hondamore

Ok, I'll guess 577.
(Just kidding - bad Price is Right humour)

neuronbob

Good one. Of course, we are just aging ourselves by understanding the reference.

weather

^^ Thanks for taking me back to memory lane.

getakey

I've been monitoring a few dealers in my area (there are 11 ) via web site inventory. My closest dealer had 5 at one point with the first delivery after the 2 demo cars, but now down to 1. Been at 1 for 2 weeks. Other Dealers have been refreshed more than once. I'm now wondering if they just have not updated their web site

TSX69

This seems about right. Inventory showed ~500 for most of April. There are ~1,000 now so if numbers are not up for May I would worry.

silver3.5

Darn, I over bid! Seriously, I was expecting a higher number than 400. But 400?

KeithL

Ok Johnny, let's see what they won....

Looks like everyone was over, I think my 500 +/- was closet, and I am sad that I was over. And personally the $70K SH-SH-AWD is not going to help those numbers. I still think they have yet to hit initial stride, but with all the ads popping up they don;t have much time. I say if they stay at this level fro another 2 months the car is a dud. It's closest rival the M sold over 1000 cars a month for the first year peaking at close to 1700 cars in December 2010.

The good news is maybe Invoice sales price on Advance is not that far off :-)

Edward'TLS

Don't worry. Let's be patience, til the initial supply bottleneck has subsided.

Then we can see a much clearer picture.

KeithL

I'll make my May guess now. Max 600-650, but sadly think it will be around 500.

jhr3uva90

Should we compare RLX sales in April 2013 to Infiniti M sales in April 2013 or to M sales in December 2010? For all we know, there may have been some different factors affecting sales back then vs. now.

KeithL

True, but the M sold over 1000 a month in 2010, not the best of times in the economy. And actually until the last few months it has sold decently. The Lexus GS almost a year old is selling over 1000 a month. My point is Acura has an uphill battle. If I saw no inventory out there I might say demand is exceeding supply. Let's hope word gets out and people start buying.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

my dealer sold 3 RLXs this week alone. they had 17 over the weekend. by today they had 14.

neuronbob

400 is pretty respectible compared to the outgoing RL's sales numbers. I think Acura will take it.

noobie

Holy crap was I ever off. Way to optimistic. Maybe secretly hoping they could push over 1000 with the launch hype. When the supply chain catches up, maybe they will sell more, but reports of early discounting with limited inventory are not good.

I really hope this does better than the last gen, but it's off to a bad start. Too bad since a lot of the tech finds its way down the range.

Since Honda expects SH SH AWD to only be 10% of sales, the sports version will not likely be the savior.

Love to be a fly on the wall in the board room reviewing sales figures.......

noobie

Bob, I think a more relevant comparison would be launch sales of the old RL and less so the final numbers for a stale model.

Also launch numbers for vehicles that Acura intends to compete with in the class would be a good comparison. Anyone know what first month GS sales were. I'm guessing they were in the thousands?

KeithL

Looks like first few months the current GS sold over 2000 units then ran around 1500+ each month the rest of last year and tapered off to around 1200 a month this year. That's around double what the M did in it respective age of the current M.


http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html


So one could argue Acura is playing conservative in supply, which for them seems to be good since they are not being bought faster then they supply.

Edward'TLS

Has Acura reveal any info about projected sales for the RLX sedan ?

Rocket_man

Sales trends for these cars tend to start near their max levels and then trail off over time. Outside a full model change or MMC, it is not realistic to expect sales to double from one month to the next. That is not seen in any of its competitors. Sure they fluctuate up/dn but the long term trend is downward.

The M only sold 388 this month but that could be due to some potential buyers waiting for the Q50.

If this is a full month of sales, it barely outsold the first partial month of sales. Sure there may not be a full supply of trims and colors but it doesn't seem realistic this number will double much less triple in the future.

I want Acura to sell these cars but they just can't seem to get the formula right between styling, value, etc... it is a tough thing to figure out. It defies the scientific process.

KeithL

But the M is also 38 months into the current gen and sold well over 1000 copies a month the fist year.

Also explains why Infiniti keep calling me to get into a new M, so far they are discounting a new M $6800 so they have my full attention. If they could find a config I want I would probably do another M right now. After driving an RLX for 45 minutes I prefer the ride and handling of my M.

noobie

Well Keith guessed 600, I will be the forever optimist and guess 750 for May. One can only hope....

KeithL

I wish they would release the Hybrid and come in at $65K I would be extremely interested in it at that price point.

Rocket_man

I'm going to guess 500.

TSX69

I am predicting 500-600 sales for the month of May. They seemed to have inventory floating around 1,000 for the entire month which I think helped them keep inventory in check (and sales low if there was more demand than what was available) unlike the ILX which are all over the lots. This has helped them continue to sell these things very close to MSRP so far. All dealers in my area have sold a few this month so things are going slow but at least they are moving along.

Selfishly, I am hoping that by fall (when I plan to start car shopping for real real) prices will be down to @ least invoice. Hopefully the hybrid will be better looking (not that the RLX looks bad, just a tad bland) & if the price is $65k I will definitely have it on my short list.

db22

TSX69 - what makes you think that the hybrid will be better looking? My guess is that the only difference is that it will be quieter because it will have SH-SH-awd on the back!

TSX69

Honda/Acura tends to make their hybrids slightly different in appearance. In case of the 2013 Acura ILX, I think that the hybrid looks better with the change in rims & fog light area:

They were a little more dramatic with the 2013 Honda Accord Plug-In hybrid. My guess is that the regular hybrid have the usual subtle changes.

My wish list is that hopefully something to replace the interior wood (either metal or carbon fiber), chrome exterior door handles & more detail to the tail lights.

hondamore

My guess is the price of the AWD version will be north of your $65K target, but patience will allow you to will be able to get one for that or better through dealer "incentives". Also, based on the "compulsory" lease rate enforced by Acura on the FWD RLX, I would expect that a similarly rosey deal will be forced on the dealers for the AWD version.

I think that Acura will want to promote the AWD RLX as a $70,000 flagship to give it greater "cache", but they are also reasonable enough to know that discounts may be required to move them. If RLX (AWD and FWD) sales are "surprising" (eg. 1500+ per month sustained) then the discounts will be muted, if sales are "sluggish", the discounts will flow. Sadly, I am sort of hoping for "sluggish" so I can swoop in a get a great deal. I'm expecting the hybrid AWD technology to be impressive enough to make deals on the limited production AWD version hard to get until 2015.

Again, simply my guess.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I think it depends on whether the AWD model comes with the same trim levels as the FWD model. I mean, I can't see a RLX AWD base starting at $20k above a RLX FWD base.

If the same trim levels exist in the AWD level:

RLX AWD Base: $59k
RLX AWD Navi: $62.5k
RLX AWD Tech: $65k
RLX AWD Krell: $68k
RLX AWD Advance: $71k

KeithL

$70K RLX is still going to barely move any units. Honestly for $70K you can get a loaded Audi A6. I think we will start seeing some decent discounts in the next month or two especially if they don't move more than 500 units in May or June.

jhr3uva90

Yes, but what features would that A6 have? Would that A6 be hybrid? Will it have torque vectoring AWD? Or will is just be German and pretty?

getakey

in terms of sales numbers, I have casually monitored local dealer inventory in SF Bay Area. I'd say Dealers sold 1 or 2 in May, maybe a couple sold 3. You'd think Bay Area would be prime market for non-AWD RLX - no snow, high tech, etc., but does not seem to be selling fast here.

I'd be surprised if sales were above 750 and 750 is probably optimistic

seanlin

I see many dealer have navi package model in their inventory and run out technology package model. They should make more technology package car. I doubt many buyer will pick base mode or just Navi model.

Rocket_man

I think they are just not going to build that many. It won't be in high demand anymore than other high end high cost hybrids. Some will want it for the AWD, but if that is all they want there are other cars that don't make you pay a ~$8K premium for AWD.

GoHawks

You are correct and as we have discussed many times before, the general public won't care. When spending $70K and the choices are Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Acura, most people will not choose the Acura.

Therein lies the issue. People who compare features and content may get a bit more for their money (that is no longer a given with Acura pricing) so they will get a good value, but Acura won't succeed in moving a lot of metal.

How many hybrid GS does Lexus move? It is minor compared to the rest of the model. For those truly interested in having a hybrid, the RLX will be cross shopped against the Lexus 450h, and the FWD RLX will have to compete with the the reset of the luxury models and as we have discussed, based on MSRP, the Acura doesn't offer the value proposition that they once did.

KeithL

For $70K that A6 will pretty much have feature except a hybrid the RLX has. I just think Acura is reaching out of their league. Honestly at $60K with AWD I would have looked at the RLX or maybe the hybrid at $6K and a 5% discount, but $70K I am not sure. They do need to at least show off some prototypes.

jhr3uva90

To begin with, do we know how much the hybrid RLX will cost? Also, does the AWD in the A6 do torque vectoring? Do they have something similar to the RLX's Aha-based Acura Link? Or the RLX's low-speed follow? Or the RLX's Krell audio system?

Once sedans reach a base price above $50K, it is all about the brand, period. At least that's the case in the United States. So Acura might as well use the RLX as a test mule for their new technology that will eventually migrate down to the other sedans. I think we've discussed this on this forum before.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

The RLX, like most Acuras, is still better equipped at each price level compared to the competitors. It's just that once you get to $60k+, image becomes more important than having more features. Having a better image is considered more "valuable" to some.

KeithL

Actually they have Adaptive cruise with stop and go at that price point, the 14 A6 will move Audi Lane assist out of the $5K Innovation package into the Driver assistance package as well as a very impressive B&O sound system. The Audi has Google Maps and better voice input for navi as well as the touch pad input. The Audi as on board wifi, etc. So yes there will be minor differences between the 2, but in 3 years let's see which has better resale. Even Acura's own website shows the Audi at 52% vs. RLX 47% residual at 36 months, at 60 months it is tied, but I will be out of my car at 36 months so resale is important to me as my M37 has taught me, that you can't get out a a car when you want if the resale value sucks.

I do agree at these price points you will get some value oriented people, but as said it is brand name. Don't get me wrong I love Acura and still have not committed to the A6, but Acura could have been a real contender. It just frustrates some of us die hard fans that they could have hit it out of the park had they tried.

GoHawks

First off, the sales of the 2nd gen RL prove that people really didn't put any value in the torque vectoring system of SH-AWD, no matter how cool it was.

I went on the Audi website and loaded up an A6 with the Prestige package, Innovation package and a Bang & Olefsson (sp?) stereo system. The Innovation package includes the following.

WPD Innovation Package - $5,600
Adaptive cruise control; Audi Side Assist overtaking sensor; Night vision; Electric foldable mirrors; Audi pre sense plus collision warning systemfeatures: seat belt activation and brake assist; Requires: [WPT] Prestige

I believe the cruise control has start stop features.

When loaded up it comes right at $70K.

KeithL

And from my experience the torque vectoring on the TL was minimal, if I watched the AWD display you would see a little power go to rear and wheels on occasion, I prefer the Audi 60/40 rear/front split all the time where power is always going to all 4 wheels. Now if Acura had SH-AWD where some power was always going to rear then maybe. I noticed some blurbs about the 14 MDX can have more power going to rear than the out going MDX did.

dwboston

For $70K with the Audi A6 you get the B&O sound system, which is a $5900 option by itself. You also get adaptive (laser-based) cruise control with stop and go capability, night vision pedestrian detection, heads-up display, power side folding mirrors, and Audi's version of CMBS. They don't offer torque vectoring AWD on the A6.

I bought a 2012 CPO A6 last weekend. It has everything mentioned above with the exception of the B&O system. The sticker on that car new was $63K.