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The Acura conundrum

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Mathieu St-Pierre
I've not been kind to Acura over the last three years. Today, I was redeemed. As this week is Montreal Auto Show week, the Honda/Acura people decided to set up a lunch with a handful of auto journalists to talk about the brand.

Acura NSX Concept front 3/4 view
Acura NSX Concept (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour/Auto123.com)

You see, and I love the honesty, Acura began the eat and greet by stating that they were very happy that 2011 was behind them. Natural disasters and all caused the Japanese brand numerous headaches but they did mention that they are fully aware, at least in Acura's case, that design has been an issue.

Sales of Honda's luxo brand have been dropping steadily for the last few years, a time-frame coinciding with the 2008 financial debacle and the arrival of the unloved 2009 Acura TL. Right around the same time, Acura had dreams of launching itself in the big Tier 1 luxury leagues, slotting themselves alongside the likes of Mercedes, Lexus and BMW. Needless to say, it all kinda backfired.

In a nutshell, the TL was eye-wateringly ugly, the TSX looked bloated, the CSX wasn't anything to gawk at and the RL was... nothing. It's thanks to the MDX and RDX (58% of total sales), in no small part, that the brand still has recent products on the road today. Remove the two and Acura would have delivered only marginally more than 6,000 cars last year.

Now, things are a changin'. Scan through our recent Detroit Auto Show coverage and take a look at the new ILX, RDX and NSX. They are the new face of Acura. While the RDX may not be what I think it should be, the ILX and NSX, at diametrically opposed ends of the brand's spectrum, are. Design is an important key in Acura's future plans and by judging these two, they just might get it right.

It will not happen overnight. The current TL, TSX and RL will soldier on in showrooms across the 50 Acura dealers' showrooms but at least now, there's hope. In fact, we got to see a glimpse of Acura's yet-unnamed new flagship car. By the looks of the renderings, Acura may be on the right track. It's distinctively Acura but with a dash of, sorry to say, Lexus refinement in the overall shape. I see other things but I won't make any further comments. I'll see it for real at the upcoming New York Auto Show.

2013 Acura RDX front 3/4 view
2013 Acura RDX (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour/Auto123.com)

In the future, Acura will concentrate more on what people need than what people may think they want. It's a tough idea to digest in these days of excess, however, this will certainly allow Acura to bring you more car for your money. Think 450 hp in a midsize sedan; do you really need all of them? Think complex interface technologies that many owners never use or even understand.

I suggested that they may be ahead of the curve and that it won't help the company's immediate future. Here again, they may be on to something. The year 2016 will bring some tough realities for a number of manufacturers feeding the over-the-top frenzy. If you were wondering why all the V8 engines are disappearing; this is why.

Hopefully, they'll weather the storm over the next short while and come out swinging in four short years. By then, their entire line-up will have been overhauled.

It won't all be about the cars though. Dealerships will be expected to considerably up the ante and create a “concierge experience” ambiance and an aura about themselves to vastly improve the customer experience. This will prove to be a difficult undertaking for dealerships that are selling fewer than 300 cars on average a year. It will have to be done if they hope to deliver 400 a year starting now.

Acura ILX Concept front 3/4 view
Acura ILX Concept (Photo: Acura)

With all this, Acura intends to rebuild its brand image that has more or less been all over the place in the last 10 to 12 years. They want to reclaim emotion as one of the reasons why people want an Acura. At the moment, buying one is nothing short of a purely rational move.

In 2000, I wanted an Integra because it was all that. Today, I'll stick to a fully-loaded Accord and hope that the next TL has the same impact on me as did the 2004-08 car.

I'm dubious on a few of these points but I'm gonna be big about it and give them the benefit of the doubt. As far as I'm concerned, emotion will only come from design. Acura has always had drive, performance, quality and technology.

It's time for an Acura to make heads turn, but for the right reasons. The NSX will but they'll sell only a few dozen a year, or more or less the same number of RLs they delivered in 2011. The ILX seems promising but all the specs point to Honda+ and not Acura as a distinct brand. There I go being negative again...

If they can blend Acura DNA with a shape that makes people salivate, they'll win. As they turn the page on Acura's next quarter-century of history, I think it's a good time to source out a designer that, with his or her pen, will put a worthy face on the Acura soul that is still present in today's cars.
Mathieu St-Pierre
Mathieu St-Pierre
Automotive expert
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