Ignorance of what?

 

Is there any other brand that hasn't had a coupe for the past 10 years?

 

^^^^^

Is this a trick question ?

 

No. It is just a question.

 

Mazda, Lincoln, Volvo (if you consider C70 as a convertible rather than a coupe)?

 

Mazda: MX5, RX8

Lincoln: their target group is 60 years old+

Volve: C70 Coupe and C30

At least they all have "something".

 

I think MX5 is a convertible? RX-8 has 4 doors?

Lincoln: well, your original question didn't specify target group....

Volvo: that's what I was saying, do you consider C70 as a coupe or convertible? It has a retractable hard top as standard equipment. I call it a convertible, I guess you consider that a coupe then? I mean Volvo will call it a coupe + convertible in one. Isn't C30 a hatchback?

Are we going with manufacturer's definition here, or traditional definition? Is RSX a coupe then, if C30 is considered a coupe? How about ZDX? It's marketed as a crossover coupe....does that count as a coupe?

 

RX8 is categorized as coupe even though it technically has 4 doors. No way you can call it a sedan.

My point is Acura is the only brand who hasn't offered anything that even looks like a coupe. (2 doors, 1 on each side) While all other Manuf. offer some kind of "coupe" whether in traditional coupe form, convertible or hatchback.
ZDX is not a coupe.

 

lol, I seriously just took that as a question when you asked, "Is there any other brand that hasn't had a coupe for the past 10 years?"

I didn't think that was related to Acura since based on your definition, a coupe = 2 doors, 1 on each side. In that case, RSX is a coupe. Last year of production was 2006. 2006 was not exactly 10 years ago.

 

Everything i say is related to Acura bashing.

 

Interesting.

 

Honda April Sales Up on CR-V Monthly Sales Record; All-New RLX Flagship Sedan Bolsters Acura Sales Gain

American Honda today reported April 2013 U.S. sales of 130,999 units, an increase of 7.4 percent compared with April 2012 (up 3.1 percent based on the Daily Selling Rate, or DSR*). The Honda brand posted April 2013 sales of 117,100 units, an increase of 6.6 percent compared with April 2012. Acura U.S. April sales of 13,899 units increased 14.2 percent compared with April 2012.

Honda

Award-winning CR-V sets all-time April sales record, up 12.2 percent in to 26,519 units, breaking the record set in April 2012
Hot-selling Accord continues its retail sales strength, topping 33,500 units with year-to-date sales up over 26 percent
Sales for ultra-functional and efficient Fit up 33.9 percent for April

"The April sales record for the CR-V exemplifies the incredible retail sales success of Honda’s core models," said John Mendel, executive vice president of Sales at American Honda. "The Accord and Civic also continue to resonate, 1 customer at a time, with overall year-to-date sales well ahead of last year."

Acura

Sales of the all-new luxury flagship RLX sedan strong with 400 units in its 1st full month, as dealer inventory builds
RDX sets its 12th-consecutive monthly sales record, up 106.0 percent from last April, and is the top-selling Acura model in April with sales of 4,088 units
Acura sets an April truck sales record, with total Acura year-to-date sales up over 13 percent

"With a full year of record sales growth, the RDX is a resounding success," said Jeff Conrad, vice president and general manager of Acura Sales. "Continued record-breaking sales of the RDX is laying a solid foundation for the new RLX and MDX Acura models launching this year."

*The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 25 days for April 2013 and 24 days for April 2012. Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 101 days for 2013 and 101 days for 2012. All other percentages in release are unadjusted; see table for adjusted DSR figures.

 

Fit EV is "selling" well. Even the FCX doubled sales over last year.

 

WOW...ZDX sales went down the hole. RDX saved Acura in April.

 

Unlike the Crossturd, I don't see the ZDX making an encore.

 

When was it ever out of the hole?

Looks like the Accord is the best selling mid size in the country for April.

 

So when does Honda kill the Insight?

 

Fixed.

 

Accord - 33,538
Camry - 31,710
Fusion - 26,722
Altima - 21,991
Malibu - 21,734
Sonata - 16,077
Optima - 14,678
Jetta - 13,078
Mazda 6 - 2933

 

So at this rate, Acura will sell as many RLX's in one years time as Lincoln did in one month selling the MKZ

http://www.leftlanenews.com/lincoln-...-in-april.html

 

They also have a $13,000 difference in starting MSRP. Would you make the same comparison between Accord and 3-series sales?

 

It's more of a comparison of MFG.

We're talking Lincoln.......Lincoln.....they can't sell

...and yet they break records with the MKZ.


Meanwhile Acura sales of its flagship are.........?


It's not about comparing two models directly to each other....you miss the point.

It's about what you design and sell to the car buying public.

Lincoln does not have a "badge" like BMW & Merc.....yet they delivered and sold on a grand scale with their new MKZ

Acura does not have a "badge" either, but their flagship appears to be a dud.

 

They broke their own record. Congratulations to them. It was such a big deal to them that they made a press release about it and news outlets are even reporting on it. How it has anything to do with a car that is $13,000+ more expensive is beyond me. When was the last time you saw any other brand in this category create a press release for selling a certain amount of their cheapest model? That would be like Acura making a big deal for selling 4,000+ RDX's in a press release separate from their traditional end of month sales report.

Maybe if you tried comparing record sales of competing models (i.e. MXZ vs. TL) then you wouldn't look so desperate.

So according to you, it's not about comparing two models that compete directly with each other, and it's about one brand delivering and selling on a grand scale. So I guess the Accord vs. 3-Series comparison is valid according to your terms.

 

It's not my fault you are an apologist, and you do not understand the comparison of model debuts, and that it's not a direct car class comparo.

Lincoln who could not sell ...stumbles out of the gate with the debut of their new MKZ model....and yet it sells in one month what Acura might sell of their best flagship model.

It goes to show if you build something of substance & presence that the car buying public likes, it will sell in droves.


FWIW...BMW 5 series easily sells 4-5k a month...same for the Merc E class.
Why does the RLX sell only 400?

 

^ to be fair - it was never supposed to sell like the 5 and E. It was supposed to maybe catch the M, GS and A6. When (not if) it doesn't do that, then we can call it a flop.

 

Acura's New Ad Agency Targets Buyers from Rivals

Alex Leikikh, the son of Russian immigrants to Minnesota, had key posts at agencies Leo Burnett and Fallon -- working at Fallon on the BMW account -- before being named president of Mullen's headquarters office in Boston.

This year, his team made an emotion-filled pitch to win the Acura business. Leikikh (LAY'-kee), 40, spoke with Staff Reporter Mark Rechtin about life with the new client.

Q: What won the Acura account for you?

A: We wanted to find a way to show the synergy of man and machine that is a driving force within Acura engineering and design, but in a fresh way and with some emotion to it.

What was the "wandering road" theme to your pitch?

The wandering road theme came in respect to Acura's sales for the past 10 years. We were asking to see if we could stop this wandering road of sales ebbs and flows. The product pipeline is coming with great, advanced, high-tech luxurious products that deserve really strong communications support. We should see hockey stick growth.

American Honda also had the Honda brand under review. Did you have a shot at winning the Honda account as well?

We clearly got the sense that both were in play. Somewhere along the way, one of the other agencies asked whether they could pitch just one brand or the other, and Honda's answer was, "No, pitch both." When we did the chemistry-credentials sessions, we had separate conference rooms for Honda and for Acura, with separate teams. We treated them very differently. We obviously swung for both.

What are Acura's strengths?

Wow, this takes me back to Leo Burnett days. I would say great quality, precisely built products, high-tech innovation, luxurious products. People don't know enough about how luxurious they are. Acuras are efficient, really advanced machines. There's a strong product pipeline.

Weaknesses?

Inconsistent marketing. The product is greater than the marketing created to support it.

Opportunities?

To attract people from conquest brands to consider Acura. Right now, Acura does a lot of business trading up from Accord or Pilot. But there is an opportunity in going after BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Infiniti.

Threats?

Aggressive, smart targeting and spending on the part of the competition. They have a lot of great products. We have to fight for every eyeball and lean on creativity. We have to embrace the concept of creativity as an economic multiplier.

Is Acura a luxury or a premium brand?

Everyone at Acura believes it's luxury. It just hasn't been pitched that way. It's not so much about performance characteristics. If you look at the kind of people we're trying to attract, it's more about substance than showmanship. If you think about what our competitors are creating, they are creating machines for driving or for status and prestige based on the badge, while some are striving for perfection. We are trying to attract intellectual, grounded, normal people. They don't define themselves by the badge in the driveway. They have more substance than that.

Why hasn't Acura caught on?

You have to give people an emotional trigger or a reason to consider this thing. You have to have a love factor with these vehicles. We have to create a company that society wants to exist. We are going to pull an emotional trigger with the MDX in June and see it evolve over the course of time.

But most Acura buyers come from Honda, Toyota and Nissan, not from other luxury brands. How do you get that conquest buyer?

The good news is that there are a lot of Honda consumers who understand the value the Acura brand provides that will step up into an Acura. But we really need to elevate the luxuriousness and prestige factor to get people who drive Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus to take a look at Acura. The new MDX is an awesome, luxurious, high-tech machine. If you are looking at a Q5 or X5, you are crazy not to look at an MDX.

Whose automotive ad work do you admire?

There isn't a lot of really amazing automotive work right now. I thought the prom spot for Audi was interesting. I admire what they are doing from an advertising perspective in using works like "bravery." I think that's a good word for them. I thought [Toyota's] "swagger wagon" campaign [for the Sienna] was a bold way to talk about a minivan.

I wish we would see more of the BMW Films type of work. It's still the standard for auto advertising and marketing.

There are so many creative minds and financial resources available. I want to see that era of marketing come back to the automotive space.

 

Yeap, 5 & 6 spd automatics, No LED DRLs, and technology in Honda products you can't get in an Acura, yeap that sure is high-tech innovation, lol.

 

Looks like Acura remains the official car of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the TV show:

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Trailer 1 (Official) - YouTube

 

^ Honda needs to also insert the HondaJet in there somewhere.

 

^^^^^

and the ASIMO robot too.

According to Honda, the ASIMO is the world's most advanced humanoid robot.

 

Well according to the avg near luxury buyer, they don't give a shit.

 

Acura Eyes Emerging Markets

Honda's Acura Division has mostly been a North American entity during its 28 years of existence, but Honda plans to take its upscale brand onto the global stage.

Honda has announced plans to introduce Acura in Russia and the Ukraine in 2014 and move into Brazil and the Middle East in 2015. There is now a fledgling Acura sales operation in China that Honda aims to expand.

Still, the ambitions for Acura are more modest than Nissan's global aspirations for Infiniti. Nissan Motor CEO Carlos Ghosn expects Infiniti sales to grow from 170,000 to 500,000 by 2017.

In 2012, Honda sold about 176,000 Acura vehicles globally, with the United States accounting for 156,216 and Canada 17,154. The remaining few were sold in China and Mexico.

"Little by little, we have taken a bigger global footprint," Jeff Conrad, Acura's U.S. general manager, said at the introduction of the MDX cross-over here. "Our plans are not grandiose in scale, but they are rolling out."

Conrad declined to give a global volume estimate, but Honda Motor executives have said they want Acura's U.S. volumes to climb to 200,000 sales in the near term.

In markets such as Russia and China, larger vehicles such as the MDX, TL and RLX are expected to perform well. The MDX has been a gray-market favorite in Russia for several years.

One thing to be decided is how Acura products will be badged in markets where the brand is not present -- notably in the case of the NSX, which arrives in late 2014. The 1st-generation NSX was badged a Honda outside of the United States.

"That the NSX is being developed and built in America as an Acura product is a statement of how significant Acura is for American Honda and for Honda overall," said Honda spokesman Sage Marie. "Global distribution of the NSX will happen from here."

For now, Acura does not plan to expand into Western Europe, mostly because of Europe's continuing economic doldrums, Conrad said.

Moving Acura into Eastern Europe, South America and the Middle East may be the best next step, said TrueCar analyst Jesse Toprak. The newly wealthy in those emerging countries may aspire to newer luxury brands. "New unknown brands can become a status symbol in those markets," he said. "No one has an Acura in Istanbul."

 

^ when was this written, because Honda has been saying this for at least a year.

 

Award-Winning Accord and Record-Setting Light Truck Sales Fuel Hot Honda May;
Acura RDX Sets All-Time Monthly Sales Record

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported May 2013 U.S. sales of 140,013 units, a total increase of 4.5% compared with May 2012 (up 4.5% based on the Daily Selling Rate, or DSR*). The Honda brand posted May 2013 sales of 125,649 units, an increase of 5.2% compared with May 2012. Acura brand U.S. May sales of 14,364 units decreased 1.5% compared with May 2012.

Honda

Honda light trucks post a May sales record led by record sales of CR-V (up 8.4%) and strong gains by Pilot (up 11.3%) and Odyssey (up 15.0%)
Critically acclaimed Honda Accord maintains incredible sales momentum, up 11.7% with 33,218 units; Honda Fit posts a double-digit sales gain, up 20.3% on sales of 4,667
Honda Civic continues strong retail sales with 30,268 units in May

"Looks like American families are preparing for summer road trips as our family-friendly light truck lineup posted the best May sales in Honda history," said John Mendel, executive vice president of Sales at American Honda. "Virtually every Honda vehicle we sold in May represents a purchase by an individual customer, which means Accord, Civic, CR-V and Odyssey will maintain their industry-leading retail sales performance in 2013."

Acura

RDX sets an all-time monthly sales record and its 13th consecutive monthly sales record, up 49.3% from last May; is the top-selling Acura model in May with sales of 4,930 units
The all-new luxury flagship RLX sedan, which went on sale in March, continues to gain momentum with sales of 273 units

"With the RDX setting its 13th consecutive monthly sales record we are very excited to be introducing the all-new 2014 MDX in a few weeks, which will once again give Acura hands down the best luxury light-truck lineup in America," said Jeff Conrad, vice president and general manager of Acura Sales.

*The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 26 days for May 2013 and 26 days for May 2012. Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 127 days for 2013 and 127 days for 2012. All other percentages in release are unadjusted; see table for adjusted DSR figures.

 

 

For me that is screaming for a lower base price. Starting at $50k means people won't even look at it, let alone considering or buying it.

 

The numbers for Acura look pretty dismal to me...

 

273 units? Ready for big big discounts!

 

RLX sales:

Feb '13 - 16
Mar '13 - 336
Apr '13 - 400
May '13 - 273

30% drop is considered gaining momentum? I'll have to remember that.

May '13 DSR was 26 days. Apr '13 DSR was 25 days.

 

that initial "novelty" push sure didn't last