LuvMyTSX

Actually, Acura announced that it will be bringing out a bunch of new cars in the next couple of years, so they have had something up their sleeves for some time now, apparently.

At any rate, the showrooms around me aren't bad at all, and I've never been in a Lexus or MB showroom, so I have no comparison.

Costco

The Lexus showrooms blow away the Acura showrooms I've been around IMO.... my mom got her 3.2 TL-S at Los Gatos Acura (an area mainly known for having rich older white folks) and the dealership wasn't much different from the Honda one in the same area.

On the other hand, the Lexus dealer in Fremont and on Stevens Creek...

Magnussen Lexus (Fremont) has a huge, wide open sales floor tiled with marble all around, leading up to the receptionist booth, with a tall marble waterfall right behind it. One of the nicest dealerships I've been to. Still, we didn't get a hold of a salesperson after walking around and looking at cars from the outside for 20 mins so we just left. Making your dealership look good doesn't do squat if you don't follow it up with good service which I can't really speak for with regards to Acura as of late (haven't been to one for service in years)

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Acura of Troy and Suburban Acura in the Detroit area have decent showrooms, but McConnell Acura here in Montgomery is downright pathetic. They had no sales staff to speak of, and their showroom was barely big enough to accommodate an MDX. That's right, a single vehicle showroom.

runnerX

BMW dealerships around my area aren't that great too, but their 335i is selling like hot cakes.

Brandon24pdx

Actually my local Acura dealer is very nice...easily on par with the brand new BMW store they just built down the street from it a couple years ago.

F23A4

I have come across a number of BMW dealerships that are being remodeled so they could possibly be rennovated as well in short order.

Python2121

cars>dealership, if you build it they will come

VTEC Racer

Yes, Acura said there will be a new car released every six months for the next few years. But by new car they don't mean entirely new. It also included MMC's just like I listed earlier (FMC TL, MMC RL, MMC MDX, MMC RDX, new TSX+ new TSX trim levels.) There are 6 cars here which should fill up the 6-month release dates just perfectly until 2010 when the actual tier one models start coming out. I don't expect anything major from Acura until 2010 and neither should anyone else. Thats why the big date Acura has set for a lot of important things is 2010. Acura Japan debut, Acura Europe debut, NSX debut, possible new RL debut, showroom remodel deadline... all 2010.

And IMO, most Acura showrooms do suck. They aren't bad, but they aren't great either. Some are just awful though and should be burned down. I'm eager to check out the Mission Viejo dealer now since the remodel plus I live 10 minutes away. It was just AWFUL before.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Actually to comment about the dealers in my area Acura probably isnt doing too bad. BMW is right next door and its no better than Acura. The nicest dealer on the same road as Acura is probably the HUGE audi dealership. The Luxus dealer is also pretty big but suprizing the Mercedes dealer is just average size.

Now for the crazy part. I have heard everyone talk about service departments and everyone seems to love them. I have never heard of anyone claim about them expect for 2 people, and those 2 people both own lexus's. So a huge nice dealer doesnt always make up if you have bad service.

chill_dog

^Best dealerships, showroom-wise, in Charlotte: Hendrick Lexus on Independence, whatever the Mercedes dealership owned by Felix Sabates in Pineville is called, and Arnold Palmer Cadillac in Pineville. I hear Lake Norman Infiniti is nice, but I've never been there; haven't been to Audi's new place on Independence, either.

And while this thread is about quality of showrooms, our Acura dealer's service is on par with our Lexus dealer's, from what I can gather. Not bad company to keep. Spruce up the showroom, and there you are. Get new cars in, done.

biker

+1

swift22

i have an idea...how bout by better...they mean putting BETTER car IN the showrooms!!!

what a brainstorm.

808havok_tsx

pflueger acura probably has the worst showroom ever made. it looks like it did when it first opened! the lot is an oddly shapped triangle and there is *just* enough space for 1.5 cars to pass through. if you don't angle in/out of the driveway, you WILL scrape. the show room is cramped. the "free internet" is off of two pc's in the waiting room. servco toyota updated all their showrooms/service garages and its VERY nice. very spacious. and they have banks of internet connections available so you can plug in your own laptops while you wait. huge flat screen tv's, etc etc etc. this is my true honest opinion, but, you couldn't sell kia's at pflueger acura's current showroom. what they need to do first is move locations to a bigger lot... i think out of all the dealerships, plfueger acura is the worst showroom in hawaii IMHO. cutter mazda is a close second... i only went to the dealer because they had the car i wanted... otherwise, its not very presentable.

YeuEmMaiMai

I'd rather have better cars than better show rooms

give me a RWD coupe please :P

TSX69

Dealing in Luxury

The Internet lounge inside the new Acura of Reno dealership has Wi-Fi, a fireplace and a wide-screen television.



Forget new car smell. The latest addition to south Reno's luxury car row was still sporting a new building smell as Acura of Reno opened its new $9 million dealership Tuesday.
Advertisement

As a purveyor of Honda's luxury line, Acura of Reno competes in the same upscale market occupied by rival Japanese badges such as Toyota's Lexus and Nissan's Infiniti brands. Just to show how serious it is, Acura of Reno picked a spot right next to luxury-car heavyweight Mercedes-Benz.

"(The location) is perfect for us because when you put our car up against those cars, we are confident the Acura value will win out," said Michael Cho, president-owner of Acura of Reno. "We know the consumer will appreciate the convenience, and we look forward to the competition."

To help win out customers, Acura of Reno decided not to skimp on the options when it came to its new building. Even as staff members welcomed new customers, workers were still putting the final touches on a facility that offered plenty of amenities.

Behind the showroom, an inner lobby offered freshly baked cookies and two of the building's 11 widescreen TV's as workers installed a Starbucks coffee dispenser. Workers were also putting the finishing touches on a room that will house a complimentary on-site manicurist, with massage services also planned down the road.

One movie room had "Top Gun" playing on the screen. On the opposite side was a kids' room showing "101 Dalmatians." The dealership also has full Wi-Fi access.

The complimentary services are meant to make customers feel special while addressing some of the negative perceptions people may have about dealers, said Alex Cho, general sales manager and son of president-owner Michael Cho. The free manicure, for example, was a big hit in Ron Tonkin Acura dealerships in Portland, Ore., where Alex Cho's father used to be a general manager.

"We would actually have people schedule their oil changes around a certain manicurist so they can also get their nails done," Alex Cho said. "The customer needs to be happy and taken care of, and we want them to feel at home. We want to give them the best experience possible."

The amenities were a hit with Reno resident Mike Zeman, 62, and wife Cindy.

"It's a beautiful building," Mike Zeman said. "I'm just glad we finally have an Acura dealership in town. We own two Acuras and we've been taking them to Sacramento to keep them under warranty."

The 37,500-square-foot dealership also features a totally enclosed service department with a 17-bay service center and three-lane check-in. Total staff is close to 50 people including an 11-person sales force.

Vehicles sold in the dealership includes such Acura models as the MDX, RDX, RL, TL and TSX. The suggested manufacturer's retail prices for Acuras range from $28,000 to $53,000.

The official grand opening of the dealership, which is located in Reno's new luxury auto row on South Virginia near Bishop Manogue High School, will be held in August. Consumers don't have to wait until then to buy a car, however, and can drop by anytime to check out the new dealership, Alex Cho said.

charliemike

$9M dealerships? That is ridiculous ... It's going to take them forever to break even on those costs.

phile

It still doesn't look like a luxury dealership.

Look at the Mercedes dealership near me:

jwaters943

All I have to add to this is that our new Acura dealership is beautiful! It's easily nicer than our local Audi, Lexus and MB dealerships. The interior is stunning with quartz stacked stone, gleaming floors, fancy light fixtures, nice lighting, etc.

charliemike

Before I start my comments, I'm responding to your post but certainly not criticizing your opinion. I just disagree on the premise

I think there's some sort of a disconnect between the aesthetics of the dealership and the cars themselves.

I'm not really happy with the dealer model as it stands anyway ... Plus these new $9M uberdealers are going to obfuscate their way to higher profits to pay off the expense of building these dealerships.

I'd rather go to a clean, low-overhead dealer with a huge service department than some dealer with an ivory-towered showroom.

chill_dog

What the hell did they do to the floor? That carpet/tile job was intentional? Fail.

chill_dog

Our new Mercedes dealership.

http://www.mercedesbenzofsouthcharlo...hip-photos.htm

charliemike

I guess people in Charlotte pay sticker for everything

LuvMyTSX

Is that dealership by any chance in Bridgewater, NJ? If so, we live very close.

LuvMyTSX

Agreed, the floor looks ugly, at least in this pic.

phile

I live in Piscataway, drive past that dealership daily on my way to/from work.

LuvMyTSX

Cool....I live and work in Branchburg, about 10-15 mins west of that dealership.

biker

The informed consumer that would be a key demographic buying an Acura would want to spend as little time in the dealership as possible - cause they have already done their homework and just want to get the deal over with.

+1 on that hideous carpet.

chill_dog

We have two Mercedes dealerships, that just happens to be the new one owned by Felix Sabates. I think he has the scratch to cover it. The other one (the original one, owned by someone else) doesn't look near as nice.

Now, how we can support two dealerships is beyond me...there aren't that many Mercedes around here. Maybe they are paying sticker.

VTEC Racer

The new Acura dealership in Reno is actually very nice. There is a MB dealer right next door to it and when you compare the two, IMO the Acura dealership looks much more substantial. The MB dealership isn't old but it just looks tiny. They are also building a Porsche dealership across the street (along with a couple others but I forget those) so that block of dealerships is going to be very high-end. Reno doesn't have an Infiniti dealership yet so maybe that could be next on that block. The Lexus dealership is actually far away in the ghetto industrial-looking area of Reno. It sucks.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Everytime I drive by that dealer it still amazes me. Like I said earlier the Acura dealer isnt the best looking but the service is really good. So it could be worse but I would like to see them redesign it.

jwaters943

Agreed on the MB dealer, it's plain and noticeably smaller than the Acura dealership next door. Just an FYI, the huge dealership across from Acura is going to be for Porsche, Volvo & BMW. Walls will be shared, but each brand will have their own showroom and unique feel. Infiniti is "supposedly" going in near the new Kia & Mazda dealerships further North on South Virginia Street.

All of these pail in comparison to our new Toyota dealership which will be one of the largest Toyota dealerships on the West Coast at nearly 300k square feet. All the cars will be kept inside out of our "harsh" weather. Fancy dealerships are the newest must-have it seems.

phile

Jeez that looks like a factory!!!

Ken1997TL

The Reno dealership has a Starbucks from my understanding too.

krio

some informations about Acura in Ukraine.
This country seems to be the only one with Russia where this brand became the last few years popular...
These informations are taken from www.autocar.ua.

In 2004 there were 21 Acura's cars sold.
In 2005 - 49.
In 2006 - 67.
In 2007 - 837 (!!)
In 2008 - till august, already 1040 cars. (end of 2008 will be sth like 1500 cars)...
In the period 2006-2007 there was a growth in selling of about 1200% in a year!!
The 90% of the cars sold are the MDX ones.
5 years ago the same success had the Lexus RX...
The TL and RL are not popular at all.
The RDX a little better.
You have to consider that there are NOT official dealers in Ukraine, only
grey sellers... Then these numbers look even more stunnings.
There are however very strong points against an official dealers web in european countries for Acura:
- There was a very big growth but only the last 2 years and ONLY for ONE model: the MDX. It's difficult to imagine the launch of this luxury brand in Europe with only one good selling model...
The situation could be change this year with the introduction of the TL 3.7L ShAWD...
- There are not diesel engines at the moment.
- The Acura lineup in Europe is sold like Honda: the TSX is the european Accord and the RL is the Legend.
Only TL, RDX and MDX are compl. different...
A launch of this brand could happen not before the 2012-2014 when the Acura lineup will grow up with the new crossover and a new coupe'.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

"The Acura lineup in Europe is sold like Honda: the TSX is the european Accord and the RL is the Legend.
Only TL, RDX and MDX are compl. different..."

I think that's exactly why the RL and TSX are still not the "tier-1" models.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

untouched market...

I wonder how Honda will do, if they officially launch its brand there..

F-C

Are these new cars or used?

chill_dog

There were a couple of guys over there that bought 3G TL's; forget which countries specifically, but I think they were in eastern Europe.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

I would bring a 3G TL over there. Think about how many people would ask you about it, and how you would be the only person in the whole country to own one.

stangg172004

first infinity now acura? whats up with Ukraine?