crisco

The February Honda/Acura NA sales are posted on Honda's news site. The TL is beginning to level off in terms of sales, actually falling >5% since last Feb. However, the TSX sales continue to increase in terms of % >25% from last year (no doubt limited to prodn units last year, but not this year). The RL perhaps has stolen some of the TL's sales...
Another explanation is that the TSX is continuing to build its reputation as one of the best bangs for the buck out there

Slip-Stream

You mean best bang for the buck luxury wise right?

-eric

crisco

yes, a taste of luxury, sport and affordable price

ABP-CL9-TSX

ppl finally realize TL's aren't as well built or as nice as the TSX, but look at Honda passenger car sales. Accord and Civic sales have plummeted.

BonzoAPD

Could also be that everyone and their mother has a new TL already

ABP-CL9-TSX

that could be the case too.

sleeper

i think honda/acura marketing sucks! i average about 5 hours of tv a day and i hardly ever see any ads. most of them aren't great or memorable either. on the other hand, there's a ford or chevy commercial every 5 minutes. vw and toyota/lexus have quite a few as well.

IneedaTSX

I love all Honda's, Acura's. I could have bought a TL, but I felt the TSX was more my style and a better balanced car, so thats why I got it. What I do hate are TL owners thinking they they are superior over the TSX and that we bought the "Cheap Acura" lol.

xizor

seriously has a Ford commercial ever made you want to buy one?

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

If you think you can do better, contact them at http://www.rpa.com.

Montag

The Civic is in its last year before a redesign for so I guess it's normal for sales to decline as the car ages. But the Accord is off 11.5% YTD from last year. That can't make Honda too happy. I wonder if they'll rethink the recent $200 price increase. Doubt it.

jeffreytchui

But the accord is so ugly......red on red taillights? Blah.

mg7726

next time you see those people, tell 'em to take the tight corners

TinkyWinky

Yes, particularly compared to those of bmw/mb/infiniti. Acura needs to focus on one or two selling points, instead of filming a stupid-ass bitch in a van chasing a dumb-ass pussy (TSX).

FIVE HOURS? Damn, that's a lotta TV. I hope this includes your time on azine.

phirenze

I have to disagree. Honda is the only budget car company whose ads don't act as if their target audience is a bunch of idiots. I really appreciate this philosophy and it undoubtedly influences me to purchase honda vehicles.

RMATIC09

the new cadilac comercials though...

lamster

I actually think this year's red-on-red tail-lights look much better than the white-on-red tail-lights that were on last year. Red-on-red tail-lights contrast with the white square reverse lights and take away some of the ugliness of the funny-looking rear.

I wish the Accord Sedan can get the coupe's rear. That'd be awesome.

Viscum48

TL (previous generation) with transmission problems was designed and built in the US. This generation TL is designed and built here too.
American Accord is made in ...

There are Champagne houses making sparkling wines in Napa, but they even do not try to pretend that they are making champagne there.

iamhomin

Why even compare the TL and the TSX? If anything, the TL sales has dropped due to its "class" competitors. Anyways, it's hard to draw conclusions by every 12 month statistics, since there are so many things to factor.

Also, with rmatic. The Cadillac commercials are the way to go.

nagidizy

Acura commercials, long ago when they first came out, were about as off-putting as was possible for my tastes: a really dorky stuffy snobby-ass announcer reading pretentious ad copy. Simultaneously boring andaggravating in a trying-too-hard-to-be-posh sense. Things have improved nowadays, but they could take a hint from Caddy and emphasize more "excitement". Caddy doesn't try to bang the "upper crust" drum too much either. Compare that with the absolutely dreadful early Infiniti commercials. Omigod. Even Caddy pulled a few stinkers a few years ago: remember "the Caddy that zigs"? Har. What dogmeat.

Honda commercials certainly don't cater to the mouth-breather set, but then, neither do the cars. But IMHO, they miss the mark. I have never, ever, seen a Honda ad that made me want to go out and try a test drive, much less buy one. It seems they're trying to be a little bit "hip" but it comes off kinda lame. I did think the one where they flashed pictures of different "owners" paired with similar looking vehicles was well done.

Can't remember ever seeing a TSX ad, though. Doesn't matter, I don't buy a car based on a fookin' commercial.

sleeper

the caddy commercials are so much better.


no. they don't appeal to me, but it doesn't mean they don't appeal to other people. ford does a lot of local/regional ads. and they're really heavy on the truck lineup, for obvious reasons. i'm surprised that we don't see more mustang ads, but i guess it sells itself.


not a bad idea, but they'd probably turn me away seeing as how i'm not a married 35 year-old. sad thing is, i wrote this, then found this link.
http://www.hondanews.com/CatID3039?m...53713&mime=asc


sadly, it doesn't include all my time on a-tsx, just some.


we're not a bunch of idiots and the ads don't treat us like we are. but at the same time, where's the passion, innovation, design, and accolades? i know we've discussed this before, but i still don't see acura's marketing which sends the message that acuras are just as good, if not better than other import brands. also, acuras and some hondas are hardly cars for those on a tight budget.


the average honda/acura commercial doesn't make the average buyer want to jump out of their seat and go to a dealership to test drive a car. with all the great things that honda/acura has to offer, they should be showing them off a little. i'm not saying that the ads should go overboard, but there's nothing there that makes me want to look at an acura instead of a bmw, mb, etc.

the rl is the only campaign i think that's out there which is consistently aired, which is a decent one. i recently saw a ridgeline commercial, but it really doesn't make me want to go out and take a look at one. however, i will only because i love honda/acura and i'm curious about what it has to offer.

when the rdx comes out, i wonder how they're going to market that. i hope they don't just show it being driven on a loosely-winding road with some soft classical music in the background which shows only the exterior of the car.

AlterZgo

Whoa. As an owner of a Honda Pilot, I'd have to say ALL of the Honda Pilot commercials are plain stupid. Like the one where the husband was raised by wild dogs? WTF is that all about? It was so lame, it made me want to SELL my Pilot.

biker

The TL sales slump might have to do with the redesign of the G35. Sales of the sedan are up quite a bit. Also, lots end of the model run deals on 3 series BMWs. Things might get even worse once the new 3 series and new Lexus IS comes out.

jeffreytchui

yea whats up with the stupid commercial about the cars that are supposed to be dogs? And the CRV is supposed to be a dog in a dog show!WTF!?!?!

H O N D A USA

Speaking about successful sales and cars, I HAVE NEVER SEEN A G35 COUPE COMMERCIAL EVER, but i`m seeing them more than civics on the streets of LA nowadays! CRAZY.....

Karl O.

The TL sales drop was all of 500 cars from last year, when the TL was still pretty new and dealers had waiting lists for the cars. Considering the TL was the #2 seller in its class last year, I think it's doing OK. Look at BMW, sales of individual models were down about 20% across the board- if it weren't for the intro of the X3 and BMW's subsidized lease deals their sales would be in the tank.

In general, car sales are down right now- mid-sized SUVs are hot, but big SUV sales are down as well. H2s, Tahoes, Expeditions, etc., dealers can't give those things away.

sleeper

there's a pretty decent g35 sedan commercial that's been out for a short while; it's hardly shown, though. it shows a silver g35 sedan in slow-mo making a high-speed turn where the rear wheels are starting to loose a little traction. rwd....

vger105

It looks to me like two different people designed the car; one from the C pillar forward and one from the C pillar rearward. The person who designed the rear, as well as those who approved the design, should be forced to drive Pontiac Aztecs, with yellow ''Baby on Board" diamonds in the rear windows!
There is a total absence of design integration and balance.
Just my 3 cents (adjusted for inflation)

ClutchPerformer

Am I the only one who got this?!

Post of the month!

avenutolo

Um .... Remember that cool as hell T-Bird commercial with Frank Sinatra a few years back. Way cool. He was talking to the new 'bird from one of his old movies.

I think they did a similar one with Steve Mcqueen and the Stang.

There ARE some cool ones out there. But I agree, the Acura commercials should be a bit more aggressive.

The coolest Acura commercial I remember was the one where the guy was driving from San Fran to L.A. to see his chick... I think it was for the CL coupe.

crisco

the other thing about the TSX commercials is, I find they rarely photograph the car from an angle at which it looks best - say, from head-on and elevated. Instead, they always try to picture it from a low vantage point, on an offset angle - not very flattering for our car IMO. They need NeoChaser to start working with them on these!!

crisco

I got it

sauceman

Yeah, me too..

TSXReefer

I agree with Biker:

I was very happy to find a car, my TSX, that made me as happy/more happy/more fun to drive as cars similarly equiped that cost 8-10K more.

But with the improvment of the G-35 interior and the A-4 (in new in March), and if I were to spend ~35k on a car these two would definitly be in contention, not the TL. (the new A-4 quattro with radio upgrade, 200 HP and 6 speed, xenon, sun roof, leather and 17" will easily stiicker at 34K, probably more, with the 255Hp V-6 it will be about 38K.) Speak8ing of the new Lexus, I think the AWD version will kick the V-6 A-4 in the butt, big time!

When you get that much horse power, going to rear or all wheel drive is pretty important IMHO. For me the TL has to much HP for front wheel drive and does not interest me in the slightest.

I just traded out of a twin turbo 6 six 2001 A-6 quattro (0-60 5.9, RT). We still have an A-6 Avant quattro for snow days. Having said all that, so far the TSX has been far less a PITA than any of the 6 quattros and one 535 that we have owned. I think I am finished with German cars.

MemRheins

Steve McQueen Mustang Commerical?


But Honda's Advertising for the TSX especially hasnt been too great, they did it for a while the first summer, then kinda tapered off...and never really came back w/ anything good

TSX69

Anemic Sales off by 1.9%
By Sharon Silke Carty, USA TODAY
DETROIT — This is quite a hangover.

Two months since automakers whooped it up with end-of-the-year promotions that pushed 2004 sales to 16.9 million, 2005 sales are slogging along. Overall February sales were down 1.9% from a year ago for a 16.3 million annual rate, according to Autodata.

And again, big losers were the Big 2, General Motors (GM), down 12.7%, and Ford Motor (F), down 3.0%.

FEBRUARY AUTO SALES
Sales Chg. from 2004
General Motors
305,550
-12.7%

Ford Motor
253,282
-3.0%

DaimlerChrysler
199,191
5.5%

Toyota Motor
163,059
11.1%

Honda
98,130
-7.2%

Nissan
82,412
10.1%

Hyundai
33,940
19.0%

BMW
21,516
9.8%

Mazda
20,806
2.0%

Kia
20,454
10.1%

Volkswagen
18,990
-4.9%
Source: Autodata

U.S. market share for GM, the world's largest automaker, dropped to a historic low of 24.2%. Its previous low share was 24.7% in November.

Still, GM officials say sales weren't too far off expectations. "We knew going into the year, it was going to be a challenging year," said Paul Ballew, executive director of market and industry analysis.

GM trimmed its first-quarter production schedule by 45,000 vehicles. It now plans to make 1.18 million cars and trucks in the quarter, down from last year's 1.35 million. Ford said it was cutting production by 10,000 vehicles, the second time it has tweaked production for the first quarter.

Honda, with an aging product lineup, also was dogged by slow sales, off 7.2% compared with last February's.

"It's the same old story — if it's new, it sells. If it's not new, it doesn't," said Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research. "And if you put a ton of incentives on it, there's no guarantee it's going to move."

But there were winners in February, including DaimlerChrysler's (DCX) Chrysler Group. Led by the Chrysler brand, sales were up 7.5%, the 11th-consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

Overall, DaimlerChrysler sales were up 5.5%, because Mercedes-Benz sales were down 16%.

Nissan's (NSANY) new Pathfinder and Xterra SUVs helped it post its best February, with sales up 10.1%. Jed Connelly, vice president of sales and marketing for North America, said Nissan has tried to price its vehicles close to what buyers will end up paying, allowing the company to rely less on incentives.

Toyota (TM) also had its best February, with sales up 11.1%. Jim Press, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said high gas prices are affecting consumer attitudes, and Toyota's fuel-efficient vehicles "catch the public eye."

Pete Langlois, strategic analyst for the Ernst & Young Global Automotive Center, said potential buyers may be deterred by rising interest rates. "Consumers feel they can always get a good rebate, but they might be delaying their purchases in hopes of a good interest-rate environment," he said.

David Healy, an analyst with Burnham Securities, said: "Terrific sales in December depressed January sales, and it looks like that kept a lid on February sales as well. I think March is probably going to start to show some improvement as the hangover wears off."

MemRheins

oh and not to mention the new Chevy Commericals, the Boys Dream Corvette Commerical was amazing.... Damn hippy Liberals