So I guess the bottom line is that if Acura want to be a recognized upscale luxury auto brand, it has to completely revamp its model lineup and marketing strategy, and to develop engine with eight or more cylinders as well as more car platforms (especially RWD). Not an easy task to be accomplish in less than 5-10 years.

But not to worry, Acura is already very successful as reflected by the annual sales figures. But it just doesn't has the luxury brand recognition as BMW, Mercedes, Lexus.

 

 

Just remember styling is everything and so far Acura hasn't been up to par with any ooh and ah car designs recently, except for the TL that scream originality and uniqueness.

 

 

^^^rt-clik, 'save as'

 

...and with that, there is no need for this thread to go further.

 

Acura does it to save money. I'm sure the fact that each model comes with only one engine also lets Acura price it lower than the competition. Less choice, but if the one model is what you want, you get a good deal.

 

Most Acura models are priced lower than the competition, except the RL. The RL price is not competitive at all. As a matter of fact, if it was Cdn$5K cheaper, I would have bought it instead of an 3.2 A6 for my wife last year. You just can't jack up the price of a flagship model and think the brand name will go upscale automatically. Take a good look at the VW Phaeton. It tried to do the same and flopped big time.

 

Unfortunately I lost an interest in Acura due to lack of performance vehicles and lousy autotragic V6 transmissions since '98. Interior won't buy me back plus Infiniti/Lexus/BMW are coming with announced great and powerful upgrades including awesome interior.

 

Well that is the only weakness in Acura with their torqueless engines compared to Infiniti/Lexus/BMW. But, their value and interiors can't be beat.

 

It's more then THAT. NO torque, NO solid auto transmission, NO RWD.

 

when you said awesome interior, you were talking about lexus obviously right? cuz bmws have horrible interiors. they are so plain and boring. wait, you contradicted yourself. interiors won't buy you back, so why care about infiniti/lexus/bmw interiors?

 

a6 doesn't have RWD

 

one of the reasons my 3.0 cl is just SO slow is the tranny. 4 gears? A lexus is250 doesn't have any more power but is substantially faster because of its extra gears.

 

ur 3.0 cl is old. is250 is new. back then most cars had 4 gears

 

but, but...

 

Since when BMW has horrible interiors?

I was talking more about Infiniti with nothing special except M35/M45 interior. However, performance and handling become a top priority for me yet Infiniti is finally coming with great interior upgrades especially seen in concept G coupe. It won't be exactly match but definitely a huge step towards improvement. So, Infiniti performance - check, handling - check, interior - soon. Acura on the otherhand has nothing to offer but nice interior . Get it?

 

In continued development of Acura’s own identity, parent company Honda Motor Corp. has announced it is splitting the two brands' research and development teams.

Both teams currently work loosely in three separate technical centers in Japan. But starting at the beginning of April, there will be five new teams specialized in airplane engines, automotive, basic technology, motorcycles, and power products.

The news comes on the heels of January's announcement that Acura will receive a new California design studio.

Source: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...024/LATESTNEWS

 

I hope this turns out well. I'm excited about this.

 

This is long overdue!!!

It took Acura 20 years to figure this out?? j/k

They should've done this back in the 90s and I bet the luxury image of Acura now would be at the same level as Lexus

 

does that mean they will get rid of the RSX-S, TL, MDX, CSX and TSX???

i mean those are all hondas

 

I was hpoing you fell down a big hole and couldn't find your way back out.

And don't forget the RL, its a Honda too.

 

but i'm serious..the entire lineup is honda with some rebadging right now. are they gonna axe all current stuff and replace with acura stuff or what.

or is the design studio gonna get honda stuff and design aroudn that

 

I hope it's all new stuff. That's be years before the whole line-up is "Acura."

 

I'm sure they'll still all be based off the same platform but with acura maybe getting SH-AWD and its own distinct styling.

They still have costs to worry about.

 

So GM is bringing together R&D while Honda is splitting its R&D?

 

The MDX and TL are not Hondas, moron. The MDX was eventually sold in Japan under the Honda brand but was originally developed to be a purely North American vehicle. The TL is also a distinct vehicle and is currently only built in the US.

Get your facts straight.

 

That's what I was gonna say.

 

I have a feeling gilboman is going to start another heated discussion soon.

 

Maybe it is time to design new RWD platform..

 

R&D separated is not a good thing. Separating design teams is a good thing.

 

 

yeah, new RWD platform. Not to mention transmission, engine, etc.

There was a video in one of these threads that showed Honda's typical philosphy of taking an existing technology and making it better. They had direct injection that shot fuel directly from the top (instead of from an angle, like other direct injection systems) so no fuel is actually wasted (supposedly when shot from an angle, you lose about 10-20%), and in turn it's more efficient than other d.i. systems.

 

ehh.... Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, etc... all marketing

they're still from the same company and the styling cues, platform design and engines are still shared...

Toyota/Lexus said they did the split of designer teams and whatever back when the Lexus brand was introduced in Japan... but I still see quite a few similarities between the new Camry to the IS, GS, and upcoming ES... not to mention the shared 3.5L engine...

but I guess as long as the avg consumer 'buy' the idea of a more luxury brand just because they charge more for the higher models in their overall lineup and brand it as a luxury brand, it's all good for the automakers.

However, whether Honda wants to take the step and develop some new platforms and engines more suitable for their luxury cars, is a whole different story... It IS a good chance to do so if they were going to do the split, the resulting designs would be more recognized.

Personally I don't care about the brand as much as how the car itself is built...the characteristics of the car itself is far more important

 

kind of like how they took the v8 that other manufacturer's had, and made it soooo much better that they ended up with ASIMO?

 

You laugh now, but wait until you're old and senile and the ASIMO is cleaning up your business for you...

 

"I remember a time when you were just a wee little chap and your grandma was an s2000. Boy, she was a good ride!"

 

Am I missing something - this says that the automotive section will be split from the other sections not that Honda will be split from Acura.

They must be getting serious about the plane business if it's going to have its own section.

 

That's good. If there's sepperate technical centers for airplane engines, automotive, etc., they can be more focussed on each product.

 

I'm not sure what this means if anything, I don't think they really need to be seperated to understand that the cars for each brand should be unique. The only real issue is the platform-rwd.