Acura’s New Boss Wants Exciting Sedans. Carscoops
September 4, 2015
By: Dan Mihalascu
Acura’s new general manager, Jon Ikeda, has recently talked about his plans for Honda’s luxury brand. While crossovers are in high demand across all segments, Ikeda says his eye is on the sedans.
“We should make sedans that people get excited about, just like when they look at this NSX here. That will be one of my first challenges with R&D, working with them to see what we could do to get that going,” Ikeda told Automotive News at The Quail last month.
While he declined to offer details about Acura’s plans for sedans, Ikeda said he was taking seriously the brand’s revival of its 1980s-era slogan: “precision crafted performance.”
“Every step we take with any product facelift, anything that we come up with is going to be geared toward that,” Ikeda said, adding that improving the performance and quality of Acura’s future models was essential.
Acura currently has only three sedans in its lineup: the compact ILX, midsize TLX and full-size RLX. That’s why it can’t compete with German luxury car manufacturers, which offer more sedans, most of which have additional variants such as wagons, coupes, convertibles and high-performance models.
Acura also needs a convincing flagship sedan to compete with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7-Series. The closest thing to that is the RLX (pictured), which sold just 3,413 units last year and has seen sales fall 38 percent this year through July.
However, having such a big lineup isn’t possible right now. For the moment, Ikeda’s task is to distinguish Acura’s offerings from regular Hondas and its luxury competitors. To do that, the executive wants to use technology and even styling cues from the NSX supercar for Acura’s mainstream sedans.
This precision performance bull**** has got to stop, people need to get a little bit more creative... how many iterations of the same moronic principles do we need to see in the marketplace before we get something different?
I agree. Every aspiring luxury brand wants to be a [insert country of origin here] BMW.
Acura, Cadillac, Infiniti, and heck, even Lexus...
That's why I'm really liking Lincoln and Volvo right now. They aren't following the stupid "OH WE DRIVE BETTER AT 10/10THS" mentality and instead are focusing on making luxurious, smooth riding, effortless, and quiet luxury cars.
I think I predicted that the RLX would fail before it went on sale, given that it made all the same faux pas that the 3.5RL and RL before it made (dull styling, too similar to Hondas, no cheap model for leasing) and even the return of being FWD only unless you went for the pricey Sport Hybrid. The RLX is a good car, a great one even. It's impeccably well made, sure to be a reliable appliance, has a high quality interior, and is supremely refined and polished underway. But much of what I just said is expected once you get to this level. By this point many buyers are concerned with image, technology, or performance - or at least the illusion of some of those. And the RLX is a dull looking sedan from an un-prestigious brand that now has a base price higher than almost all competitors (still a good value but not so good for leasing). Understandably, buyers have stayed away.
Anyway, I have been wanting Acura to design a sedan that looks as much like the NSX as possible, with an industrial-premium interior. Use the Accord Hybrid's powertrain for a base engine ~45-47K with the Sport Hybrid system being priced like the 535i or A6 3.0 TFSI instead of like a V-8. Simply taking the Sport Hybrid system and adding a supercharger (an even cheaper, lower effort method than a twin-turbo system) would take it to easily 450+ horsepower. These engines are tech-heavy, which fall in line with how Acura should market and position their sedans from the more conventional competition. And of course, heavily utilize SH-AWD. They should build this immediately too and simply use a short cycle for the RLX. Honda has deep pockets, can afford to rectify their error quickly, and can right things immediately rather than waiting. The current TLX is selling pretty well TMK, but they can make steady improvements and go with a more aggressive redesign later.
Sportiness is now cliche and tired. But they can still go for tech and style, regardless of how well their cars drive.
I think I predicted that the RLX would fail before it went on sale, given that it made all the same faux pas that the 3.5RL and RL before it made (dull styling, too similar to Hondas, no cheap model for leasing) and even the return of being FWD only unless you went for the pricey Sport Hybrid. The RLX is a good car, a great one even. It's impeccably well made, sure to be a reliable appliance, has a high quality interior, and is supremely refined and polished underway. But much of what I just said is expected once you get to this level. By this point many buyers are concerned with image, technology, or performance - or at least the illusion of some of those. And the RLX is a dull looking sedan from an prestigious brand that now has a base price higher than almost all competitors (still a good value but not so good for leasing). Understandably, buyers have stayed away.
Anyway, I have been wanting Acura to design a sedan that looks as much like the NSX as possible, with an industrial-premium interior. Use the Accord Hybrid's powertrain for a base engine ~45-47K with the Sport Hybrid system being priced like the 535i or A6 3.0 TFSI instead of like a V-8. Simply taking the Sport Hybrid system and adding a supercharger (an even cheaper, lower effort method than a twin-turbo system) would take it to easily 450+ horsepower. These engines are tech-heavy, which fall in line with how Acura should market and position their sedans from the more conventional competition. And of course, heavily utilize SH-AWD. They should build this immediately too and simply use a short cycle for the RLX. Honda has deep pockets, can afford to rectify their error quickly, and can right things immediately rather than waiting. The current TLX is selling pretty well TMK, but they can make steady improvements and go with a more aggressive redesign later.
Sportiness is now cliche and tired. But they can still go for tech and style, regardless of how well their cars drive.
How about a couple of exciting sportscars like the return of the RSX and a two-door large coupe that aren't as expensive as the NSX? Frigging Acura pisses me off.
First of all, it's nice to see that Joe Isuzu got a new job.
Secondly, Acura has been saying stuff like this for a long time. The TLX was marketed like a "sporty" car, so it's not like they haven't tried sporty before in recent history. Acura's design department is just a mess. Once they get that cleaned up, maybe good things will happen, sporty or not.
Personally, I think Acura's current condition is the result of very conservative corporate culture at Honda which may be at the root of the abandonment of RWD platforms that some Acuras had in the early years.
Welcome to the concept of competing businesses. All makes, bar none, have copied ideas, features and conceptual ideals from other makes, since the very dawn. This will never cease to be- those that ignore fads and styles fade away. It does not make Brand X a "copy" if they also build a 'sport sedan'- no one brand has a copyright on general concepts.
Acura isn't so bad. I like the TLX. ILX is much better with its update. A nice flagship would be great, but I'd rather see them expand the ILX and TLX lines. Acura isn't high luxury and never will be, they need to focus on the $30k-$50k market range. If there's overlap with Honda, maybe they should take the Lincoln route and differentiate with a more personalized dealership and ownership experience.
Haven't we heard from all the Japanese makes over the past decade that they are going to turn up the heat in the styling department? So far the heat has been tepid at best. Acura needs a platform or two of it's own to really differentiate themselves from Honda at this point as so much brand damage has been done.
Even if they do improve their styling, Acura really needs to change their playbook, the luxury landscape has changed greatly from their glory days 30 years ago. The Germans have now flooded the low end, so no more sneaking in from the bottom and stealing a new generation of buyers. Selling on quality wont work as again, everyone has improved over 30 years. And as noted above, everyone does performance.....
No matter how fun and good, who wants to pay $35,000~$40,000 for a warmed over Civic when there is a low end 3 Series to be had (or a 2 Series?).
But, as with Cadillac, I applaud them giving it a go and not giving up! I never really though of Acura in terms of Cadillac, in some ways they are just as damaged as Cadillac (they took an entirely different path to get there, but their path took them to the same place - off peoples shopping lists).
I said it before when I did my dream lineup, but Acura needs to be Japanese Audi. I don't think they're aiming at BMW, and if they are, kill them now. SH-AWD standard, NSX inspired designs, hybrid heavy, tasteful interiors. We don't need 25 5-Series knockoffs on the market. I think the mid-lux segment will be the fasting growing for the next few years, so GM better get Buick together.
It's odd because they kind of went in that direction with the 2005 RL, which was a very Honda (yet ironically Audi) approach. Instead of a RWD platform, they went with SH-AWD, typically Honda unconventional even for an AWD system. And they did sort of make it more dynamic than the 3.5RL before it, but not enough. And it looked quite bland while being a bit too small. The new RLX is like a retread of everything that made the first and second RLs not work. But whatever they do, don't do conventional sport sedans. The GS, CTS, new XF, and others are already trying to be a BMW with the faintest hint of Lexus, Cadillac, and Jaguar. Focus on having something that's actually unique. And Acura as a brand can do the entry and mid-luxury markets quite well. There's little reason for them to become a major luxury brand as they never have been. Maybe in the future they can visit that idea, but right now they aren't even competing that well in the segments they should be.
I disagree with some of you. Back in the '90's when Acura's slogan was "Precision Crafted Performance" people believed it because the product backed that slogan. The second generation Legend was a great car in both Sedan and gorgeous for the time coupe! After that, things went downhill fast. First by dropping the Legend and Vigor names for alphabet soup and then no Acura only platforms. Honda dropped the ball big time. They need to go back to their roots! Double wishbone suspension systems ect...
I actually think it's a handsome, if not a little dull design. What gets me is the redundant infotainment screens inside. It's a warmed over version of the same car they've been selling in that segment for a long time under the skin.
There's not much demand for V-8s these days. While a V-8 is still a good idea for a luxury brand (or an alternative as some brands are doing), it's never been a hallmark of Acura and a more technological approach is kind of fitting for an Acura/Honda product anyway. The 2009 TL SH-AWD had the dynamics of a sport sedan thanks to the advanced AWD, and if they took that strategy and joined it with the 377 horsepower hybrid system and 7-speed twin-clutch they have in the Sport Hybrid, they would have a nice 535i/A6 3.0T level sedan. And like I mentioned earlier, just put a supercharger on that hybrid system to compete with the V-8s rather than developing a whole new engine. Acura needs something with the nature of what made Acura successful in the 80s though the mid-00s. They were driver's cars (unlike new pretenders like Lexus), but in a simplistic sense until the 2000s. They didn't add V-8s or heavy AWD systems like competitors (sometimes to their detriment). But they were also very successful with their techier direction in cars like the 2004 TL or 2007 MDX that maintained the driver's car nature but mixed in a dose of techy looks.
Buyers couldn't care less about drive wheels. RWD, FWD, it doesn't matter to the buyer outside of the 1% of luxury buyers who are also car enthusiasts. A V8 would be great, but a powerful V6, preferably with some turbos strapped to it, will do the job.
As long as the car has a great interior, great technology, and is built well, it should sell well in the luxury marketplace.
Sometimes..... you gotta' break a few eggs to make an omelet.
Sometimes..... you need to 'go back figuratively speaking to the last time you were great....... and then choked @ the plate.
And sometimes you gotta' break all the rules - including your own.
In sum....... busta' a move and do the 'unthinkable'.
So here is one part of how you do all three - and kick ass in the process.
Although.... my boys and girls @ Chrysler are running three steps ahead..... all three domestics have left open a door.
I'm personally real pissed off 'bout that........... so go ahead, stick it to them.
Marchionne and friends ..... could benefit from an attitude adjustment as well......
Lets call it the 357 Magnum.....
So ...... ala the second gen Legend.... with a little push further towards the rear ..... and a RWD offering to start ..... come with a 'Legend' 3.57 L Magnum V8 ...... and RWD / R-AWD.
With @ least some of the tricks arriving shortly everywhere ie with an E -charger and the combo alternator - starter //// flywheel - crank pulley - whatever .... and micro hybridization.
Non DOHC of course.... and you could go deeper than that ..... for more effect......
Think..... along the lines of the 6.75 L V8 @ Bentley.......meaning and or including smaller and more innovative as well......
Honda/Acura has always had a bit of a even/odd thing going on with design. Either they go for off-beat for off-beat sake (the Acura beak; the very first Prelude, which looked like a swollen Civic coupe with an oddball instrument layout -- see images below) or manage to pull together something clean, athletic and attractive. In the middle, they have also had significant periods of vanilla -- as if they just realized how off-beat their styling has been and try desperately to be 'normal'.
Acura needs to get the design part consistently right. You can't build an audience with a nice looking car (TL), then bring out something (the 'beaked TL') that alienates a significant part of this group. It's just brand and momentum-killing. I've driven the 'beaked' previous TL and it's a really nice car: decent power, great SH-AWD handling, nice sounds. I think if it had been gorgeous, Acura would be in a much better position now.
Acura: establish design excellence as a focus. You are already a great engineering company. You know hybirds and build great, characterful motors and great manual gearboxes. You've built your brand on light weight, efficiency AND driving pleasure (and engineering excellence) which are all where the market is going. Do great on those -- and wrap them in consistently beautiful styling inside and out (see Volkswagen/Audi) and you will find a market.
Honda/Acura has always had a bit of a even/odd thing going on with design. Either they go for off-beat for off-beat sake (the Acura beak; the very first Prelude, which looked like a swollen Civic coupe with an oddball instrument layout -- see images below) or manage to pull together something clean, athletic and attractive. In the middle, they have also had significant periods of vanilla -- as if they just realized how off-beat their styling has been and try desperately to be 'normal'.
Acura needs to get the design part consistently right. You can't build an audience with a nice looking car (TL), then bring out something (the 'beaked TL') that alienates a significant part of this group. It's just brand and momentum-killing. I've driven the 'beaked' previous TL and it's a really nice car: decent power, great SH-AWD handling, nice sounds. I think if it had been gorgeous, Acura would be in a much better position now.
Acura: establish design excellence as a focus. You are already a great engineering company. You know hybirds and build great, characterful motors and great manual gearboxes. You've built your brand on light weight, efficiency AND driving pleasure (and engineering excellence) which are all where the market is going. Do great on those -- and wrap them in consistently beautiful styling inside and out (see Volkswagen/Audi) and you will find a market.
Yes, it doesn't matter what they call them, make them beautiful and people will buy. Customers faded away because the brand wandered off to weird Honda knockoff styling and their straying away from sporty. Acura would be in the exact same place they are today if they were still using Integra and Legend for names. The NSX is a perfect example. It was a great car and now everyone knows what "NSX" means, even though it didn't sell well. "NSX" isn't a real name, but it took on meaning because the car was great.
It seems to me customers in the market for this type of vehicle want something that is bold,but doesn't stray to far from the rest of the pack. It's seems to be a hard target to hit. How can an automaker design bold products and not be too bland or look-a-like the rest of the pack to not scare off returning or new customers.
Agreed, but Acura's recent attempts look little more than Honda's ho-hum fwd styling with weird beaks. They can do a lot more/need to differentiate more.
I think Acura also contributed to the dumbing down of Honda. Honda used to get all the performance and tech, now it goes to Acura and Honda became boring.... Acura became what Honda was but with leather seats standard.
Kudos to Acura for over marketing their ugly cars...
MDX - inspired by the standards of mankind.
RDX - Drive like a boss
RLX - Intuition unleashed by the will of the driver
TLX - it's that kind of thrill
ILK - catch it if you can
Every car has a a slogan...but it sounds like a bunch of marketing hogwash. Really almost embarrassingly silly sounding IMO.
Acura wants to compete with German cars. This must mean that they are working on a rear-wheel-drive chassis, that should be exciting for half the people inclined to buy the fancy Hondas
Right now Acura is the Japanese Buick. Played right, I think the "near luxury" segment could be a winner.
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