I know lots of people complain that Honda and especially Acura are very limited on options, but after reading Autoweek, Mercedes Benz and Audi are already planning to simplify the US offering and by offering less options and packages.

I guess Honda/Acura knows what they do! I wonder who else will follow?


Mercedes-Benz article

Audi article

 

well charging extra for xenons and such in 2006 is pretty dumb for any lux brand.

 

I think Acura has it right with Nav being the only real option

 

Does BMW still put hub caps and cloth seats on their cars?

Leather + alloy wheels should be standard on anything in the luxury segment

 

I know bimmer still offers fake leather on 3-series, but not sure about hub caps.
Audi on the other hand offers cloth on a4 and a3.

 

The Canada only $36K base 320 comes with hub caps.

 

Offering cloth is ok to me since there are people who dont like leather.

Wont find many Audis with cloth though.

 

werd

 

The option a la carte system is better suited towards more mainstream nameplates, as opposed to upscale marques. (A loaded entry level 325i MSRPs at $48kk!! ) The Acura TL DEFINITELY offers the best package in its category. Even with a number of high end accessories, a loaded TL barely breaks the $41k mark (before discounts).

 

Loaded 325i offers more though. Like active steering, PDC, active cruise control, comfort access.

But I see your point. Then again i built a loaded 325i on bmwusa.com and it came out to

MSRP
$30,900
Options and accessories
$13,670
Destination charge
$695
Total price as built*
$45,265

 

I disagree...

there's a big difference between offering fewer options packages and offering NO options packages.

Acura knows what to do at the TL level by packaging everything in the car, but at the RL level, they need more options and choices, whether it be in packages or even alacarte.

Having too many (germans) is stupid, especially with overlapping packages.

having too few is stupid (Acura), especially at the RL's market segment.

lexus got it right...balancing what it offers with costs so it is not shortchanging itself OR a potential consumer.

 

Yeah, the one I built came to $47,795 (which includes the add'l charge of $475 for going with Metallic paint versus standard).

MSRP $30,900
Options and accessories $16,200
Destination charge $695
Total price as built* $47,795

 

The acura package scheme is one of the reasons I bought the car. I was considering getting a benz, but after I added the packages I wanted the price almost doubled

I was able to get my fully loaded CLS for right around the base price of the benz

 

I like the "everything standard" model used by Acura. You don't drive away in a car saying to yourself "well I could have had this," and having to look at higher trim level models of your car on the road.

And even though there's a few in my TL, it's nice to not have to look at blank switch plates where things are supposed to go.

 

If you've played on Benz's website or BMW's website they have a sh!tload of options you could add to cars to customize them. a lot of that crap was sitting in warehouses taking up space which = money tied up could be invested in other places.

 

I don't quite look at it that way.

For example, when I bought the CL-S w/ Navi, it pretty much came with everything that I could want in that price class, and the CL and TL offered most buyers mostly what they wanted, which is why the TL continues to sell well. there are some compromises when goign with a TL, but the value in this segment is more important.

But up in the $50k+ class (RL), there are many more different options/configurations that makes it difficult to "fully" equip a car without compromising something else. And buyers in this price range are less likely to want "compromise" and are more willing to sacrifice "value" for less compromise.

It's the same reason why people choose to buy their home theater components separately...so they can customize the system to their liking. It's more expensive than buying a home-theater-in-a-box from Walmart, but it makes less compromises and gives it a more "premium" feel.

 

agreed, i think that is just taking customization a little too far.

What these automakers need to realize is that there is a middle-ground. Too many options is too costly, but too few options is being too stingy.

 

I priced out a 330i with basically leather,heated seats,metallic paint,sport package. IMO most of the options offered are uneccessary and useless for my needs at least. Id rather have a mid range 330i than a fully loaded 325i.

330i
MSRP
$36,600
Options and accessories
$4,025
Destination charge
$695
Total price as built*
$41,320




And as all of you said, I agree that there needs to be a medium between very few options and a plethora of options. But in cars such as 7 Series, S Class and so on, .there needs to be a boatload of options so they can be fully tailored to the buyers needs. If they are already buying $70-90k cars, they can afford options that would be useless to most people.

 

When I was buying my TSX, a woman walked in wanting to look at the RL. After talking for a few minutes with the sales rep she stamped out of the dealership in a huge fit because Acura refused to replace the RL leather seats with CLOTH seats.

 

Another issue is actually finding the car you want if you don't order it. With so many options available its almost impossible to find the exact combo you want sitting on the dealers lot. Most buyers either get way more than they want or have to sacriface some options they would have liked to have.

 

Same reason my parents will never buy a "luxury" car. Both of my parents hate leather seats and refuse to ever buy a car with them. Personally I could care less if the seats are leather or cloth. Most of the time I actually do prefer the cloth seats in my explorer. Little maintance, After years of use most cloths seats still look new compared to leather, Even with heaters my leather seats are still cold in the winter and they are HOT in the summer.

 

You can always order a car.

Don't know about Benz or Audi, but BMW has a pretty good custom order program where you probably could get cloth seats if you wanted. Its called the Indivdual program.

 

I couldn't agree more. Let Audi and BMW squirm their way out of the problems they created for themselves.

 

i'm already annoyed at audi for not offereing manual trannies on some of their car's like the 3.2 A3 and now they're gonna offer even fewer options

 

The thing that drives me most crazy is paying extra for metallic paint. WTF?! Are they really that f'n cheap?

And I hate packages. There's always at least one thing that I don't want but HAVE to get because I can only get what I want by buying a whole package. I prefer individual options, if any. I happen to like Honda/Acura's way of everything standard except a couple minor things.

 

I thought that Acura has been the only car brand with pretty good stock options such as HID, metallic colour without xtra charge.

Again, Luxurious brand without HID is rather stupid