a tree if you join the chat ... don't spoil the party :boink: :D

We need at least one of our members to get a question answered ... rally up troops.

it the price is right on RL that's gonna be my next car :D, so long CL-S, it has been fun :cool:

It can't be half hard to sell luxury badged cars under 40k.

so who's attending?

I am gonna check it out for a bit while on a work conf call :-)

To hell with the IMA, when the Type-R models arrives for America ??? :bow: :bow: :bow: :P

:swear: I have class... Ask about a hybrid TL for me! :D

Imagine how much sales would increase if Acura introduced more AWD vehicles, and possibly RWD?!?!?

so who joined :dunno:

I was there ... it was lame ... although the mention of another car getting cylinder management this year did come up. The Accord is getting it and my bet for the other is the new Odyssey.

By the way - I hope that new Odyssey doesn't get a tranny that SUCKS. :mad: (still bitter about my wife's '03 Odyssey tranny recall :D )

Acura shatters All Time Sales Record
 

Year-to-Date Sales Up Over 20 Percent

TORRANCE, Calif., June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Acura set a new all-time single
month record, selling 18,547 vehicles and shattering the previous record of
17,285 set in March 2004 by 7.3 percent and finishing 16.8 percent ahead of
last May, the division announced today. Year-to-date, Acura sales rose to
80,556, up 20.2 percent versus 2003.
The TL performance luxury sedan and the TSX sports sedan both set new
monthly sales records. The TL was Acura's top-selling vehicle for the eighth
straight month, setting a new May record of 7,177 units, eclipsing the
existing record of 5,825 set in May 2002 and surpassing May 2003 by
52.6 percent. TL has set four consecutive monthly records and year-to-date
sales are up 44.0 percent at 32,508 units, surpassing last year by 9,931
vehicles. The TSX sports sedan also set a new all-time monthly sales record.
Up 63.6 percent compared to last year, TSX sales of 3,585 units surpassed the
previous record of 2,938 vehicles set in July 2003.
"The TL continues to set new records and along with strong sales of the
TSX and MDX, has propelled us way ahead of last year's record-setting pace,"
said Dick Colliver, executive vice president, sales. "With the economy and
consumer spending picking up during the last quarter, we should see strong
sales throughout the rest of the year."
Continued strong demand for the MDX luxury SUV helped boost monthly sales
to 4,909 with year-to-date sales of 23,967, up 4.1 percent from last year.
Additional Acura information and downloadable high-resolution images are
available at http://www.acuranews.com.


Acura Vehicle Sales For May 2004

Month-to-Date Year-to-Date

Acura Division Total 18,547 16,495 16.8% 80,556 67,010 20.2%
RSX 2,353 2,815 -13.2% 9,339 10,519 -11.2%
CL * 24 733 -96.6% 256 3,707 -93.1%
TL * 7,177 4,883 52.6% 32,508 22,577 44.0%
TSX 3,585 2,275 63.6% 11,987 4,111 191.6%
RL 467 671 -27.7% 2,391 2,956 -19.1%
NSX 32 29 14.6% 108 119 -9.2%
MDX * 4,909 5,089 0.2% 23,967 23,021 4.1%
Selling Days 26 27 128 128

* Honda and Acura vehicles are made of domestic and global sourced
parts.

** Daily Selling Rate

EDIT by domn

http://hondanews.com/media_storage/GIF/04may.gif

3585 units in May. This means that they ramped up production to a rate of around 43000 units per year. They are still somewhat rare in my neighborhood but at this rate ...

CL * 24 733 -96.6% 256 3,707 -93.1%

Umm....DUH!! :D :whyme:

Seems Acura hit the nail on the head for the TL. I knew the TSX was a seller. Any SUV sells so the MDX is a no-brainer. With the new RL coming soon, Acura is on a roll.

3585 ... That's insane :eek: So much for that 15,000 per year projection ... that marketing guy is gonna get fired :D