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Poor Economy Takes Its Toll On Acura’s Product Plans

 
11 5,640 views Aug 31, 2009
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2010 Acura ZDX

2010 Acura ZDX

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Apart from Lexus, Japanese luxury brands still pale in comparison to their German rivals in terms of the number of models they produce and the prices they can command. Overall image in the marketplace and status on the street have likewise proven difficult to develop. That's why Acura is making a hard push specifically to boost its image and achieve 'tier 1' luxury automaker status, but unfortunately the poor state of the economy has thrown a spanner into the works.

The biggest victim was a planned a replacement for the NSX supercar, which was officially canned last December despite development work being nearly complete. The vehicle was to feature a 600 horsepower V-10 engine and be a rival to cars like the Ferrari F430, Nissan GT-R and upcoming Lexus LF-A.

Another kick in the guts for performance fans was the cancelation of a new rear-wheel-drive V-8 program.

Not all is lost, however, as these programs have been shelved for now but may be resurrected if the economy picks up.

As for the rest of the lineup, Acura will be adopting a new focus on fuel economy rather than performance as a way to differentiate itself in the luxury segment. Some of the highlights of company’s product plans for the 2010-12 model years are listed below.

Acura is currently considering a compact car replacement for its RSX, which could arrive in time for the 2012 model year if designers borrow the platform from the next-generation Honda Civic. This could be followed by a new CL coupe, though there are no plans as yet for such a vehicle.

The next-generation RL was expected to arrive in time for the 2011 model year and sport the company’s new rear-wheel-drive V-8 platform. Instead, Acura is likely to stick with the current model’s V-6 and front-wheel-drive design.

Both the RDX the MDX have been updated for the 2010 model year and will have to continue on until redesigned versions appear in 2012. Late this year, Acura will also be adding the all-new ZDX crossover to its lineup.

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Comments (11)

  1. By Ebirah Posted: 8/31/2009 7:56am PDT

    2012 is far off for something as simple as making a new RSX based upon a Civic .. they need to step on it.
     
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  2. By  Tundra Headquarters Posted: 8/31/2009 7:58am PDT

    Ya - that's what $60k luxury car buyers want: a nice luxury car that gets great gas mileage. Do the people making product decisions at Acura know who their buyers are?
     
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  3. By crazyowen Posted: 8/31/2009 8:10am PDT

    unreal, no wonder Acura is headed towards its demise... even with Honda to tap for ideas, Acura has stumbled into a wasteland of having no real stake in the luxury segment. What the hell were they thinking with the ZDX being a fuel-hog but not offering the almost-ready-for-market NSX - the brand-gem that would bring back some life into the brand?! what a waste of time and money, dont they know there are still a lot of people who have lots of money to spare 100grand for a sportscar??!
     
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  4. By bepsf Posted: 8/31/2009 11:00am PDT

    "dont they know there are still a lot of people who have lots of money to spare 100grand for a sportscar??!"
    You name me a single $100,000 Japanese sportscar - not even the Nissan GTR is $100K...
    ...the only $100K+ Japanese car is the Lexus LS600h - and those aren't exactly flying off the shelves, and they have far greater brand-equity than Acura.
     
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  5. By Vigor Posted: 8/31/2009 12:25pm PDT

    Wait, they cancel the RSX and tell us they did it to go upmarket and we might see a CSX here for "fuel economy" reasons?
    Does anyone that works at Acura actually own a luxury car or have any friends that do? They have been clueless since 1994.
     
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  6. By Yowzer Posted: 8/31/2009 3:02pm PDT

    No wonder these Jacrapanese car companies are going nowhere. They are a brand in search of an audience, switching back and forth between luxury cruiser, performance sedan, robot car and now eco-conscious barge. BMW and Audi didn't define their brand by searching around for customers, they defined their brand as standing for something, and the customers that preferred that came.
     
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  7. By  Pat Posted: 8/31/2009 3:39pm PDT

    When Acura dropped the RSX, they made a BIG mistake.
    We bought the last one and love it. Bring it back.
    The new Acuras are overweight and ugly.
     
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  8. fb_1507176410 avatar Marco Svelte Posted: 9/1/2009 12:48am PDT

    I agree with Pat, crazyowen, & Vigor! Acura never was in the luxury segment, so claims to strive to be "Tier 1" without a NSX replacement, RWD/optional AWD platform, and a V8 engine or V8 equivalent performance form their precious V6's is a bunch of B.S.! Infiniti isn't quite there either, but at least they have the key ingredients (V8's, RWD/optional AWD) to get there and that put s them light years ahead of Acura!
     
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  9. By DJ Posted: 10/11/2009 4:21pm PDT

    this is crazy just leave the RSX be i have one and love it but hondas 4cyl are now just slow. If you want power out of a honda go to a V6 and thats just bad the civic Si is the only thing hondas got with the S2000 leaving also
     
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  10. By  Mi Auto Insurance Posted: 11/23/2009 10:39am PST

    I think luxery car owners are looking for luxery more then the price tag. I can see cutting back production to match demand, but dropping the model all together is just stupid!
     
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  11. By  Vitamins Posted: 12/1/2009 11:57pm PST

    It certainly was good. I never owned an Integra, however, but the driving similarities between it and the Civic are pretty much the same, save for the more sporting Integra’s suspension tuning. The Acura is a very entertaining car to drive, fuel efficient and due to its hatchback design (2 doors not withstanding) a very practical car as well. And believe me, it was hard not redlining the engine on every shift just to hear revs climb and the VTEC switch over.
     
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