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Where is Honda taking Acura?

1091 messages,  Last post on Apr 01, 2013 at 7:55 AM

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What is this discussion about? Acura, Automotive News

Messages Page 107 of 110

#1060 of 1091 Re: I just saw an article [nippononly] by smarty666

Jul 24, 2010 (8:04 am)

Replying to: nippononly (Jul 23, 2010 11:18 pm)
I agree. It would be a different thing if Acura had come out and said or at least hinted of their plans for the RL, such as completely redoing it, where it was going to compete, etc but we have gotten diddly quat from Acura other then they are going to be keeping it here.
 
They know it sells very poorly, so why not at least give some of us Acura buyers some hope that they are going to turn that car around in the near future?? Just boggles the mind.

#1061 of 1091 Acura is so lost by tizer

Jul 24, 2010 (11:10 am)

What has happened to Acura? They have totally lost their Marketing brand identity and direction. Big Beaks on all their cars that look terrible. I currently own an 06 RL that has been a superb car. With 60,000 trouble free miles. Have not even replaced the front brakes yet. Sure the technolgy is now out of date, a better nav, bluetooth, hard drive music storage and push button start would be on my wish list. The ZDX is hideous, have only ever seen one on the road, and I think it was someone on a test drive. Acura needs a coupe (awd) in their lineup and the RL has so much potential. I'd buy another with the up dates I mentioned sin "the beak", Maybe a hybrid version could be offered. Right now my next car choice would be an Infiniti M37X or the new GS when it comes out next year.

#1062 of 1091 Re: Acura is so lost [tizer] by nippononly

Jul 27, 2010 (8:50 pm)

Replying to: tizer (Jul 24, 2010 11:10 am)
I currently own an 06 RL that has been a superb car....Sure the technolgy is now out of date, a better nav, bluetooth, hard drive music storage and push button start would be on my wish list.
 
This is exactly why throwing "high tech" consumer electronics on the inside of the car is a really bad tack for Acura to take - it will ALWAYS be outdated in a couple of years. Then you have a whole dashboard full of 8-track tape players in a $40K car. The high tech needs to be under the hood and in the chassis, something SORELY lacking in Acura cars in the last 5-7 years. And there's no indication there will be any change in direction any time soon.

#1063 of 1091 Recently... by hpmctorque

Jan 03, 2011 (3:36 pm)

I read that Honda management is in the process of figuring out where they want to take Acura. In terms of positioning in the marketplace, they don't want to compete in the top tier luxury market, but, rather, a step below that. How to do it is what's being decided.
 
For me, as the owner of an older TL, Acura has lost its luster.

#1064 of 1091 Re: Recently... [hpmctorque] by stickguy

Jan 03, 2011 (4:17 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 03, 2011 3:36 pm)
isn't that the same "near luxury" arena that they have always competed in (along with Infiniti)?
 
Where they really need to take the product is back into the design studio, because if they don't rediscover good design, they won't have enough sales to survive!
 
In the last decade, the 1999-2003 era TL was by far the most popular car, along with the MDX, so to me that pretty much screams of glorified Honda/near luxury.

#1065 of 1091 Re: Recently... [stickguy] by hpmctorque

Jan 03, 2011 (11:17 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Jan 03, 2011 4:17 pm)
I'm not saying Acura products are bad. They's just no longer special. The competition has caught up, in terms of value for the money, performance, and driving fun. You didn't have to justify why you bought a TL, for example. Now you do, becuase the styling is offbeat, and the feature content dosn't stand out from the competiion. Acura needs to make its vehicles, starting with its cars, special again.

#1066 of 1091 Acura 04-07 TL by xrunner2

Jan 04, 2011 (12:01 pm)

Best package of styling/performance was 04-07. Wife likes new Acura every 3-4 years, but will hang onto her 07 TL for awhile and see if Acura somehow straigtens out its TL line. Current TL is fat and ugly.

#1067 of 1091 Re: Acura 04-07 TL [xrunner2] by hpmctorque

Jan 04, 2011 (9:17 pm)

Replying to: xrunner2 (Jan 04, 2011 12:01 pm)
I agree with your assessment of the current TL.
 
If I can make a minor correction, the previous TL platform was produced for 5 model years, '04-'08, and the one before that, '99-'03. If Acura continues on a 5 year cycle, the next all new TL will be introduced in the fall of '13, as a '14 model. That's quite a wait.

#1068 of 1091 Where's The Media Buzz? by hpmctorque

Feb 14, 2011 (6:08 am)

Acura unveiled a refreshed TL at the Chicago Auto Show, but it's a yawner. This once very popular near-luxury, value packed, aspirational Acura model, the lynchpin for the brand, has been slumping. The latest platform, introduced for the '09 model year, has failed to inspire. Sales have languished.
 
Realizing that something needed to be done, Acura cleaned up the front-end some, toning down the beak effect, and shortening the front-end overhang by 1 1 /2". It also made some minor cosmetic changes in back. Mechanically, the TL now has a new 6-speed automatic, which replaces the 5-speed. This enhancement is said to improve gas mileage of the FWD vervion by 3 mpg. These are all positive changes, but it seems that the automotive press barely noticed. Did Acura not go far enough with these changes, does it have a PR problem, or some of each. Would the press have made more of these changes if it had been BMW or Hyundai?
 
As a TL owner and one who respects the brand, despite recent disappointments, maybe I was expecting too much, too soon. Maybe the freshened TL will yet become popular with buyers. If I were to guess, it looks like we have to look beyond this generation, to the next all-new platform. That'll probably be introduced for model year '14. That's a long wait!

#1069 of 1091 Re: Where's The Media Buzz? [hpmctorque] by steve_ HOST

Feb 14, 2011 (6:47 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Feb 14, 2011 6:08 am)
What is a TL anyway?
 
Seriously, I don't pay a lot of attention to sedans, but I had to go look it up. If they called it a Jetta, at least I'd have an idea of what it was. MDXs I've figured out from reading the SUVs boards.
 
A 3 mpg improvement is pretty significant.
 
Inside Line covered it and the story over there got ~40 comments, so some people noticed.
 
Not many of the comments are complimentary though.

Messages Page 107 of 110

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